John F. McKeon

John F. McKeon (born June 3, 1958) is an American Democratic Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2002, where he represents the 27th Legislative District, which covers the western portion of Essex County. He has served in the Assembly as a Deputy Speaker, Majority Whip, Assistant Majority Leader, and Assistant Majority Whip 2004–05. He is also a former mayor of the Township of West Orange.

For other people named John McKeon, see John McKeon (disambiguation).
John F. McKeon
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 27th district
Assumed office
January 8, 2002
Serving with Mila Jasey
Preceded byNia Gill
LeRoy J. Jones, Jr.
Mayor of West Orange, New Jersey
In office
July 1, 1998 – June 30, 2010
Preceded bySamuel A. Spina
Succeeded byRobert D. Parisi
Personal details
Born (1958-06-03) June 3, 1958
Montclair, New Jersey
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Ann Mader McKeon
Children3
ResidenceWest Orange, New Jersey
Alma materMuhlenberg College (BA)
Seton Hall University (JD)
OccupationAttorney
WebsiteLegislative web page

Biography

Born in Montclair, New Jersey on June 3, 1958, McKeon was raised in Orange and West Orange. He is a graduate of West Orange Mountain High School.[1]

McKeon received a B.A. in 1980 from Muhlenberg College cum laude in history and was awarded a J.D. in 1983 from the Seton Hall University School of Law.[1][2] At graduation, he was the recipient of the Peter Rodino Law Society Outstanding Student Award. He then served as judicial clerk to Joseph M. Thuring, Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson County and as a legislative aide to Representative Joseph Minish. McKeon is a former legislative counsel to Senator Richard Codey and counsel to the West Orange Board of Adjustment.[3]

He is a senior partner at Hardin, Kundla, McKeon, Poletto and Polifroni, a law firm in Springfield Township. He is married to Ann Mader McKeon, also an attorney at the same firm, and has three daughters.[4][5]

Political career

McKeon had served on the Township of West Orange Council from 1992 to 1998 as the Mayor of West Orange from 1998 to 2010.[2] From the time that he took office in the Assembly in 2002 until he left his position as mayor in June 2010, he simultaneously held a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly and was West Orange Mayor. This dual position, often called double dipping, was allowed under a grandfather clause in the state law enacted by the New Jersey Legislature and signed into law by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine in September 2007 that prevents dual-office-holding but allows those who had held both positions as of February 1, 2008, to retain both posts.[6] On July 1, 2010, Robert Parisi took over the Mayoral position.[7]

During his first term in the Legislature, McKeon was the prime sponsor of the Assembly version of the laws requiring school districts to adopt anti-harassment policies, strengthening school bus driver background checks and revising the State's laws concerning the release of wild animals, and was a prime sponsor of the Patients First Medical Malpractice Insurance reform legislation.[1] McKeon is currently the chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, serves as Vice-Chairman on the Assembly on the Environment and Solid Waste Committee, and sits on the Assembly Budget Committee and the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee.[2]

Other leadership positions McKeon has held during his tenure in the Assembly include Assistant Majority Whip from 2004 to 2005, Assistant Majority Leader from 2006 to 2007, Majority Whip in 2008 and 2009, and Deputy Speaker from 2010 to 2011.[2] John McKeon currently supports rights and monetary aid to undocumented residents and residents who reside in New Jersey unlawfully as McKeon states on a January 17, 2018 episode of Fox News personality Tucker Carlson[8] John McKeon was also one of the 11 sponsors of the "New Jersey Insurance Marketplace Preservation Act" also known as bill A3380 which enacts the shared responsibility penalty in state income tax[9]

District 27

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one senator in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 27th District for the 2016-17 Legislative Session are:[10]

References
  1. Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey - Two Hundred and Eleventh Legislature (First Session) (PDF). Skinder-Strauss Associates. 2004. p. 280. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  2. Assemblyman McKeon's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed September 17, 2015.
  3. "Attorney John McKeon". Hardin Kundla McKeon & Poletto. 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  4. "Assemblyman John F. McKeon Bio Page". NJ Assembly Majority Office. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  5. "Attorney Ann Mader-McKeon". Hardin Kundla McKeon & Poletto. 2009. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  6. via Associated Press. "N.J. Lawmakers keep double dipping" Archived 2008-03-25 at the Wayback Machine, WPVI-TV, March 4, 2008. Accessed June 4, 2009.
  7. Bondy, Halley. "New West Orange mayor longtime community activist and councilman", The Star-Ledger, May 13, 2010. Accessed January 17, 2015. "In the Eagle Rock section of town, where mayor-elect Robert Parisi grew up, Colgate Park saw an increase in crime in the early 1990s.... Parisi will be sworn in July 1 as the township’s first new mayor in 12 years to replace state Assembly deputy speaker John McKeon."
  8. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GexkJcHEA9o
  9. https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2018/Bills/A3500/3380_R1.PDF
  10. Legislative Roster 2016-2017 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed September 30, 2017.
New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by
Nia Gill
LeRoy J. Jones, Jr.		 Member of the New Jersey General Assembly for the 27th District
January 8, 2002 – present
With: Mims Hackett, Mila Jasey		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Samuel A. Spina		 Mayor of West Orange, New Jersey
July 1, 1998 – June 30, 2010		 Succeeded by
Robert D. Parisi
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