Mark Sokolich
Mayor of Fort Lee
Assumed office
January 7, 2008
Preceded byJack Alter
Personal details
Born
Mark J. Sokolich

1963 (age 60–61)
Fort Lee, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materRutgers University; Seton Hall University
ProfessionAttorney and politician

Mark J. Sokolich (/ˈsɒkəlɪtʃ/ SOK-ə-litch;[1] born 1963) is an American attorney and Democratic Party politician who has served as the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey. He is also the managing partner of the law firm that he founded.

Early life

Sokolich is of Croatian (possibly from the Istrian region), descent and was raised in Fort Lee. His father died when he was 12 years old, and his mother died the following year.[2]

Sokolich graduated from Fort Lee High School. He played basketball and baseball in high school, and was named All-State in basketball and All-County in baseball. Though universities offered him scholarships to play basketball, he broke his ankle during his senior year of high school, and the scholarship offers were withdrawn. Sokolich enrolled at Rutgers University, and he walked on to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball team.[3] He earned his bachelor's degree from Rutgers. Sokolich earned a juris doctor from Seton Hall University School of Law,[2] which he attended at the same time as Chris Christie.[4]

Career

Sokolich worked in a few law firms, before forming his own, Sokolich & Macri, in 1998, of which he serves as the managing partner.[2] He is also a director of ConnectOne Bank.

Sokolich served on the Fort Lee City Council for four years before being elected mayor in 2007.[2] Sokolich replaced incumbent mayor Jack Alter as the Democratic candidate after Alter's sudden death.[5] Sokolich was re-elected in 2011.[6]

When Chris Christie ran for re-election in 2013, Sokolich did not endorse him, despite many other Democrats across the state doing so. It was alleged that this lack of an endorsement led Christie's deputy chief of staff to direct a Christie appointee on the board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to reallocate two of the customary three toll lanes from Fort Lee to the George Washington Bridge, causing massive gridlock.[7] The scandal, which was revealed after Christie won the election, helped cause a significant drop in Christie's popularity.[8][9][10][11][12]

References

  1. ^ "Fort Lee Today". Facebook. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Sarnoff, David (December 18, 2011). "A Conversation with Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich". Fort Lee Patch. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  3. ^ The Auditor (February 23, 2014). "Fort Lee's mayor lived a past life on Rutgers' basketball court: The Auditor". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  4. ^ Fleisher, Lisa (January 8, 2014). "Fort Lee's Mayor in Bridge Spotlight". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  5. ^ Sico, Christina (October 31, 2007). "Mark Sokolich To Take On Judith Fisher In Fort Lee Mayoral Race". NY1. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  6. ^ Wander, Erik (November 13, 2011). "Local Incumbents Reelected, Veterans Day Ceremony Top Fort Lee News". Fort Lee Patch. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  7. ^ Giambusso, David (January 8, 2014). "Fort Lee Mayor says he fears further retribution in wake of GWB lane closure scandal". NJ.com. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  8. ^ Barbaro, Michael (May 2, 2015). "With Bridge Case Charges, a Cloud Descends on Christie's White House Hopes". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  9. ^ Miller, Jake (February 12, 2014). "Thanks to scandal, Clinton would crush Christie in 2016, poll says". CBS News. Retrieved February 17, 2014.(Poll conducted February 4–9, 2014)
  10. ^ Johnson, Brent (February 5, 2014). "Chris Christie's 2016 prospects drop amid allegations, new poll shows". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved February 17, 2014.(Poll conducted January 31 to February 2, 2014)
  11. ^ Evans, Dave (January 9, 2014). "Gov. Christie faces political fallout from BridgeGate scandal". ABC. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  12. ^ Errol, Louis (December 17, 2013). "Bridge scandal tarnishes Chris Christie's image". CNN. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
Political offices Preceded byJack Alter Mayor of Fort Lee January 7, 2008 – present Succeeded byIncumbent
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