Raymond Lesniak
Raymond J. Lesniak (b. May 7, 1946) is a former Democratic member of the New Jersey Senate, representing District 20 from 1984 to 2018. He was a 2017 Democratic candidate for governor of New Jersey, but lost in the primary election on June 6, 2017.[1]
Lesniak served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1978 to 1983.[2]
Biography
Lesniak earned his B.A. in economics from Rutgers University and his J.D. from St. John's University School of Law.[3] His professional experience includes working as an attorney at the law firm of Weiner Lesniak and founding the Lesniak Institute for American Leadership. Lesniak served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1969.[4][5]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Lesniak served on the following committees:
| New Jersey committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Economic Growth, Chair |
| • Commerce, Vice-Chair |
| • Judiciary |
2014 legislative session
In the 2014 legislative session, Lesniak served on the following committees:
| New Jersey committee assignments, 2014 |
|---|
| • Economic Growth, Chair |
| • Commerce, Vice-Chair |
| • Judiciary |
2010-2011
In the 2010-2011 legislative session, Lesniak served on the following committees:
| New Jersey committee assignments, 2010 |
|---|
| • Economic Growth, Chair |
| • Commerce, Vice-Chair |
| • Judiciary |
| • Legislative Oversight |
Campaign themes
2017
Lesniak's website described his candidacy by citing a Rutgers Magazine article about his career:
| “ |
Lesniak describes himself as an early supporter of gay rights, if not an advocate for them. Again, circumstances altered his stance when a state Supreme Court decision in 2006, Lewis vs. Harris, backed civil unions—but not marriage—for gay couples. So Lesniak deepened his support to become a prime sponsor of the Marriage Equality Act, which became law in 2013 following the Assembly and the Senate’s passage of the bill in 2012. “If it’s not a marriage, it’s not equal. People don’t recognize civil unions,” Lesniak says. “It’s a lot bigger than two gay people being able to get married. It’s about acceptance of two human beings.” Despite a reputation for embracing a progressive agenda, Lesniak will champion causes favored by the business community when, in his view, it largely benefits New Jersey. As chair of the Senate Economic Development Committee, Lesniak sided with Governor Christie in supporting tax incentives for industries that do business in the Garden State. As usual, he is blunt in his explanation. “We are a state that’s difficult to do business in,” he says. “Our real estate is scarce, so it’s expensive. We are a union state—God bless us; I love the unions—but that means higher wages. We have a Byzantine governmental structure that has 565 municipalities, and you have to go through that process. All those things combined made me realize we have to provide tax incentives for business to create and keep jobs here.” After nearly four decades as a politician, Lesniak has retained his fervor for public service. The Senate is more combative than in the past, he says, and there is less camaraderie. But the legislature, comprising the Senate and Assembly, still gets things accomplished. That optimism, however, does not extend to the federal government. “That has sunk to new depths,” he says. The problem, roughly and broadly stated with his usual brio, is that politicians will do whatever it takes to win. Lesniak says he should know. He used to conduct himself the same way. At the beginning of his career, he would do whatever it took to win elections. “Thankfully, I have evolved. Now, I do whatever it takes to better serve the public.”[6] |
” |
| —Wendy Plump[7] | ||
2013
Lesniak's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[4]
| “ |
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” |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2017
New Jersey held an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 7, 2017. Governor Chris Christie (R) was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election. New Jersey elects its governor and lieutenant governor together on a joint ticket.
The general election took place on November 7, 2017. The primary election was held on June 6, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in the primary election was April 3, 2017.
