Paul D. Moriarty

Paul Moriarty
Paul Moriarty
Member of the New Jersey Senate; from the 4th district
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; January 9, 2024
Preceded by	Fred H. Madden
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly; from the 4th district
	In office; January 10, 2006 – January 9, 2024 Serving with Gabriela Mosquera
Preceded by	Robert J. Smith II
Succeeded by	Dan Hutchison; Cody Miller
Deputy Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly
	In office; January 9, 2018 – January 9, 2024
Leader	Craig Coughlin
Preceded by	John Wisniewski
Succeeded by	TBD
Chairman of the New Jersey General Assembly Committee on Consumer Affairs
	In office; January 12, 2010 – January 9, 2024
Mayor of Washington Township, New Jersey
	In office; January 1, 2005 – December 31, 2008
Preceded by	Randee Davidson
Succeeded by	Matthew Lyons
Personal details
Born	September 25, 1956 (age 68)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Lisa Moriarty
Children	1
Website	Legislative Website

Paul D. Moriarty (born September 25, 1956) is an American Democratic Party politician who has represented the 4th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate since taking office on January 9, 2024. He served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2006 to 2024 and was the Assembly's Deputy Speaker from 2018 to 2024.

Early life

Moriarty worked as an investigative journalist at KYW-TV for 17 years protecting consumer rights and investigating unscrupulous or unethical businesses. Before KYW, Moriarty was a news producer at WCAU-TV.^[4] Moriarty has earned over 30 Emmy Awards, honors from the National Press Association, the Associated Press and the Radio-Television News Directors Association. He was a member of American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) for 20 years while working as a journalist.^[4] He served six years as a shop steward.^{[citation needed]}

Mayor of Washington Township

Running on a platform of open government, property tax relief, and the elimination of waste and inefficiency, Moriarty was elected Mayor of Washington Township in November 2004. He garnered 60% of the vote in a hotly contested four-way race in which Republican voters were sharply divided.^[5] He was mayor of Washington Township for one term from 2005 until 2008. After forming a recall committee, on June 9, 2006, a Washington Township resident filed a petition to recall Moriarty from his post as mayor, with the goal of placing the initiative on the November 2006 general election ballot based on obtaining the requisite number of about 8,000 signatures needed for recall.^[6] The recall effort was ultimately unsuccessful.^[7]

New Jersey Assembly

Moriarty was elected to the Assembly on November 8, 2005, filling the seat of fellow Democrat Robert J. Smith II, who did not run for re-election and had held the seat in the Assembly since 2000. On June 1, 2006, Assemblyman Moriarty, along with State Senator Stephen M. Sweeney (D, 3rd legislative district) and fellow Assembly Democrat Jerry Green (D, 22nd legislative district), held a press conference to announce their support for significant cuts to New Jersey state worker salaries and benefits of up to 15%. This effort was proposed to avoid a one-point increase in the state's sales tax designed to cover a multibillion-dollar gap in the state's budget. Significant negative reaction from the state's labor unions resulted primarily because of Sweeney's position as an Ironworkers business agent and treasurer from Gloucester County for Ironworker's Local 399, and also due to his position as the chairman of the Senate Labor committee which controls most labor-related bills, but also because of Moriarty's history as an AFTRA shop steward and stated support of the collective bargaining process.^[8]

New Jersey Senate

With Fred H. Madden not running for re-election, Moriarty ran to fill his seat and defeated Republican Christopher W. Del Borrello and independent Giuseppe Costanzo in the 2023 New Jersey Senate election.^[9]^[10]

Committees

Committee assignments for the current session are:^[1]

Law and Public Safety as vice-chair
Higher Education
Labor

District 4

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.^[11] The representatives from the 4th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:^[12]

Senator Paul D. Moriarty (D)
Assemblyman Dan Hutchison (D)
Assemblywoman Cody Miller (D)

Personal life

Moriarty was raised in Salem, Massachusetts and received a B.A. from Temple University in Communications.^[4]^[1] He has been a resident of Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey since 1996. He and his wife Lisa have a daughter, Meghan.^{[citation needed]} Moriarty, who had sponsored a bill for increasing penalties for those making false emergency calls in a process called swatting, was the recipient of a hoax call at his home in April 2015.^[13]

