Joseph A. Lagana (born December 15, 1978) is an American attorney and Democratic Party politician who has represented the 38th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate since 2018. He served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2014 to 2018.
Joe Lagana | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 38th district | |
| Assumed office April 12, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Robert M. Gordon |
| Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 38th district | |
| In office January 14, 2014 – April 12, 2018 Serving with Tim Eustace | |
| Preceded by | Paul Contillo |
| Succeeded by | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 15, 1978 |
| Spouse | Jamie Lagana |
| Education | |
| Website | Legislative webpage |
Personal
editLagana was raised in Ridgefield and graduated from Ridgefield Memorial High School.[1] He attended Fordham University, where he received a B.A. in history in 2000 and later attended the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School where he received his J.D. in 2004.[2][3] He has served as a clerk to Superior Court Judge John A. Conte before joining Chasan Leyner & Lamparello, a law firm in Secaucus as a partner.[3] He served on the Ridgefield planning board.[4]
He is married to Jamie Lagana and has three daughters.[4]
Paramus borough council
editIn April 2009, he moved to Paramus, New Jersey.[4] Lagana and his Democratic running mate defeated two incumbent Republican councilmembers in the Paramus borough council elections of 2011.[5][6] After Democrats gained a majority of the six-person borough council after the 2012 elections, Lagana was named council president in January 2013.[7]
New Jersey General Assembly
editLagana declared his candidacy for the 38th district in the November 2013 elections, to succeed Connie Wagner, who was not running for reelection. When Wagner resigned in September, Lagana indicated that he was not interested in filling the remainder of her term; 38th District Democrats chose former assemblyman and state senator Paul Contillo to fill the remainder of her term.[8] Lagana won the election and was sworn in on January 14, 2014, at the start of the 2014 session.[9]
Lagana served as the Assembly's deputy parliamentarian from 2016 to 2017.[10]
New Jersey Senate
editAfter Robert M. Gordon resigned on April 4, 2018, to become a commissioner of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Lagana was appointed to the Senate on April 12, 2018, to fill the vacancy.[11] He won a November 6, 2018, special election to complete Gordon's unexpired term, defeating Republican Daisy Ortiz Berger.[12]
Committees
editCommittee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[10]
- Labor (as chair)
- Judiciary
District 38
editEach of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.[13] The representatives from the 38th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[14]
- Senator Joseph Lagana (D)
- Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (D)
- Assemblyman Chris Tully (D)
Electoral history
editSenate
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joseph A. Lagana (incumbent) | 28,447 | 57.1 | |
| Republican | Micheline B. Attieh | 21,361 | 42.9 | |
| Total votes | 49,808 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joseph A. Lagana (incumbent) | 34,895 | 52.90 | |
| Republican | Richard Garcia | 31,069 | 47.10 | |
| Total votes | 65,964 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joseph A. Lagana (incumbent) | 48,451 | 60.1 | |
| Republican | Daisy Ortiz Berger | 32,140 | 39.9 | |
| Total votes | 80,591 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
General Assembly
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joseph A. Lagana (incumbent) | 30,800 | 29.3 | 0.2 | |
| Democratic | Tim Eustace (incumbent) | 30,727 | 29.2 | 0.1 | |
| Republican | William Leonard | 21,541 | 20.5 | 1.4 | |
| Republican | Christopher B. Wolf | 21,525 | 20.5 | 0.6 | |
| Independent- NJ Awakens | Dev Goswami | 533 | 0.5 | N/A | |
| Total votes | 105,126 | 100.0 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Tim Eustace (incumbent) | 19,563 | 29.1 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Lagana (incumbent) | 19,511 | 29.0 | |
| Republican | Mark DiPisa | 14,721 | 21.9 | |
| Republican | Anthony Cappola | 13,339 | 19.8 | |
| Write-ins | Personal choice | 95 | 0.1 | |
| Total votes | 67,229 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joseph Lagana | 26,279 | 25.2 | |
| Democratic | Tim Eustace (incumbent) | 26,021 | 25.0 | |
| Republican | Joseph Scarpa | 25,965 | 24.9 | |
| Republican | Joan Fragala | 25,836 | 24.8 | |
| Total votes | 104,101 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
References
edit- ^ New Jersey State Sen. Joe Lagana, LegiStorm. Accessed January 28, 2022. "Education... Ridgefield (N.J.) Memorial High School - Diploma"
- ^ "Assemblyman Joseph A. Lagana Bio Page". NJ Assembly Majority Office. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ a b "Joseph A. Lagana". Chasan Leyner & Lamparello, PC. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ a b c Wassel, Bryan (November 7, 2011). "Incumbents face challenge for council seats in Paramus". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ Ma, Myles (November 9, 2011). "Update: Bellinger, Lagana Give Democrats Council Foothold". Patch Media. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ "In the Spotlight: Councilman Joseph Lagana -Amanda Antonucci- Garden State Journal". gardenstatejournal.com. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ^ Ensslin, John C. (January 6, 2013). "Paramus seats new council, celebrating progress and preservation". The Record. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ Ensslin, John C. (September 30, 2013). "North Jersey Assemblywoman Connie Wagner resigns office". The Record. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ^ "Lagana Sworn in as Newest Member of General Assembly Former Paramus Councilman Will Now Represent 38th Legislative District". States News Service. January 14, 2014. Archived from the original on February 23, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ a b Senator Joseph Lagana, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 30, 2024.
- ^ Aron, Michael. "Asm. Joe Lagana chosen to replace outgoing Sen. Bob Gordon", NJ Spotlight News, April 4, 2018. Accessed January 30, 2024. "Democratic state Sen. Bob Gordon is being nominated by the governor for a seat on the Board of Public utilities, or BPU, a full-time job.... Stellato chose Lagana, a 39-year-old lawyer, who has been in the Legislature since 2014."
- ^ November 6, 2018 General Election Results 38th Legislative District, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed January 30, 2024.
- ^ New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
- ^ Legislative Roster for District 38, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 30, 2024.
- ^ "Official List, Candidates for State Senate for GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ^ "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 06/08/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/06/2018 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 3, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
- ^ "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2017 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 29, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "Official List Page Candidates for General Assembly For General Election 11/03/2015 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^ "2013 General Assembly Election Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 1, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2023.