Citing significant improvements to the county’s bond rating, cost-cutting measures, improved county parks and recreational facilities, Joe DiVincenzo will seek an unprecedented seventh term as Essex County Executive this year.
“Over the last 23 years, we have improved the landscape of Essex County, literally and figuratively. I am proud of our record of achievement and would like to continue serving our residents,” stated DiVincenzo. “I put a lot of work into representing our 850,000 residents, and I still bring the same amount of enthusiasm and passion as when I was first elected.
He said rising health care, pension costs, and inflation will make the next four years difficult.
“I know that I am the best person to lead Essex in overcoming these hurdles,” he said.
When DiVincenzo first took office in January 2003, he inherited a $64 million budget deficit, and Moody’s was on the verge of downgrading the county to junk-bond status. It took DiVincenzo two decades to undo the damage. Essex’s general obligation bonds are now rated at Aa1 by Moody’s and AA+ by Fitch.
He touts the elimination of unnecessary county contracts and the increase in county revenues as part of his success story.
DiVincenzo has excelled at improving county parks and building community centers. He’s made the Turtle Back Zoo into a world-class facility that fuels the local economy by attracting tourists from across the northeast. It’s one of the fastest-growing zoos in the region. He’s added over 5,00 new cherry blossom trees at Essex County’s Branch Brook Park in Newark.
DiVincenzo, a former Barringer High School quarterback and college football player, worked as a public school teacher and athletics director, and recreation and parks supervisor before making his first bid for public office as a candidate for Essex County Freeholder in 1990. He was appointed to fill a vacancy in May 1990 after Carmine Casciano resigned to become Superintendent of Elections and Commissioner of Registration.
In his first general election, DiVincenzo was the top vote-getter for one of the four at-large freeholder seats. He was easily re-elected in 1993, 1996, and 1999.
Republicans have not won a countywide race in Essex since 1998, when James W. Treffinger defeated former Newark Mayor Kenneth Gibson in a bid for a second term as county executive.
Following Treffinger’s arrest in 2002, DiVincenzo defeated Thomas P. Giblin in the 2002 Democratic primary by a 61%-39% margin and then flipped the county executive post in the general against Republican Candy Straight. In 2018, he beat his own record with 81% of the vote and a plurality of 152,699 votes.
Since Essex switched to the county executive form of government in 1978, only DiVincenzo has won the post more than twice.
He has won landslide re-election campaigns: 76% in 2006, 75% in 2010, 77% in 2014, 81% in 2018, and 80.5% in 2022
During the COVID-19 pandemic, DiVincenzo led a countywide effort to expand access to vaccinations, testing, and direct assistance for residents impacted by the crisis. The county established large-scale vaccination and testing sites in central locations and deployed mobile clinics to schools, community centers, houses of worship, and retail centers.
He led the restoration of the Historic Courthouse and a complete transformation of the Essex County Government Complex, 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 Essex County’s history. The project was completed with new jury facilities and the LeRoy Smith Public Safety Building, converting a former jail into a revenue-generating office complex.
He also launched targeted relief programs to help small businesses cover payroll, leases, and operating costs; provided rental and utility assistance to families; and established a mortgage assistance program for homeowners.
The County Hospital Center, Correctional Facility, and Juvenile Detention Facility are widely recognized and generate recurring revenue through shared-services agreements with federal, state, and county partners.
All nine seats on the Essex County Board of Commissioners will be on the ballot with the county executive race this year.
DiVincenzo will mount his eleventh countywide race with a close ally in the governor’s office: he is one of Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s top confidantes.
