John J. Matheussen
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 4th district
In office
January 14, 1992 – May 28, 2003
Preceded byDaniel Dalton
Succeeded byGeorge Geist
Personal details
Born (1953-01-30) January 30, 1953
Jersey City, New Jersey
Political partyRepublican
Alma materSeton Hall University (BA)
University of Dayton (JD)

John J. Matheussen (born January 30, 1953) is an American Republican Party politician. He served in the New Jersey Senate from 1992 to 2003, where he represented the 4th Legislative District.

Early life and education

Born in Jersey City,[1] Matheussen grew up in Secaucus, New Jersey and graduated from Weehawken High School.[2] He earned his undergraduate degree, a B.A. in Communications, from Seton Hall University and was awarded a J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law.[3]

Political career

In the 1991 Republican landslide in the New Jersey Legislature, Matheussen won an open Senate seat over Assemblyman Anthony S. Marsella, while his running mates George Geist and Mary Virginia Weber won in the Assembly.[4] In the 1991 race, Matheusen took the seat vacated by three-term incumbent Daniel J. Dalton with 51.7% of the vote, with Marsella polling 48.3%. Matheusen won re-election in 1991 over Bernard Lynch by a 58.9%-41.1% margin, over Sean F. Dalton in a three-way race in 1997 by a 50.7%-46.1% margin and again in 2001 by a 58.3%-41.8% margin over Joseph Manganello.[5]

Matheusen introduced legislation in the Senate in March 1999 to implement the $1 billion property tax rebate proposed by Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman which would start at $120 per family at its initiation and was planned to grow to $600 per household in its fifth year.[6][7] He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in 2002, with businessman Doug Forrester winning the party's nomination.[8] Forrester won the primary with 44.6% of the vote and State Senator Diane Allen came in second with 36.9%, ahead of Matheussen who garnered 18.6% of the vote.[9] Matheussen was nominated by Governor of New Jersey Jim McGreevey in February 2003 to head the Delaware River Port Authority.[10] After Matheussen resigned from the Senate in May 2003 to take the post at the DRPA, his Senate seat was filled by Assemblyman George Geist.[11]

An attorney with the firm of Dilworth Paxson LLP, Matheussen has been a resident of the Sewell section of Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey.[9][12] In 2014, he was nominated by Governor Chris Christie and confirmed as a judge on New Jersey Superior Court.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "DRPA CFO John T. Hanson Named Acting CEO; Hanson to Replace Outgoing CEO John J. Matheussen for 30 Days", Delaware River Port Authority, January 15, 2014. Accessed September 22, 2015. "A native of Jersey City, Matheussen was appointed CEO on April 1, 2003."
  2. ↑ Tedeschi, Bruno. "Drive, not cash, fuels Matheussen's Senate bid", The Record, May 31, 2002. Accessed December 21, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "'I don't come from a conservative Republican district,' said Matheussen, who was born in Jersey City, raised in Secaucus, and graduated from Weehawken High School."
  3. ↑ "John J. Matheussen". Archived from the original on February 25, 1998. Retrieved 2017-04-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed May 26, 2010.
  4. ↑ Edge, Wally "No Love in 4th, the state's #1 swing seat for a dozen years" Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine, PolitickerNJ.com, February 26, 2009. Accessed May 26, 2010.
  5. ↑ NJ Senate District 04 - History, OurCampaigns.com. Accessed May 26, 2010.
  6. ↑ Staff. "Metro News Briefs: New Jersey; Bill Is Introduced To Give Tax Rebates", The New York Times, March 16, 1999. Accessed May 26, 2010.
  7. ↑ Staff. "Metro News Briefs: New Jersey; Budget Committees Pass Property-Tax Relief Plan", The New York Times, March 19, 1999. Accessed May 26, 2010.
  8. ↑ Mercurio, John. "GOP, Democrats tout primary victories" Archived 2008-01-15 at the Wayback Machine, CNN, June 5, 2002. Accessed May 267, 2010. "In New Jersey, Doug Forrester, a wealthy businessman, spent $3.1 million of his own money to defeat fellow Republicans Diane Allen and John Matheussen -- both state senators -- in the race to challenge Democratic Sen. Bob Torricelli, who faced charges of ethical violations during his first six-year term."
  9. 1 2 NJ US Senate - R Primary 2002, OurCampaigns.com, last updated January 16, 2007. Accessed May 26, 2010.
  10. ↑ Mansnerus, Laura. "Senator Named to Delaware River Authority", The New York Times, February 27, 2003. Accessed May 26, 2010.
  11. ↑ Grabell, Michael J. "Briefings: Legislature; Senate Race Shapes Up", The New York Times, April 6, 2003. Accessed May 26, 2010.
  12. ↑ "DRPA CFO John T. Hanson Named Acting CEO; Hanson to Replace Outgoing CEO John J. Matheussen for 30 Days", Delaware River Port Authority, January 15, 2014. Accessed October 20, 2022. "Matheussen, 60, a resident of Washington Township, is leaving on Friday at 5 p.m. to accept a judgeship on New Jersey Superior Court."
  13. ↑ Powell, Michael. "In New Jersey, Leader of an Agency Under Investigation Is Given a Judge’s Robe", The New York Times, January 20, 2014. Accessed September 29, 2022. "Gov. Chris Christie recently paused in his war over traffic cones, gargantuan traffic jams and accusations of political retribution to nominate a few men as judges on the state’s Superior Court. His nomination of John J. Matheussen, a fellow Republican, caught my eye."
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