John Armato
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 2nd district
In office
January 9, 2018 – January 11, 2022
Serving with Vince Mazzeo
Preceded byChris A. Brown
Succeeded byDon Guardian
Claire Swift
Personal details
Born (1948-06-13) June 13, 1948 (age 75)
Buena Vista Township, New Jersey
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMarie
Children2
ResidenceBuena Vista Township, New Jersey
OccupationPolitician and HVAC mechanic
WebsiteLegislative Website
Military service
Years of service1967–1971
RankSergeant
Unit25th Infantry Division

John Armato (born June 13, 1948) is an American Democratic Party politician who represented the 2nd Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2018 to 2022. He replaced Chris A. Brown, who relinquished his seat to run successfully for a seat in the New Jersey Senate.[1]

Early life

A life-long resident of Buena Vista, Armato graduated from Vineland High School in 1966 and served in the United States Air Force from 1967 to 1971.[2] He has worked as an HVAC mechanic. Before being elected to the Assembly, Armato served for three years on the Township Committee of Buena Vista Township.[1][3]

New Jersey Assembly

With Republican Party Chris A. Brown leaving the Assembly to run for New Jersey State Senate in the November 2017 general election, Armato (with 25,683 votes; 26.6%) and his running mate, incumbent Vince Mazzeo (with 27,601; 28.6%), defeated Republican challengers Vince Sera (20,814; 21.5%) and Brenda Taube (20,611; 21.3%) to win both Assembly seats from the district for the Democrats.[4][5] Armato serves in the Assembly on the Commerce and Economic Development Committee; the Health and Senior Services Committee; and the Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee.[1] Armato has said he doesn't plan on challenging Senator Chris A. Brown in 2021.[6]

During his tenure in the legislature, Armato has introduced legislation on behalf of first responders and disabled veterans. He introduced a legislative constitutional amendment, ACR48, which would amend the Constitution to give a total property tax exemption to honorably discharged permanently and totally disabled peacetime veterans.[7] Another bill he introduced, A2692, would allow local governments like cities to create restricted parking spaces for certain volunteer firefighters.[8]

To help combat the opioid epidemic, Armato introduced legislation, A3869, that requires doctors and other prescribers to prescribe opioid overdose medication to any patient who is at risk for opioid overdose.[9]

In 2019, Armato was reelected by a smaller margin than expected, winning a second term by 989 votes.

Committees

Electoral history

Assembly

2nd legislative district general election, 2021[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Claire Swift 31,818 26.81%
Republican Don Guardian 31,640 26.66%
Democratic John Armato (incumbent) 28,094 23.67%
Democratic Caren Fitzpatrick 27,127 22.86%
Total votes 118,679 100.00
Republican gain from Democratic
2019 New Jersey General Assembly election for the 2nd Legislative District[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Vince Mazzeo (Incumbent) 23,211 26.71% Decrease 1.85%
Democratic John Armato (Incumbent) 21,895 25.19 Decrease 1.39%
Republican John W. Risley 20,906 24.05 Increase 1.85
Republican Phil Guenther 20,905 24.05 Increase 1.39%
Total votes 86,717 100.0%
New Jersey general election, 2017[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Vince Mazzeo 27,601 28.6 Increase 3.1
Democratic John Armato 25,683 26.6 Increase 2.2
Republican Vince Sera 20,814 21.5 Decrease 5.0
Republican Brenda Taube 20,611 21.3 Decrease 2.3
Independent, Honest, Reliable Heather Gordon 1,208 1.3 N/A
Green Mico Lucide 718 0.7 N/A
Total votes '96,635' '100.0'

References

  1. ^ a b c Legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 16, 2018.
  2. ^ John P.Armato, Buena Vista Township. Accessed December 5, 2022. "John went through the Buena school system graduating from Vineland High School in 1966."
  3. ^ "Armato Takes Oath of Office to Begin Serving as 2nd District’s Newest Assemblyman", Insider NJ press release dated January 9, 2018. Accessed January 16, 2018.
  4. ^ Hetrick, Christian. "Brown Beats Bell, Snatching a Senate Seat from Democrats", New York Observer, November 7, 2017. Accessed January 16, 2018. "Despite Brown’s victory, Democrats retained both Assembly seats. Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo (D-Atlantic) hung onto his seat and his running mate, John Armato, won the other. Armato is a Buena Vista Township committeeman and U.S. Air Force veteran. Mazzeo had 28 percent of the vote and Armato had 26 percent. They beat Republicans Vince Sera and Brenda Taube."
  5. ^ Official List Candidates for General Assembly For General Election 11/07/2017 Election Archived December 5, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State, dated November 29, 2017. Accessed January 16, 2018.
  6. ^ "Armato won't challenge Brown in '21". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  7. ^ https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2020/Bills/ACR/47_I1.PDF [dead link]
  8. ^ https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2020/Bills/A3000/2692_I1.PDF [dead link]
  9. ^ https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2020/Bills/A4000/3869_I1.PDF [dead link]
  10. ^ "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/02/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  11. ^ "NJ General Assembly 02". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  12. ^ "2017-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
New Jersey General Assembly Preceded byChris A. Brown Member of the New Jersey General Assembly for the 2nd District January 9, 2018–January 11, 2022 With: Vince Mazzeo Succeeded byDon GuardianClaire Swift
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