Michael Venezia (New Jersey politician)

Michael Venezia
Michael Venezia
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly; from the 34th district
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; January 9, 2024 Serving with Carmen Morales
Preceded by	Thomas P. Giblin; Britnee Timberlake;
Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Education	Monmouth University; Fairleigh Dickinson University;
Website	Legislative webpage

Michael Venezia is an American Democratic Party politician serving as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly for the 34th legislative district, having taken office on January 9, 2024.

Biography

A resident of Bloomfield, New Jersey, Venezia earned his undergraduate degree at Monmouth University and a graduate degree at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He has been employed by the Essex County Schools of Technology as its director of Human Resources.^[1]

Elected office

Venezia served on the Bloomfield council and has served as mayor of Bloomfield since 2014, when he was elected as the township's youngest mayor.^[2]^[3] He stepped down from office as mayor on January 8, 2024 and was replaced by interim mayor Ted Gamble, one of three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee.^[4] Council members voted in Gamble over Councilwoman Jenny Mundell by a 4-2 vote; he will serve on an interim basis until the November 2024 general election, when a candidate will be chosen to serve the balance of Venezia's term of office.^[5]

In the wake of the 2021 apportionment, the reconfiguration of municipalities in the district and the incumbent Assembly members in those districts choosing to retire or run for other elective office, the Essex County Democratic Organization chose newcomers Carmen Morales and Venezia to run for the two Assembly seats.^[6] Morales and Venezia defeated Republicans Clenard H. Childress Jr. and James McGuire in the 2023 New Jersey General Assembly election.^[7]^[8] Venezia was one of 27 members elected for the first time in 2023 to serve in the General Assembly, more than one-third of the seats.^[9]

Committees

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

Budget
Judiciary

District 34

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 34th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:^[12]

Senator Britnee Timberlake (D)
Assemblyman Carmen Morales (D)
Assemblyman Michael Venezia (D)

Electoral history

34th Legislative District General Election, 2023^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Venezia	18,400	38.8
	Democratic	Carmen Morales	18,173	38.3
	Republican	James McGuire	5,597	11.8
	Republican	Clenard H. Childress Jr.	5,241	11.1
Total votes			47,411	100.0
	Democratic hold
	Democratic hold

References

^ Connolly, John. 'Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia enters race for State Assembly District 34 seat", The Record, March 10, 2023. Accessed January 11, 2024. "Venezia, who works as Director of Human Resources at Essex County Schools of Technology, graduated from Monmouth University in 2005 and earned a masters from Fairleigh Dickinson in 2017, according to his LinkedIn."
^ Election profile: 34th Legislative District, NJ Spotlight News. Accessed January 10, 2024. "For the two open Assembly slots, the Essex County Democrats have chosen Carmen Morales, principal of Newark Tech High School and a resident of Belleville, and Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia."
^ George, Liz. "Bloomfield Mayor Resigns to Start New Role as State Assemblyman", Montclair Local, January 9, 2024. Accessed January 11, 2024. "Elected in 2014 as the youngest mayor in the history of Bloomfield, Venezia focused on community initiatives that enhanced the quality of life for residents – investing in municipal services, parks, infrastructure and community events, and implementing sustainability initiatives to reduce Bloomfield’s carbon footprint."
^ Connolly, John. "Bloomfield to appoint new mayor as Michael Venezia assumes role in state assembly", The Record, January 10, 2024. Accessed January 11, 2024. "The Bloomfield Township Council will appoint a new mayor at its meeting later this month after Michael Venezia resigned to move to the state assembly. Venezia, who easily won one of two seats in November to represent District 34, stepped down as Bloomfield mayor on Jan. 8 and was sworn in as an assemblyman in Trenton the next day."
^ "Bloomfield Council Selects Ted Gamble to Serve as Interim Mayor", Bloomfield Township, posted January 24, 2024. Accessed October 9, 2024. "Councilman Ted Gamble has been selected to serve as Interim Mayor following the resignation of former Mayor and recently elected Assemblyman Michael Venezia. He received four votes from members of the Council, while Councilwoman Jenny Mundell received two votes and Nicole Williams received no votes after the three candidates were nominated by members of the Bloomfield Democratic Committee.... Interim Mayor Gamble will serve in the position until November, when an election will be held for the remaining year left on former Mayor Venezia’s term."
^ Wildstein, David. "Venezia, Morales are likely Democratic Assembly candidates in the 34th district", New Jersey Globe, February 24, 2023. "Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia and Carmen T. Morales, the principal of Newark Tech High School, have emerged as the leading contenders for two open State Assembly seats in the newly-drawn 34th district after an Essex Democratic screening committee, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed. Venezia and Morales would replace Britnee Timberlake (D-East Orange) and Ralph Caputo (D-Nutley). Timberlake is running for the State Senate, and Caputo plans to resign after Senate confirms him to a seat on the Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Board of Directors."
^ Connolly, Julio. "NJ election results 2023: State Senate, Assembly seats decided", The Record, November 9, 2023. Accessed December 23, 2023.
^ Official List Candidates for General Assembly for General Election November 7, 2023, New Jersey Department of State, December 6, 2023. Accessed December 23, 2023.
^ Wildstein, David. "37 new lawmakers take office at noon", New Jersey Globe, January 9, 2024. Accessed January 9, 2024. "The 221st New Jersey Legislature begins today, with 37 new lawmakers – nearly one-third of the legislature – being sworn in at noon. That number includes ten new Senators and 27 new members of the General Assembly."
^ Assemblyman Michael Venezia (D), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2024.
^ New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
^ Legislative Roster for District 34, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2024.
^ "Candidates for General Assembly - For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. Retrieved December 6, 2023.

