John Scott Wisniewski ( ; born June 28, 1962) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1996 to 2018, where he represented the 19th Legislative District. He was a Democratic candidate for Governor of New Jersey in the 2017 election, he lost in the primary election to Phil Murphy.
Early life, education, and law career
Wisniewski was born on June 28, 1962, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He is of Polish descent, and the son of a factory worker. He attended Sacred Heart Elementary School in South Amboy and Sayreville War Memorial High School in nearby Sayreville, New Jersey.
In 1984, he received a B.A. from Rutgers University in English / Economics and was awarded a J.D. from the Seton Hall University School of Law in 1987, where he was a classmate of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Wisniewski is an adjunct professor at Monmouth University.
He also owns and runs a general practice law firm, Wisniewski and Associates, L.L.C., based out of Sayreville.
Political career
Before joining the General Assembly, Wisniewski served on the Sayreville Cable Television Advisory Board, the Middlesex County Senior Citizen Housing Task Force, and the Middlesex County Planning Board. He has also served on the Sayreville Board of Education's Building Utilization Committee. Wisniewski currently serves on the board of trustees for the United Way of Central New Jersey and is an Executive Board Member of the Middlesex County Arts and Education Council.
Legislative career
Democrats statewide saw a net gain of three seats in the Assembly in the 1995 elections, with two of the pickups coming in the 19th District where Arline Friscia and Wisniewski knocked off the Republican incumbents Stephen A. Mikulak and Ernest L. Oros.
In the Assembly, Wisniewski introduced legislation that includes the Work First New Jersey Act, which required individuals to work at jobs or in community services as a condition of their benefits, the Dormitory Safety Act which required the installation of sprinklers in all dormitories, the School Bus Enhanced Safety Inspection Act which created new ways and standards by which a school bus was inspected, and the Athletic Training Licensure Act which required athletic trainers to be licensed. Assemblyman Wisniewski also sponsored the bill that was signed into law which increased the property tax reduction for Veterans and seniors, legislation designed to strengthen Megan's Law by keeping sexual predators away from areas where children go to school and play, legislation which required newly constructed elevators in residential buildings to accommodate stretchers, legislation which required the implementation of a fire command structure in mutual aid fires, legislation which required that cell phone use be noted in traffic accidents, legislation that established a penalty for the theft of someone's personal identification information, and legislation which established a scholarship program for the families of the victims of the September 11 attacks.
On January 27, 2010, Wisniewski was selected to succeed Joseph Cryan as the Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. He was succeeded by John Currie in 2013.
In 2011, Wisniewski was the Democratic Co-chair of the 2011 New Jersey Apportionment Commission, the group charged with redrawing the lines for the legislative districts following the 2010 Census. Along with State Senator Loretta Weinberg, Wisniewski played a major role in uncovering the Fort Lee lane closure scandal. He was a co-chair of the New Jersey Legislative Select Committee on Investigation tasked with investigating the scandal.
In 2013, Wisniewski joined the overwhelming majority of his fellow Democratic Party members in Middlesex County in endorsing Frank Pallone, in a special election for U.S. Senate after the death of longtime New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg. He later endorsed the Democratic Party's ultimate nominee, Cory Booker.
In August 2015, Wisniewski voted in favor of funding Planned Parenthood in New Jersey, joining prominent New Jersey Democrats, including Sheila Oliver and Patrick Diegnan. Wisniewski previously voted five times to outlaw or restrict access to abortion in New Jersey.
He has also expressed that he would vote in favor of a gas tax hike only if Governor Christie was going to sign it into law.
Wisniewski was reelected in 2015 by a wide margin. He received the endorsement of numerous local newspapers, including the Home News Tribune, who also endorsed his running mate Craig Coughlin and fellow Central Jersey Nancy Pinkin and Diegnan.