On July 31, 2012, Moriarty was pulled over by Washington Township police officer Joseph DiBuonaventura on Route 42 for allegedly driving while intoxicated.^[14] Moriarty denied the charges. The police dashcam in DiBuonaventura's car contradicted his police report and charges against Moriarty were dismissed.^[14] DiBuonaventura was found not guilty on charges of misconduct and further charges against him were dropped when a judge ruled that the Township's police procedures were unlawful.^[15] As a result of the incident, Moriarty has created legislation that would require dashcams in all new police cars.^[16]

Electoral history

Senate

4th Legislative District General Election, 2023^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul D. Moriarty	30,728	53.5
	Republican	Christopher W. Del Borrello	25,010	43.5
	Conservatives South Jersey	Giuseppe Costanzo	1,712	3.0
Total votes			57,450	100.0
	Democratic hold

Assembly

4th Legislative District General Election, 2021^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul D. Moriarty (incumbent)	36,480	26.49%
	Democratic	Gabriela M. Mosquera (incumbent)	35,561	25.83%
	Republican	Patricia Kline	32,403	23.53%
	Republican	Denise Gonzalez	32,025	23.26%
	Libertarian	Nicholas Magner	1,218	0.88%
Total votes			137,687	100.0
	Democratic hold

4th Legislative District General Election, 2019^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul Moriarty (incumbent)	22,347	29.87%
	Democratic	Gabriela Mosquera (incumbent)	21,920	29.3%
	Republican	Paul Dilks	15,748	21.05%
	Republican	Stephen Pakradooni, Jr.	14,806	19.79%
Total votes			74,821	100%
	Democratic hold

New Jersey general election, 2017^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Paul D. Moriarty	32,892	32.2	1.8
	Democratic	Gabriela M. Mosquera	31,800	31.2	1.3
	Republican	Patricia Jefferson Kline	18,386	18.0	2.2
	Republican	Eduardo J. Maldonado	17,761	17.4	2.0
	Represent, Not Rule	William McCauley Jr.	1,194	1.2	N/A
Total votes			'*102,033'*	'*100.0'*

New Jersey general election, 2015^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Paul D. Moriarty	17,454	30.4	1.4
	Democratic	Gabriela M. Mosquera	17,147	29.9	2.3
	Republican	Kevin P. Murphy	11,592	20.2	1.9
	Republican	Jack Nicholson	11,131	19.4	2.0
Total votes			'*57,324'*	'*100.0'*

New Jersey general election, 2013 ^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Paul D. Moriarty	28,527	29.0	1.0
	Democratic	Gabriela M. Mosquera	27,095	27.6	0.7
	Republican	Philip Dieser	21,702	22.1	2.2
	Republican	Theodore M. Liddell	20,998	21.4	2.0
Total votes			'*98,322'*	'*100.0'*

New Jersey general election, 2011^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Paul D. Moriarty	22,734	30.0
	Democratic	Gabriela Mosquera	21,461	28.3
	Republican	Shelley Lovett	15,106	19.9
	Republican	Patricia Fratticcioli	14,725	19.4
	Family, Freedom, Community	Tony Celeste	1,843	2.4
Total votes			75,869	100.0

New Jersey general election, 2009^[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Paul D. Moriarty	28,680	26.3	1.5
	Republican	Domenick DiCicco	27,408	25.2	2.7
	Democratic	William Collins	26,807	24.6	3.3
	Republican	Eugene E. T. Lawrence	26,027	23.9	2.0
Total votes			'*108,922'*	'*100.0'*

New Jersey general election, 2007^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Sandra Love	19,429	27.9	3.9
	Democratic	Paul D. Moriarty	19,357	27.8	4.0
	Republican	Patricia Fratticcioli	15,656	22.5	3.7
	Republican	Agnes Gardiner	15,238	21.9	4.4
Total votes			'*69,680'*	'*100.0'*

New Jersey general election, 2005^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Paul D. Moriarty	31,976	31.8	4.5
	Democratic	David R. Mayer	31,948	31.8	4.8
	Republican	Frank Winters	18,908	18.8	4.1
	Republican	Corey Ahart	17,597	17.5	5.4
Total votes			'*100,429'*	'*100.0'*