[1] Connolly, John. 'Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia enters race for State Assembly District 34 seat", The Record, March 10, 2023. Accessed January 11, 2024. "Venezia, who works as Director of Human Resources at Essex County Schools of Technology, graduated from Monmouth University in 2005 and earned a masters from Fairleigh Dickinson in 2017, according to his LinkedIn."

[2] Election profile: 34th Legislative District, NJ Spotlight News. Accessed January 10, 2024. "For the two open Assembly slots, the Essex County Democrats have chosen Carmen Morales, principal of Newark Tech High School and a resident of Belleville, and Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia."

[3] George, Liz. "Bloomfield Mayor Resigns to Start New Role as State Assemblyman", Montclair Local, January 9, 2024. Accessed January 11, 2024. "Elected in 2014 as the youngest mayor in the history of Bloomfield, Venezia focused on community initiatives that enhanced the quality of life for residents – investing in municipal services, parks, infrastructure and community events, and implementing sustainability initiatives to reduce Bloomfield’s carbon footprint."

[4] Connolly, John. "Bloomfield to appoint new mayor as Michael Venezia assumes role in state assembly", The Record, January 10, 2024. Accessed January 11, 2024. "The Bloomfield Township Council will appoint a new mayor at its meeting later this month after Michael Venezia resigned to move to the state assembly. Venezia, who easily won one of two seats in November to represent District 34, stepped down as Bloomfield mayor on Jan. 8 and was sworn in as an assemblyman in Trenton the next day."

[5] "Bloomfield Council Selects Ted Gamble to Serve as Interim Mayor", Bloomfield Township, posted January 24, 2024. Accessed October 9, 2024. "Councilman Ted Gamble has been selected to serve as Interim Mayor following the resignation of former Mayor and recently elected Assemblyman Michael Venezia. He received four votes from members of the Council, while Councilwoman Jenny Mundell received two votes and Nicole Williams received no votes after the three candidates were nominated by members of the Bloomfield Democratic Committee.... Interim Mayor Gamble will serve in the position until November, when an election will be held for the remaining year left on former Mayor Venezia’s term."

[6] Wildstein, David. "Venezia, Morales are likely Democratic Assembly candidates in the 34th district", New Jersey Globe, February 24, 2023. "Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia and Carmen T. Morales, the principal of Newark Tech High School, have emerged as the leading contenders for two open State Assembly seats in the newly-drawn 34th district after an Essex Democratic screening committee, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed. Venezia and Morales would replace Britnee Timberlake (D-East Orange) and Ralph Caputo (D-Nutley). Timberlake is running for the State Senate, and Caputo plans to resign after Senate confirms him to a seat on the Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Board of Directors."

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

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

[9] Wildstein, David. "37 new lawmakers take office at noon", New Jersey Globe, January 9, 2024. Accessed January 9, 2024. "The 221st New Jersey Legislature begins today, with 37 new lawmakers – nearly one-third of the legislature – being sworn in at noon. That number includes ten new Senators and 27 new members of the General Assembly."

[NJLEG-10] Assemblyman Michael Venezia (D), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2024.

[11] New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.

[12] Legislative Roster for District 34, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2024.

[GeneralResults-13] "Candidates for General Assembly - For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. Retrieved December 6, 2023.

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