Michael Patrick Carroll (born April 8, 1958) is an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey. He represented the 25th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1996 to 2020. Carroll did not run for re-election in 2019; instead, he mounted an unsuccessful bid for Morris County Surrogate.
Michael Patrick Carroll | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 25th District | |
| In office January 9, 1996 – January 14, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Arthur R. Albohn |
| Succeeded by | Brian Bergen |
| Assembly Minority Parliamentarian | |
| In office January 10, 2012 – January 14, 2020 | |
| Leader | Jon Bramnick |
| Preceded by | James Holzapfel |
| Succeeded by | Erik Peterson |
| In office January 8, 2002 – January 10, 2006 | |
| Leader | Alex DeCroce |
| Succeeded by | Rick Merkt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 8, 1958 Fayetteville, North Carolina |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Sharon Anderson |
| Children | Six |
| Residence | Morris Township, New Jersey |
| Alma mater | Johns Hopkins University (B.A.) Rutgers School of Law–Newark (J.D.) |
| Occupation | Politician, Attorney |
| Website | Legislative Website Assembly Republicans Website |
Early life edit
Carroll was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on April 8, 1958, the son of Maurice C. and Margaret W. Carroll. Carroll moved with his family to Morris Township, New Jersey in 1960. Carroll graduated from Delbarton School in 1976, earned a B.A. in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Johns Hopkins University in 1980, and received a J.D. from Rutgers School of Law–Newark in 1983.[1]
Carroll founded the Morris County Young Republicans, chairing the group for four years. He was first elected to the Morris County Republican Committee for Morris Township in 1980. In 1984, after moving to Morristown, he was elected to the Republican County Committee there, serving as chairman for one term. Returning to Morris Township, he was once again elected to the Republican County Committee.[citation needed]
New Jersey Assembly edit
Carroll first ran for the Assembly in 1993; he lost that election by fewer than 422 votes to incumbent Assemblyman Arthur R. Albohn (then-Assemblyman Rodney Frelinghuysen received the most votes in the primary).[2] In 1995, Carroll and Anthony Bucco, who was appointed to the Assembly after Frelinghuysen's election to Congress, prevailed in a Republican primary against Rick Merkt, Chris Christie, and two others in the 25th Legislative District;[3] Carroll and Bucco went on to victory in the fall.[4]
Carroll proposed a bill to mandate the reading, in school each morning, of a section of the Declaration of Independence.[5] The April 2003 issue of New Jersey Monthly magazine cited Carroll as the "Most Conservative" member of the New Jersey Legislature. The magazine cited Carroll's "...missionary zeal and his talent for articulating his stances on behalf of individual and property rights, the sanctity of family—including unborn children—and the cult of Reaganism..." in elaborating on their choice.[6]
Carroll "has long been known in state political circles as one of the most socially conservative, and outspoken, members of the legislature". In 2008, "a comment that Carroll made about slavery" made "national headlines. At the time, the New Jersey legislature was weighing whether the state should issue an official apology for slavery. Carroll opposed the measure, and said that African-Americans should actually be grateful for slavery, because it was the means by which they eventually gained American citizenship".[7]
In November 2010, the "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights" passed both houses of the state legislature. Carroll was the only legislator to vote "no"; he objected "to the fact that it explicitly mentions categories of students subject to bullying".[8]
Morris County Surrogate edit
Carroll did not run for re-election to the Assembly in 2019, choosing instead to run for Morris County Surrogate.[9] He was defeated in the Republican primary for Surrogate by Morris County Freeholder Heather Darling.[10]
Committees edit
- Higher Education
- Judiciary
- State and Local Government
- Joint Committee on Housing and Affordability
Personal life edit
In 1983, Carroll married Sharon, née Anderson, whom he met when the two of them worked together at McDonald's. The couple has six children: Sean Michael, James Patrick, Brian Christopher, Jane Eleanor, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert Edward Lee.[11]
Electoral history edit
New Jersey Assembly edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) | 30,323 | 26.2 |  2.0
| |
| Republican | Tony Bucco (Incumbent) | 30,278 | 26.1 | 3.4
| |
| Democratic | Thomas Moran | 27,848 | 24.0 |  3.2
| |
| Democratic | Richard Corcoran | 27,386 | 23.6 | 2.0
| |
| Total votes | '115,835' | '100.0' | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tony Bucco (Incumbent) | 13,974 | 29.5 | 13.5
| |
| Republican | Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) | 13,372 | 28.2 | 12.2
| |
| Democratic | Richard J. Corcoran III | 10,230 | 21.6 | N/A | |
| Democratic | Thomas Moran | 9,849 | 20.8 | N/A | |
| Total votes | '47,425' | '100.0' | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tony Bucco (Incumbent) | 35,536 | 43.0 | 13.5
| |
| Republican | Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) | 33,393 | 40.4 | 10.4
| |
| Listen, Lead, Succeed | Rebecca Feldman | 9,209 | 11.2 | N/A | |
| Principle Before Politics | Jack Curtis | 4,426 | 5.4 | N/A | |
| Total votes | '82,564' | '100.0' | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) | 18,481 | 30.0 | |
| Republican | Tony Bucco (Incumbent) | 18,218 | 29.5 | |
| Democratic | Gale Heiss Colucci | 12,564 | 20.4 | |
| Democratic | George Stafford | 12,432 | 20.2 | |
| Total votes | 61,695 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tony Bucco | 39,150 | 33.0 | 3.3
| |
| Republican | Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) | 38,188 | 32.2 | 3.3
| |
| Democratic | Wendy Wright | 21,431 | 18.0 | 3.5
| |
| Democratic | Rebekah Conroy | 20,010 | 16.8 | 3.1
| |
| Total votes | '118,779' | '100.0' | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Merkt (Incumbent) | 22,102 | 29.7 | 1.6
| |
