Armato interested in legislative comeback

Former Assemblyman John Armato (D-Buena Vista), who lost re-election last year in a closely watched campaign, said today that he is very open to the idea of running again for the legislature in future years.

“If I was approached to run, and my family said ok, I would definitely do that,” he said. “I really, really enjoyed being in the Assembly.”

Armato, who turned 73 today and conceded that it may be time to “let the next generation take over,” represented the highly competitive Atlantic County-based 2nd legislative district from 2018 until 2022. During legislative redistricting, however, his hometown of Buena Vista was moved into the 4th legislative district, a primarily Gloucester and Camden seat that was made considerably more Republican.

The 4th district is currently represented by State Sen. Fred Madden (D-Washington), Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D-Washington), and Assemblywoman Gabriela Mosquera (D-Gloucester). If any of them choose not to run for re-election – Madden in particular has faced retirement rumors for years – Armato could step in.

Regardless of whether he does mount a legislative comeback, Armato is remaining involved in state politics and advocacy. The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved his nomination to the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, and he said he’s also been nominated to a veterans affairs position.

For Armato, whose son died of a drug overdose in 2020 after struggling with addiction for decades, the nominations represent a continuation of the work he did in the legislature to prevent overdoses and tackle drug abuse.

“I don’t like to be on committees where I can’t get anything done,” he said today. “That’s why these committees really stood out to me. Hopefully I can get some things done that I haven’t been able to accomplish.”