John J. Burzichelli

John J. Burzichelli (born November 14, 1954) is an American Democratic Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since January 8, 2002, where he represents the 3rd Legislative District. He has been the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly since January 10, 2006.

Burzichelli was the Assistant Majority Leader during the 2004-05 session and has been the Assembly's Deputy Speaker since 2006. Burzichelli had been the Mayor of Paulsboro from 1996 until 2011. From 2002 until 2011, he served as both mayor and Assemblyman which was allowed in New Jersey until 2007 when dual mandates were banned. Burzichelli was grandfathered under the law passed and allowed to continue serve in both posts until he stepped down from the mayoral post in 2011. He was president of Paulsboro Chamber of Commerce and a member of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Executive Board. In the 2011 apportionment based on the results of the 2010 United States Census, Republican Domenick DiCicco was moved from the 4th Legislative District into District 3. Burzichelli (with 25,172 votes) and Celeste Riley (23,960) won re-election, defeating DiCicco (20,268) and his running mate Bob Villare (20,528). DiCicco's loss made his seat the only gain by the Democrats in the Assembly in the 2011 election cycle. In December 2016, Burzichelli was one of several Catholic elected officials who supported legislation legalizing assisted suicide, saying that state residents should be able to make their own decisions on a matter that "is about choice". In 2019 the Assisted Suicide bill passed the legislature.

Committee Assignments

• Tourism and Gaming
• Budget
• Homeland Security and State Preparedness
• Appropriations
• Joint Budget Oversight
• Legislative Services Commission

Burzichelli is a long-time resident of Paulsboro. His father, John D. Burzichelli also served as mayor of the borough. He is a 1972 graduate of Paulsboro High School. Burzichelli makes a brief cameo in Kevin Smith's film Jersey Girl, parts of which were filmed in Paulsboro. He is owner / producer / distributor of Hill Studio & Scenic. He is as a former movie producer and wrestling promoter. He owns a number of antique fire engines using them for both business (Hill Studio) and pleasure and is a member of the Glasstown Antique Fire Brigade. He also owns the remnants of the Ward LaFrance a now-defunct fire engine manufacturer. Several of his antique fire engines are Ward LaFrance models of varying years. Burzichelli co-authored the book Ward LaFrance Fire Trucks: 1918-1978 Photo Archive. One of his fire trucks, formerly owned by Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, is displayed on the cover. He is one of the founding members of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Paulsboro and a former President of the Greater Paulsboro Chamber of Commerce. Burzichelli is the co-host of the show Eye on Paulsboro which has been on cable for over 25 years.

New Jersey's 3rd Legislative District comprises parts of Gloucester County, Cumberland County, and all of Salem County. The representatives from the 3rd District to the 219th New Jersey Legislature are:

• Senator Steve Sweeney (D)
• Assemblyman John J. Burzichelli (D)
• Assemblyman Adam Taliaferro (D)

Assembly

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	John Burzichelli (Incumbent)	23,811	27.8%	2.5
	Democratic	Adam Taliaferro (Incumbent)	23,719	27.1%	2.1
	Republican	Beth Sawyer	19,704	23.0%	2.7
	Republican	Edward R. Durr	18,742	21.9%	2.7
Total votes

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	John Burzichelli (Incumbent)	31,853	30.3	1.8
	Democratic	Adam Taliaferro (Incumbent)	30,733	29.2	2.1
	Republican	Philip J. Donohue	21,758	20.7	1.6
	Republican	Linwood H. Donelson III	20,181	19.2	1.2
	One for All	Edward R. Durr	589	0.6	N/A
Total votes			'105,114'	'100.0'

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	John Burzichelli (Incumbent)	20,507	28.5	0.5
	Democratic	Adam Taliaferro (Incumbent)	19,480	27.1	0.2
	Republican	Samuel J. Maccarone Jr.	16,063	22.3	0.3
	Republican	Leroy P. Pierce III	14,715	20.4	2.0
	The People's Voice	John Kalnas	1,223	1.7	N/A
Total votes			'71,988'	'100.0'

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	John Burzichelli (Incumbent)	31,049	28.0	0.0
	Democratic	Celeste Riley (Incumbent)	29,870	26.9	0.3
	Republican	Larry Wallace	25,094	22.6	0.2
	Republican	Bob Vanderslice	24,823	22.4	0.1
Total votes			'110,836'	'100.0'

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	John Burzichelli (Incumbent)	35,423	28.3	1.2
	Democratic	Celeste Riley (Incumbent)	31,888	25.5	3.8
	Republican	Robert Villare	30,526	24.4	5.4
	Republican	Lee Lucas	27,316	21.8	3.4
Total votes			'125,153'	'100.0'

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	John Burzichelli (Incumbent)	30,222	29.5	0.1
	Democratic	Douglas H. Fisher (Incumbent)	30,078	29.3	0.2
	Republican	Phil Donohue	19,534	19.0	1.2
	Republican	Jeffrey Stepler	18,927	18.4	1.1
	Green	Margie MacWilliams	2,078	2.0	N/A
	Green	Charles Woodrow	1,755	1.7	N/A
Total votes			'102,594'	'100.0'

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	John Burzichelli (Incumbent)	35,339	29.6	4.3
	Democratic	Douglas H. Fisher (Incumbent)	35,265	29.5	4.1
	Republican	Phillip S. Rhudy	24,140	20.2	3.2
	Republican	James W. Zee III	23,297	19.5	3.0
	Constitution	John Leone	1,535	1.3	N/A
Total votes			'119,576'	'100.0'

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Douglas H. Fisher (Incumbent)	27,178	25.4	2.7
	Democratic	John Burzichelli (Incumbent)	27,110	25.3	1.3
	Republican	Susan Bestwick	25,056	23.4	0.6
	Republican	Douglas Sorantino	24,069	22.5	0.0
	Green	Peggy Murphy	1,951	1.8	N/A
	Green	Charles Woodrow	1,627	1.5	N/A
Total votes			'106,991'	'100.0'

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Jack Collins (Incumbent)	28,609	31.0	5.3
	Republican	Gary Stuhltrager (Incumbent)	24,573	26.6	7.5
	Democratic	John Burzichelli	20,658	22.4	1.6
	Democratic	Ron Brittin	15,440	16.7	15.4
	Conservative	Jan McFetridge	1,599	1.7	2.0
	Conservative	Bob McFetridge	1,333	1.4	2.5
Total votes			'92,212'	'100.0'