| Republican | Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) | 21,468 | 28.9 | 2.1
| |
| Democratic | Dana Wefer | 16,001 | 21.5 | 1.1
| |
| Democratic | Marshall L. Gates | 14,780 | 19.9 | 2.6
| |
| Total votes | '74,351' | '100.0' | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Merkt (Incumbent) | 32,089 | 28.1 | 9.0
| |
| Republican | Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) | 30,636 | 26.8 | 10.8
| |
| Democratic | Thomas Jackson | 25,751 | 22.6 | 2.8
| |
| Democratic | Janice Schindler | 25,709 | 22.5 | N/A | |
| Total votes | '114,185' | '100.0' | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) | 23,841 | 37.6 | 7.6
| |
| Republican | Rick Merkt (Incumbent) | 23,525 | 37.1 | 7.1
| |
| Democratic | Thomas A. Zelante | 16,094 | 25.4 | 4.6
| |
| Total votes | '63,460' | '100.0' | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) | 33,426 | 30.0 | |
| Republican | Rick Merkt (Incumbent) | 33,414 | 30.0 | |
| Democratic | Ann Huber | 23,110 | 20.8 | |
| Democratic | Dick Tighe | 21,408 | 19.2 | |
| Total votes | 111,358 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Merkt (Incumbent) | 17,259 | 30.5 | 0.2
| |
| Republican | Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) | 17,204 | 30.4 | 1.4
| |
| Democratic | Ronald J. Pellegrino | 10,607 | 18.7 | 1.1
| |
| Democratic | Gerald A. Nunan | 10,018 | 17.7 | 0.1
| |
| Conservative | James Spinosa | 772 | 1.4 |  0.0
| |
| Conservative | Stephen Spinosa | 750 | 1.3 | 0.2
| |
| Total votes | '56,610' | '100.0' | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) | 37,935 | 31.8 | 3.2
| |
| Republican | Rick Merkt | 36,649 | 30.7 | 0.1
| |
| Democratic | Chris Evangel | 20,968 | 17.6 | 0.7
| |
| Democratic | Harriet Lerner | 20,967 | 17.6 | 0.5
| |
| Conservative | James Spinosa | 1,630 | 1.4 | 0.7
| |
| Conservative | Stephen Spinosa | 1,296 | 1.1 | 1.0
| |
| Total votes | '119,445' | '100.0' | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Anthony Bucco (Incumbent) | 21,787 | 30.8 | 6.1
| |
| Republican | Michael Patrick Carroll | 20,215 | 28.6 | 2.6
| |
| Democratic | Stephen D. Landfield | 12,943 | 18.3 | 2.0
| |
| Democratic | Stanley B. Yablonsky | 12,795 | 18.1 | 3.1
| |
| Conservative | Joseph Long | 1,495 | 2.1 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Jim Spinosa | 1,478 | 2.1 | N/A | |
| Total votes | '70,713' | '100.0' | |||
References edit
- ^ Assemblyman Carroll's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 31. 2018.
- ^ "Official List Primary Election Returns for the Office of Senate and Assembly for Election Held June 8, 1993" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. August 3, 1993. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
- ^ "Official List Primary Election Returns for the Office of Senate and Assembly for Election Held June 6, 1995" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
- ^ "Official List Primary Election Returns for the Office of General Assembly for Election Held June 6, 1995" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. July 6, 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 7, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
- ^ "July 4, 1999 - Declaration of Independence Dispute - 2002-02-01", Voice of America, February 1, 2002. Accessed January 31, 2018. "RS: There's debate over a bill in the state of New Jersey to require schoolchildren to recite two sentences from the declaration of independence each day.... MICHAEL CARROLL Our students, I think, our children, are not getting a sufficient sense these days of what makes it special to be an American, and in these two short sentences, these fifty-six words, Jefferson distills the essence of what America is all about. AA: Michael Patrick Carroll sponsored the bill in the New Jersey assembly."
- ^ Otis, Lauren. ""Statehouse Confidential"". Archived from the original on June 22, 2003. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), New Jersey Monthly, April 2006. Accessed August 17, 2007. - ^ "NJ Lawmaker Said African-Americans Should Be Thankful for Slavery. Now, He Wants a New Job". WNYC.
- ^ Friedman, Matt (November 23, 2010). "N.J. Legislature advances 'Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights' for Gov. Christie's consideration". nj.
- ^ "Carroll to run for Morris County surrogate". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ "Darling wins beats Michael Patrick Carroll for Surrogate". New Jersey Insider. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^ Michael Patrick Carroll biography Archived 2006-02-02 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed August 17, 2007.
- ^ "2017-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ "2015-official-ge-results-nj-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 30, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ "2013-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ "2011-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-results-121411.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 14, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ "2009-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-tallies-120109.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
- ^ "2007-official-general-election-tallies(ga)-12.12.07.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ "05831236.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ "2003g_a_candidate_tally.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ "2001-general-elect-gen-assembly-tallies.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
- ^ "1999-general-elect-gen-assembly-candidate-tallies.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 29, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ "1997-general-election-results-state-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ "NJ General Assembly 25". Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
External links edit
- Assemblyman Carroll's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature
- New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms
- Assemblyman Carroll's Campaign Website
- Assembly Member Michael Patrick Carroll, Project Vote Smart
- New Jersey Voter Information Website 2003[permanent dead link]
- Rep. Scott Garrett Biography
- The Federalist Society
- The NJ Mountain Men
- Morris County Republican Committee