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Senator Paul D. Moriarty (D), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 21, 2024.
^ "GENERAL ASSEMBLY". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
^ "Assemblyman Paul D. Moriarty (D)". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on January 13, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c "CBS 3: Paul Moriarty". KYW-TV. March 7, 2002. Archived from the original on October 8, 2003. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
^ Staff. "Democrat Moriarty Elected Mayor in Washington Twp., Party also controls council with help of GOP defections", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 3, 2004. Accessed September 6, 2011. "Capitalizing on a split in the local Republican Party, political newcomer Paul Moriarty and his running mates scored a dramatic Democratic sweep yesterday in a hotly contested and sometimes vitriolic election in Washington Township."
^ Nguyen, Anna. "Wash. Twp. mayor recall bid starts", Courier-Post, July 8, 2006. Accessed September 6, 2011.
^ Nguyen, Anna. "Wash. Twp. mayor: I'm walking the walk", Courier-Post, December 9, 2006. Accessed September 6, 2011. "'If he can sit in his office, he can sit with the council to answer questions from residents', said Mordente, who launched an unsuccessful bid to recall Moriarty that ended in November."
^ Volpe, Gregory J. "Lawmakers urge cuts for state workers", Asbury Park Press, June 2, 2006. Accessed August 8, 2007. "Sen. Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and Assemblymen Jerry Green, D-Union, and Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester, unleashed a series of proposals Thursday to curb spending on state workers, which sparked immediate outcry from labor groups."
^ Connolly, John. "NJ election results 2023: State Senate, Assembly seats decided", The Record, November 9, 2023. Accessed December 23, 2023.
^ Official List Candidates for State Senate for General Election November 7, 2023, New Jersey Department of State, December 6, 2023. Accessed December 23, 2023.
^ New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 21, 2024.
^ Legislative Roster for District 4, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 21, 2024.
^ Friedman, Matt (April 14, 2015). "N.J. lawmaker who wants to combat dangerous 'swatting' prank gets swatted". NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Green, Joe (November 19, 2013). "In Moriarty stop, Washington Township officer had 'personal motivation,' prosecutor says". South Jersey Times. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
^ Caffrey, Michelle (August 7, 2015). "N.J. officer, acquitted of misconduct for assemblyman arrest, scores civil court victory". NJ.com. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
^ Caffrey, Michelle (September 10, 2014). "Assemblyman Paul Moriarty's police camera bill, inspired by DWI false arrest, signed into law". South Jersey Times. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
^ "Official List, Candidates for State Senate for GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
^ "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.
^ "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For PRIMARY ELECTION 06/04/2019 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
^ "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.
^ "2015-official-ge-results-nj-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 30, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
^ "2013-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
^ "2011-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-results-121411.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 14, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
^ "2009-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-tallies-120109.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
^ "2007-official-general-election-tallies(ga)-12.12.07.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
^ "05831236.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 11, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2019.

External links

Senator Moriarty's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms
- 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005
Assembly Member Paul D. Moriarty, Project Vote Smart
Initiatives to Curb Excessive State Employee Compensation
Madden, Moriarty, Mosquera Official Website

Political offices
Preceded by Randee Davidson	Mayor of Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey January 1, 2005–December 31, 2008	Succeeded by Matthew Lyons
New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by Robert J. Smith II	Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 4th district January 10, 2006–January 9, 2024 Served alongside: David R. Mayer, Sandra Love, Domenick DiCicco, Gabriela Mosquera	Succeeded by S. Daniel "Dan" Hutchison Cody Miller
New Jersey Senate
Preceded by Fred H. Madden	Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 4th district Taking office January 9, 2024	Elect

[NJLEG-1] Senator Paul D. Moriarty (D), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 21, 2024.

[2] "GENERAL ASSEMBLY". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2019.

[3] "Assemblyman Paul D. Moriarty (D)". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on January 13, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2019.

[KYWBio-4] "CBS 3: Paul Moriarty". KYW-TV. March 7, 2002. Archived from the original on October 8, 2003. Retrieved August 30, 2015.

[5] Staff. "Democrat Moriarty Elected Mayor in Washington Twp., Party also controls council with help of GOP defections", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 3, 2004. Accessed September 6, 2011. "Capitalizing on a split in the local Republican Party, political newcomer Paul Moriarty and his running mates scored a dramatic Democratic sweep yesterday in a hotly contested and sometimes vitriolic election in Washington Township."

