Louis Romano

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Louis A. Romano
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 33rd district
In office
January 14, 1992 – January 11, 2000
Preceded byBob Menendez
Succeeded byAlbio Sires
Personal details
Born(1930-08-20)August 20, 1930
Jersey City, New Jersey
DiedNovember 30, 2000(2000-11-30) (aged 70)
Hackensack, New Jersey
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materFordham University (BS)
Seton Hall University (MA)
New York University (EdD)
OccupationLegislator

Louis A. Romano (August 20, 1930 - November 29, 2000) was an American Democratic Party politician who served four terms in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1992 to 2000, where he represented the 33rd Legislative District.

Early life[edit]

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Romano was raised in West New York, New Jersey, where he attended Memorial High School.[1]

Romano earned his undergraduate degree from Fordham University, with a major in Social Studies, earned a Master of Arts from Seton Hall University in Professional Education and was awarded a Doctor of Education from New York University. He served in the United States Army from 1951 to 1953, attaining the rank of corporal.[2] A lifelong resident of West New York, Romano was employed by the West New York School District and taught at Memorial High School, his alma mater.[3][4]

Assemblyman[edit]

Romano was first elected to the General Assembly in 1991, together with Bernard Kenny of Jersey City, defeating Republican candidates Antonio Miguelez and A. Lazaro Guas. Romano won re-election to the Assembly three times with Rudy Garcia of Union City as his running mate, soundly defeating Republicans Mary C. Gaspa and Armando C. Hernandez in 1993, Raphael S. Alvarez and Joseph Liuzzi in 1995, and Michael Alvarez and Freddy Gomez in 1997.[5] He served in the Assembly on the Appropriations Committee and the Joint Budget Oversight Committee.[2]

In the June 1999 primaries, the Hudson County Democratic Party organization was looking for "new blood" and chose to give its official support to West New York mayor Albio Sires, as well as Romano's fellow Assemblymember Rudy Garcia.[6] Despite losing the endorsement, Romano ran in the Democratic primary and lost, making him the only one of the 80 incumbents in the Assembly to lose their primary bid.[7][8]

Personal life[edit]

Romano died of lung cancer at the age of 70 on November 29, 2000, at Hackensack University Medical Center. He had married Patricia DeFino days before his death.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Leir, Ronald. "Lou Romano WNY educator served 8 years in Assembly", The Jersey Journal, December 1, 2000. Accessed July 6, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Born in Jersey City Romano spent virtually all his life in West New York attending School 4 and Memorial High School and eventually completing a doctoral degree in education at New York University Romano began teaching industrial arts at Memorial in 1960 and continued there through 1975 when he was named assistant to the superintendent."
  2. ^ a b "Assemblyman Louis A. Romano". New Jersey Legislature. Archived from the original on February 25, 1998. Retrieved June 6, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ Staff. "After Months of Running, Marathon Ends Tuesday; Heading Toward Finish Line at the Statehouse", The New York Times, November 2, 1997. Accessed June 6, 2010.
  4. ^ "A town mourns Former state assemblyman and educator dies", The Hudson Reporter, December 8, 2000. Accessed July 6, 2023. "'I remember him when I was growing up and lived across the street from me.' said West New York Mayor Albio Sires who grew up on 65th and Dewey streets across the street from former state Assemblyman Louis A. Romano. 'I remember him as a [shop] teacher at Memorial High School when I was a student there and when I became a teacher.'"
  5. ^ NJ Assembly 33 - History, OurCampaigns. Accessed June 6, 2010.
  6. ^ DeMasters, Karen. "In Brief; Primary Day Was a Good One For Assembly Incumbents", The New York Times, June 13, 1999. Accessed June 16, 2010.
  7. ^ Staff. "Hudson County Assemblyman Defeated in Primary", The New York Times, June 9, 1999. Accessed June 6, 2010.
  8. ^ NJ General Assembly 33 - D Primary, OurCampaigns.com. Accessed July 6, 2023.