Joseph Lagana

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Joe Lagana
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 38th district
Assumed office
April 12, 2018
Preceded byRobert M. Gordon
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 38th district
In office
January 14, 2014 – April 12, 2018
Serving with Tim Eustace
Preceded byPaul Contillo
Succeeded by
Personal details
Born (1978-12-15) December 15, 1978 (age 45)
SpouseJamie Lagana
Education
WebsiteLegislative webpage

Joseph A. Lagana (born December 15, 1978) is an American attorney and Democratic Party politician who has represented the 38th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate since 2018. He served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2014 to 2018.

Personal[edit]

Lagana was raised in Ridgefield and graduated from Ridgefield Memorial High School.[1] He attended Fordham University, where he received a B.A. in history in 2000 and later attended the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School where he received his J.D. in 2004.[2][3] He has served as a clerk to Superior Court Judge John A. Conte before joining Chasan Leyner & Lamparello, a law firm in Secaucus as a partner.[3] He served on the Ridgefield planning board.[4]

He is married to Jamie Lagana and has three daughters.[4]

Paramus borough council[edit]

In April 2009, he moved to Paramus, New Jersey.[4] Lagana and his Democratic running mate defeated two incumbent Republican councilmembers in the Paramus borough council elections of 2011.[5][6] After Democrats gained a majority of the six-person borough council after the 2012 elections, Lagana was named council president in January 2013.[7]

New Jersey General Assembly[edit]

Lagana declared his candidacy for the 38th district in the November 2013 elections, to succeed Connie Wagner, who was not running for reelection. When Wagner resigned in September, Lagana indicated that he was not interested in filling the remainder of her term; 38th District Democrats chose former assemblyman and state senator Paul Contillo to fill the remainder of her term.[8] Lagana won the election and was sworn in on January 14, 2014, at the start of the 2014 session.[9]

Lagana served as the Assembly's deputy parliamentarian from 2016 to 2017.[10]

New Jersey Senate[edit]

After Robert M. Gordon resigned on April 4, 2018, to become a commissioner of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Lagana was appointed to the Senate on April 12, 2018, to fill the vacancy.[11] He won a November 6, 2018, special election to complete Gordon's unexpired term, defeating Republican Daisy Ortiz Berger.[12]

Committees[edit]

Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[10]

  • Labor (as chair)
  • Judiciary

District 38[edit]

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.[13] The representatives from the 38th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[14]

Electoral history[edit]

Senate[edit]

38th Legislative District General Election, 2023[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph A. Lagana (incumbent) 28,447 57.1
Republican Micheline B. Attieh 21,361 42.9
Total votes 49,808 100.0
Democratic hold
38th Legislative District general election, 2021[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph A. Lagana (incumbent) 34,895 52.90
Republican Richard Garcia 31,069 47.10
Total votes 65,964 100.0
Democratic hold
38th Legislative District special election, 2018[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph A. Lagana (incumbent) 48,451 60.1
Republican Daisy Ortiz Berger 32,140 39.9
Total votes 80,591 100.0
Democratic hold

General Assembly[edit]

38th Legislative District general election[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joseph A. Lagana (incumbent) 30,800 29.3 Increase 0.2
Democratic Tim Eustace (incumbent) 30,727 29.2 Increase 0.1
Republican William Leonard 21,541 20.5 Decrease 1.4
Republican Christopher B. Wolf 21,525 20.5 Increase 0.6
Independent- NJ Awakens Dev Goswami 533 0.5 N/A
Total votes 105,126 100.0
Democratic hold
38th Legislative District general election[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tim Eustace (incumbent) 19,563 29.1
Democratic Joseph Lagana (incumbent) 19,511 29.0
Republican Mark DiPisa 14,721 21.9
Republican Anthony Cappola 13,339 19.8
Write-ins Personal choice 95 0.1
Total votes 67,229 100.0
Democratic hold
38th Legislative District general election[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joseph Lagana 26,279 25.2
Democratic Tim Eustace (incumbent) 26,021 25.0
Republican Joseph Scarpa 25,965 24.9
Republican Joan Fragala 25,836 24.8
Total votes 104,101 100.0
Democratic hold

References[edit]

  1. ^ New Jersey State Sen. Joe Lagana, LegiStorm. Accessed January 28, 2022. "Education... Ridgefield (N.J.) Memorial High School - Diploma"
  2. ^ "Assemblyman Joseph A. Lagana Bio Page". NJ Assembly Majority Office. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Joseph A. Lagana". Chasan Leyner & Lamparello, PC. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Wassel, Bryan (November 7, 2011). "Incumbents face challenge for council seats in Paramus". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  5. ^ Ma, Myles (November 9, 2011). "Update: Bellinger, Lagana Give Democrats Council Foothold". Patch Media. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  6. ^ "In the Spotlight: Councilman Joseph Lagana -Amanda Antonucci- Garden State Journal". gardenstatejournal.com. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  7. ^ Ensslin, John C. (January 6, 2013). "Paramus seats new council, celebrating progress and preservation". The Record. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  8. ^ Ensslin, John C. (September 30, 2013). "North Jersey Assemblywoman Connie Wagner resigns office". The Record. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  9. ^ "Lagana Sworn in as Newest Member of General Assembly Former Paramus Councilman Will Now Represent 38th Legislative District". States News Service. January 14, 2014. Archived from the original on February 23, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Senator Joseph Lagana, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 30, 2024.
  11. ^ Aron, Michael. "Asm. Joe Lagana chosen to replace outgoing Sen. Bob Gordon", NJ Spotlight News, April 4, 2018. Accessed January 30, 2024. "Democratic state Sen. Bob Gordon is being nominated by the governor for a seat on the Board of Public utilities, or BPU, a full-time job.... Stellato chose Lagana, a 39-year-old lawyer, who has been in the Legislature since 2014."
  12. ^ November 6, 2018 General Election Results 38th Legislative District, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed January 30, 2024.
  13. ^ New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
  14. ^ Legislative Roster for District 38, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 30, 2024.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 06/08/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  17. ^ "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/06/2018 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 3, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  18. ^ "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2017 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 29, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  19. ^ "Official List Page Candidates for General Assembly For General Election 11/03/2015 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  20. ^ "2013 General Assembly Election Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 1, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2023.

External links[edit]

New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 38th district
2014–2018
Served alongside: Tim Eustace 		Succeeded by
New Jersey Senate
Preceded by Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 38th district
2018–present 		Incumbent
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