The following candidates ran in the election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey.[8]
| New Jersey Gubernatorial and Lieutenant Gubernatorial Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Phil Murphy/Sheila Oliver |
56.03% | 1,203,110 | |
| Republican | Kim Guadagno/Carlos Rendo | 41.89% | 899,583 | |
| Independent | Gina Genovese/Derel Stroud | 0.57% | 12,294 | |
| Libertarian | Peter Rohrman/Karese Laguerre | 0.49% | 10,531 | |
| Green | Seth Kaper-Dale/Lisa Durden | 0.47% | 10,053 | |
| Constitution | Matt Riccardi | 0.32% | 6,864 | |
| Independent | Vincent Ross/April Johnson | 0.23% | 4,980 | |
| Total Votes (6385/6385 precincts reporting) | 2,147,415 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Division of Elections | ||||
Kim Guadagno defeated Jack Ciattarelli, Hirsh Singh, Joseph Rudy Rullo, and Steve Rogers in the Republican primary.[9]
| New Jersey Republican Gubernatorial Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Kim Guadagno |
46.82% | 113,846 |
| Jack Ciattarelli | 31.08% | 75,556 |
| Hirsh Singh | 9.76% | 23,728 |
| Joseph Rudy Rullo | 6.51% | 15,816 |
| Steve Rogers | 5.84% | 14,187 |
| Total Votes | 243,133 | |
| Source: New Jersey Division of Elections | ||
Phil Murphy defeated Jim Johnson, John Wisniewski, Ray Lesniak, Bill Brennan, and Mark Zinna in the Democratic primary.[9]
| New Jersey Democratic Gubernatorial Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Phil Murphy |
48.42% | 243,643 |
| Jim Johnson | 21.91% | 110,250 |
| John Wisniewski | 21.57% | 108,532 |
| Ray Lesniak | 4.83% | 24,318 |
| Bill Brennan | 2.24% | 11,263 |
| Mark Zinna | 1.04% | 5,213 |
| Total Votes | 503,219 | |
| Source: New Jersey Division of Elections | ||
2013
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2013
Lesniak won re-election in the 2013 election for New Jersey State Senate District 20. Lesniak defeated Donna Obe in the June 4 Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 5, 2013.[10][11][12][13]
| New Jersey State Senate, District 20 General Election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Raymond Lesniak Incumbent |
100% | 21,251 | |
| Total Votes | 21,251 | |||
| New Jersey State Senate District 20 Democratic Primary, 2013 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|
Raymond Lesniak Incumbent |
65.9% | 9,318 |
| Donna Obe | 34.1% | 4,819 |
| Total Votes | 14,137 | |
2011
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011
Lesniak won re-election to the District 20 State Senate seat in 2011. He defeated Democratic candidate Jerome Dunn in the June 7 Democratic primary election. Lesniak defeated Republican candidate Helen Rosales in the general election, which took place on November 8, 2011.[14]
| New Jersey State Senate District 20 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Raymond Lesniak Incumbent |
75.5% | 12,510 | |
| Republican | Helen Rosales | 24.5% | 4,052 | |
| Total Votes | 16,562 | |||
| New Jersey State Senate District 20 Democratic Primary, 2011 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Raymond Lesniak Incumbent |
52.6% | 8,124 |
| Jerome Dunn | 47.4% | 7,335 |
| Total Votes | 15,459 | |
2007
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2007
In 2007, Lesniak was re-elected to the New Jersey State Senate District 20. Lesniak (D) finished with 9,760 votes and was followed by Linda Gaglione (R) with 4,478 votes and Stanley Moskal (I) with 2,387 votes. Lesniak raised $238,147 for his campaign fund.[15]
| New Jersey Senate 2007 General Election, District 20 (2007) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Raymond Lesniak (D)
|
9,760 | |||
| Linda Gaglione (R) | 4,478 | |||
| Stanley Moskal (I) | 2,387 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of New Jersey scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2017
In 2017, the 217th New Jersey State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 10 through January 9, 2018.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to civil liberties.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the 217th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 12 through January 10, 2017.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 216th New Jersey State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 13 through December 31.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 216th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 14 through January 12, 2015.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 215th New Jersey State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 10 to January 13, 2014.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the 215th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 10 to January 9, 2013.
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Endorsements
2013
In 2013, Lesniak’s endorsements included the following:[16]
- New Jersey State AFL-CIO
2011
Lesniak was endorsed by:
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Lesniak currently resides in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He served on the New Jersey Democratic State Committee from 1992 to 1994. He also served as the New Jersey chair of the Clinton-Gore and Gore-Lieberman presidential campaigns.[4]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Raymond + Lesniak + New Jersey + Senate"
See also
- New Jersey State Senate
- Senate Committees
- New Jersey State Legislature
- Joint Committees
- New Jersey state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Raymond Lesniak on Facebook
- Raymond Lesniak on Twitter
- New Jersey Legislature
- Campaign contributions via Follow the Money
Footnotes
- ↑ Max Pizarro, Politicker NJ, "Lesniak: Governor or Bust in 2017," July 30, 2015
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ New Jersey State Legislature, "Biography of Raymond Lesniak," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Official website, "Raymond J. Lesniak New Jersey State Senator," accessed September 4, 2013
- ↑ Lesniak Institute for American Leadership, "About," accessed January 22, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Raymond J. Lesniak for Governor, "Meet Ray Lesniak," accessed May 24, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official List - Candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official Primary Results 2017 - Governor," June 28, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official Primary Election Results," accessed July 26, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official general election candidates," September 9, 2013
- ↑ Associated Press, "New Jersey - Summary Vote Results," November 6, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2013 Official General Election results," accessed December 5, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2011 Official State Senate Primary Candidate List," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "New Jersey State Senate 2007 general election results," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ PolitickerNJ.com, "AFL-CIO endorses candidates for elections," accessed September 3, 2013
- ↑ Politicker NJ, "2011 AFL-CIO endorsed candidates," accessed August 5, 2011
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
New Jersey State Senate District 20 1983-2018 |
Succeeded by NA |
