Clinton Calabrese

Clinton Calabrese (born March 4, 1986) is an American Democratic Party politician who has represented the 36th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly^[1] since February 10, 2018, when he was sworn in to replace Marlene Caride, who resigned from office after being nominated to serve as head of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance. Calabrese had served on the Board of Education of the Cliffside Park School District.^[2] He has been the Assembly's Deputy Whip since 2022.^[1]

Clinton Calabrese
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 36th district
Incumbent
Assumed office February 8, 2018 Serving with Gary Schaer
Preceded by	Marlene Caride
Personal details
Born	(1986-03-04) March 4, 1986 (age 38)
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Cliffside Park, New Jersey
Alma mater	Saint Joseph's University and New York University
Occupation	Principal, Alkova Companies
Website	Legislative web page

Background

A resident of Cliffside Park, Calabrese graduated from Don Bosco Preparatory High School in 2004,^[3] attended Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration, and New York University, where he received a master's degree in real estate finance. Calabrese had been an analyst for Deutsche Bank and works as a principal for Alkova Companies, a real estate investment firm. Calabrese is the son of Gerald Calabrese Jr., the chairman of the Cliffside Park Democratic Party, and the grandson of Gerald Calabrese, a former professional basketball player who served for 50 years as mayor of Cliffside Park.^[2]

New Jersey Assembly

In December 2017, Marlene Caride was nominated by incoming governor Phil Murphy to head the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, a cabinet-level position,^[4] and resigned from office in January 2018.^[5] After being chosen by Democratic county committee members from Bergen County and Passaic County to fill the vacancy, Calabrese was sworn in to office on February 8, 2018, to succeed Caride.^[2] When he first took office at 31-years-old, Calabrese was the youngest serving member in the General Assembly.^[2]

Committees

Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:^[1]

• Transportation and Independent Authorities (as chair)
• Tourism, Gaming and the Arts (as vice-chair)

District 36

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.^[6] The representatives from the 36th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:^[7]

• Senator Paul Sarlo (D)
• Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese (D)
• Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D)

Legislation

In the 2018–2019 legislative session, Calabrese was primary sponsor on the following bills signed into law:

• A-4031 Requires display of identifying information on rear of school bus so public may report bus driver misconduct.^[8]
• A-4229 Applies Meadowlands regional hotel use assessment to all municipalities that participate in Meadowlands tax sharing program.^[9]
• A-4707 Directs Department of Agriculture to establish public awareness campaign for food waste.^[10]

Electoral history

36th Legislative District General Election, 2023^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Clinton Calabrese (incumbent)	18,228	30.6
	Democratic	Gary S. Schaer (incumbent)	18,072	30.3
	Republican	Craig Auriemma	11,761	19.7
	Republican	Joseph Viso Jr.	11,546	19.4
Total votes			59,607	100.0
	Democratic hold
	Democratic hold

36th legislative district general election, 2021^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gary S. Schaer (incumbent)	24,654	28.40%
	Democratic	Clinton Calabrese (incumbent)	24,137	27.80%
	Republican	Joseph Viso Jr.	19,025	21.91%
	Republican	Craig Auriemma	19,008	21.89%
Total votes			86,824	100.0
	Democratic hold

36th Legislative District General Election, 2019

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gary Schaer (incumbent)	14,990	30.86%
	Democratic	Clinton Calabrese (incumbent)	14,901	30.68%
	Republican	Foster Lowe	9,350	19.25%
	Republican	Khaldoun Androwis	9,336	19.22%
Total votes			47,346	100%
	Democratic hold

36th Legislative District Special Election, 2018^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Clinton Calabrese (incumbent)	36,914	63.8%
	Republican	Marc Marsi	20,946	36.2%
Total votes			57,860	100%
	Democratic hold

References

1. Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 29, 2024.
2. Johnson, Brent. "Meet the newest – and youngest – N.J. lawmaker", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 8, 2018. Accessed February 10, 2018. "The newest member of the New Jersey Legislature is also the youngest – and hails from a storied Bergen County political family. Clinton Calabrese, a 31-year-old Democrat and Cliffside Park resident who once served on the borough's school board, was sworn in Thursday to serve in the state Assembly. He was appointed to replace Marlene Caride, a Democrat who is new Gov. Phil Murphy's nominee to serve as commissioner of the state Department of Banking and Insurance."
3. Dietel, Craig. "Clinton Calabrese '04 Named to 2018 Insider 100 Top Millennials List!", Don Bosco Preparatory High School, July 27, 2018. Accessed January 5, 2022. "Congratulations Clinton Calabrese '04 on being named to the 2018 Insider Top 100 Millennials List as well!"
4. Arco, Matt. "Phil Murphy's latest cabinet pick once again highlights diversity (and opposing Trump)", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 19, 2017. Accessed February 10, 2017. "The dual qualities were on display again Tuesday when Murphy announced he'll nominate state Assemblywoman Marlene Caride to head the state Department of Banking and Insurance. Caride, D-Bergen, would become the first Hispanic to head the agency that regulates the state's banking, insurance and real estate industries, if she's confirmed by the Democratically controlled state Senate after Murphy takes office Jan. 16."
5. New Jersey Legislative Digest for January 29, 2018, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed February 10, 2018. "Assemblywoman Marlene Caride, of the 36th Legislative District, has resigned."
6. New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
7. Legislative Roster for District 36, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 29, 2024.
8. "Calabrese, Chiaravalloti & Tully Bill Encouraging Reporting of School Bus Driver Misconduct Becomes Law". New Jersey Assembly Democrats. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
9. "Calabrese Bill Package to Ensure State Meets its Financial Obligation to Meadowlands Towns Goes to Governor". New Jersey Assembly Democrats. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
10. "FDA: 30–40 Percent of the Nation's Food is Uneaten". New Jersey Assembly Democrats. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
11. "Candidates for General Assembly - For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
12. "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/02/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
13. "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.
14. "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/06/2018 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 3, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2022.

External links

• Legislative webpage

New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by Marlene Caride	Member of the New Jersey General Assembly for the 36th District February 8, 2018–present With: Gary Schaer	Succeeded by Incumbent