Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo won a landslide victory on Tuesday, securing an unprecedented seventh four-year term and extending a political career that has made him arguably the most consequential county official in Essex County’s 343-year history.
DiVincenzo, who first won the office in 2002, easily defeated Republican Maritza Matthews, a former county clerk and State Senate candidate, continuing a string of overwhelming victories that has kept him in office for nearly a quarter-century.
Democrats also swept all nine seats on the Essex County Board of Commissioners, extending their complete control of county government and leaving Republicans without a countywide victory since 1998.
Wayne Richardson, Christine McGrath, Abdur Yasin, and Deborah Engel won the four at-large seats, defeating Republicans Demetrius Eley, Daniela Ferreira Almeida, Douglas Freeman, and Sahwa DeFrank.
Three Democrats were elected without opposition: Wilson Pichardo in the 1st District, incumbent A’Dorian Muray-Thomas in the 2nd District, and former East Orange school board member Medinah Muhammad in the 3rd District.
In the 4th District, Democratic Commissioner Leonard Luciano, who has served since 2011, defeated Republican Adam Kraemer. Democratic Commissioner Carlos Pomares, first elected in 2017, defeated Republican Frank Contella, a former State Senate and county commissioner candidate, in the 5th District.
The commissioner elections brought significant turnover to the Democratic delegation after Brendan Gill, Patricia Sebold, and Romaine Sermons decided not to seek re-election.
Engel won a seat after capturing the Democratic nomination without the Essex County Democratic organization’s endorsement, an unusual achievement in a county where the party establishment has historically dominated primary elections.
Republicans have not won an at-large commissioner seat in Essex County since 1971, when former State Sen. Gerardo Del Tufo, a Newark Republican, was elected to what was then the Board of Freeholders.
Republicans last won the 4th and 5th district seats in 2005. Democrats reclaimed the 4th District in 2008.
The latest Democratic sweep comes in a county where Republicans last won a countywide election in 1998, when James Treffinger was re-elected county executive. Republicans had captured the office in 1986, 1990, and 1994.
But the centerpiece of Tuesday’s election was DiVincenzo, whose electoral dominance has been extraordinary.
No other Essex County Executive has served more than two terms since the county adopted its current form of government in 1978.
DiVincenzo’s legacy is built largely on a financial turnaround that began when he inherited a $64 million budget deficit in January 2003, with Moody’s threatening to downgrade Essex County’s bonds to junk status.
He eliminated unnecessary county contracts, increased revenues, and pursued spending reductions. Essex County’s general obligation bonds now carry an Aa1 rating from Moody’s and an AA+ rating from Fitch, a transformation that took nearly two decades.
His administration has also dramatically reshaped the county’s physical landscape.
DiVincenzo oversaw the restoration of the historic Essex County Courthouse and the redevelopment of the county government complex in Newark, including construction of the Wynona Lipman Family Courthouse, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Building, Veterans Memorial Park, two parking garages, landscaped plazas and monuments honoring the county’s history.
The project also included new jury facilities and the LeRoy Smith Public Safety Building, converting a former jail into a revenue-generating office complex.
His signature project has been transforming Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange from a struggling attraction facing possible closure into a major regional destination drawing visitors from throughout the Northeast.
DiVincenzo has also invested heavily in county parks, recreational facilities, and community centers, including planting more than 5,000 cherry blossom trees in Newark’s Branch Brook Park.
Under his administration, the Essex County Hospital Center, Correctional Facility and Juvenile Detention Facility have generated recurring revenues through shared-services agreements with federal, state and county agencies.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, DiVincenzo personally directed an extensive vaccination and testing operation, establishing large-scale facilities and mobile clinics at schools, community centers, houses of worship, and retail locations.
The county also provided financial assistance to small businesses struggling with payroll and operating expenses, rental and utility assistance to families, and mortgage assistance for homeowners.
DiVincenzo began his political career in 1990, when he was appointed to the Essex County Board of Freeholders after Carmine Casciano resigned. He became the top vote-getter in that year’s at-large election and served eight years as freeholder president.
He defeated Thomas Giblin in a bitterly contested 2002 Democratic primary, 61%-39%, then again in the general election against Republican Candy Straight to win the county executive’s office.
His electoral record has been extraordinary: 76% in 2006, 75% in 2010, 77% in 2014, a record 81% in 2018, and 80.5% in 2022.
His 2018 victory established new records for total votes and winning margin.
DiVincenzo’s latest victory will keep him in office through 2030, extending an already historic tenure that has spanned six governors and transformed Essex County government.