[6] Nguyen, Anna. "Wash. Twp. mayor recall bid starts", Courier-Post, July 8, 2006. Accessed September 6, 2011.

[7] Nguyen, Anna. "Wash. Twp. mayor: I'm walking the walk", Courier-Post, December 9, 2006. Accessed September 6, 2011. "'If he can sit in his office, he can sit with the council to answer questions from residents', said Mordente, who launched an unsuccessful bid to recall Moriarty that ended in November."

[8] Volpe, Gregory J. "Lawmakers urge cuts for state workers", Asbury Park Press, June 2, 2006. Accessed August 8, 2007. "Sen. Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and Assemblymen Jerry Green, D-Union, and Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester, unleashed a series of proposals Thursday to curb spending on state workers, which sparked immediate outcry from labor groups."

[9] Connolly, John. "NJ election results 2023: State Senate, Assembly seats decided", The Record, November 9, 2023. Accessed December 23, 2023.

[10] Official List Candidates for State Senate for General Election November 7, 2023, New Jersey Department of State, December 6, 2023. Accessed December 23, 2023.

[11] New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 21, 2024.

[12] Legislative Roster for District 4, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 21, 2024.

[Swatting-13] Friedman, Matt (April 14, 2015). "N.J. lawmaker who wants to combat dangerous 'swatting' prank gets swatted". NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. Retrieved August 30, 2015.

[DWIStop-14] Green, Joe (November 19, 2013). "In Moriarty stop, Washington Township officer had 'personal motivation,' prosecutor says". South Jersey Times. Retrieved August 30, 2015.

[2015Police-15] Caffrey, Michelle (August 7, 2015). "N.J. officer, acquitted of misconduct for assemblyman arrest, scores civil court victory". NJ.com. Retrieved August 30, 2015.

[DashcamBill-16] Caffrey, Michelle (September 10, 2014). "Assemblyman Paul Moriarty's police camera bill, inspired by DWI false arrest, signed into law". South Jersey Times. Retrieved August 30, 2015.

[generalres-17] "Official List, Candidates for State Senate for GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.

[GeneralResults-18] "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.

[GeneralCandidates-19] "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For PRIMARY ELECTION 06/04/2019 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.

[20] "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.

[21] "2015-official-ge-results-nj-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 30, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2019.

[22] "2013-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2019.

[23] "2011-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-results-121411.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 14, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2019.

[24] "2009-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-tallies-120109.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2019.

[25] "2007-official-general-election-tallies(ga)-12.12.07.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2019.

[26] "05831236.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 11, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2019.

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v t e Members of the New Jersey Senate
221st New Jersey Legislature (2024–2025) President of the Senate Nicholas Scutari (D) President pro tempore Shirley Turner (D) Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz (D) Minority Leader Anthony M. Bucco (R)
▌Mike Testa (R) ▌Vincent J. Polistina (R) ▌John Burzichelli (D) ▌Paul D. Moriarty (D) ▌Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D) ▌James Beach (D) ▌Troy Singleton (D) ▌Latham Tiver (R) ▌Carmen Amato (R) ▌James W. Holzapfel (R) ▌Vin Gopal (D) ▌Owen Henry (R) ▌Declan O'Scanlon (R) ▌Linda R. Greenstein (D) ▌Shirley Turner (D) ▌Andrew Zwicker (D) ▌Bob Smith (D) ▌Patrick J. Diegnan (D) ▌Joe F. Vitale (D) ▌Joseph Cryan (D) ▌Jon Bramnick (R) ▌Nicholas Scutari (D) ▌Doug Steinhardt (R) ▌Parker Space (R) ▌Anthony M. Bucco (R) ▌Joseph Pennacchio (R) ▌John F. McKeon (D) ▌Renee Burgess (D) ▌Teresa Ruiz (D) ▌Robert Singer (R) ▌Angela V. McKnight (D) ▌Raj Mukherji (D) ▌Brian P. Stack (D) ▌Britnee Timberlake (D) ▌Nellie Pou (D) ▌Paul Sarlo (D) ▌Gordon M. Johnson (D) ▌Joseph Lagana (D) ▌Holly Schepisi (R) ▌Kristin Corrado (R)
▌Democratic (25) ▌Republican (15) New Jersey Legislature General Assembly Senate List of past terms