Prior to winning election to the state Senate, Burzichelli served in New Jersey General Assembly for the 3rd District from 2002 to 2022, spending the last sixteen years of his time there as the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly.
New Jersey Assembly
Burzichelli was the Assistant Majority Leader during the 2004-05 session and has been the Assembly's Deputy Speaker since 2006. Burzichelli had been the Mayor of Paulsboro from 1996 until 2011. From 2002 until 2011, he served as both mayor and Assemblyman which was allowed in New Jersey until 2007 when dual mandates were banned. Burzichelli was grandfathered under the law passed and allowed to continue serve in both posts until he stepped down from the mayoral post in 2011.[1] He was president of Paulsboro Chamber of Commerce and a member of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Executive Board.[2] In the 2011 apportionment based on the results of the 2010 United States census, Republican Domenick DiCicco was moved from the 4th Legislative District into District 3. Burzichelli (with 25,172 votes) and Celeste Riley (23,960) won re-election, defeating DiCicco (20,268) and his running mate Bob Villare (20,528).[3] DiCicco's loss made his seat the only gain by the Democrats in the Assembly in the 2011 election cycle.[4] In December 2016, Burzichelli was one of several Catholic elected officials who supported legislation legalizing assisted suicide, saying that state residents should be able to make their own decisions on a matter that "is about choice".[5] In 2019 the Assisted Suicide bill passed the legislature.
In the 2021 general election, Republicans Bethanne McCarthy Patrick and Beth Sawyer in the Assembly and Edward Durr in the Senate, knocked off Democratic incumbents Stephen M. Sweeney in the Senate and Burzichelli and Adam Taliaferro in the Assembly. Before the election, the district had been viewed as a "solidly blue" safe district for Democrats.[6]
New Jersey Senate
In the 2023 general election, Burzichelli ran for the Senate seat together with Heather Simmons and David Bailey in the Assembly, defeating Edward Durr in the Senate, and Republican incumbent Bethanne McCarthy Patrick and newcomer Thomas J. Tedesco, Jr. in the Assembly, taking back the district for the Democrats.[7][8]
Burzichelli is a long-time resident of Paulsboro. He is of Italian descent.[11] His father, John D. Burzichelli also served as mayor of the borough. He is a 1972 graduate of Paulsboro High School.[12] Burzichelli makes a brief cameo in Kevin Smith's film Jersey Girl, parts of which were filmed in Paulsboro. He is owner / producer / distributor of Hill Studio & Scenic.[2] He is as a former movie producer and wrestling promoter. He owns a number of antique fire engines using them for both business (Hill Studio) and pleasure and is a member of the Glasstown Antique Fire Brigade. He also owns the remnants of the Ward LaFrance a now-defunct fire engine manufacturer. Several of his antique fire engines are Ward LaFrance models of varying years. Burzichelli co-authored the book Ward LaFrance Fire Trucks: 1918-1978 Photo Archive. One of his fire trucks, formerly owned by Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, is displayed on the cover. He is one of the founding members of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Paulsboro and a former President of the Greater Paulsboro Chamber of Commerce. Burzichelli is the co-host of the show Eye on Paulsboro which has been on cable for over 25 years.[13]
Electoral history
Senate
3rd Legislative District General Election, 2023[14]
^Staff. "N.J. legislative elections results: Democrats fend off GOP funding, Christie campaigning", The Star-Ledger, November 9, 2011. Accessed December 12, 2011. "The Democrats' sole gain came thanks to redistricting. Assemblyman Domenick DiCicco (R-Gloucester), the only Republican to win a Democrat-held seat two years ago, was shifted into a district with two Democratic incumbents and immediately faced an uphill battle to stay in the Legislature."
^Alex, Patricia. "Catholic lawmakers support assisted suicide despite faith", The Record, December 13, 2016. Accessed July 15, 2019. "'I don’t view the Catholic Church as an adversary,' said Assemblyman John Burzichelli, who sponsored the assisted suicide bill. Burzichelli is a Catholic but says the church opposition didn’t give him pause as he gathered input on the legislation. 'This is about choice,' he said."
^Smith, Joseph P. "Steve Sweeney trailing Republican truck driver Ed Durr in NJ Third District", The Daily Journal, November 3, 2021. Accessed January 21, 2024. "Durr and GOP General Assembly running mates Beth McCarthy Patrick and Beth Sawyer, based on unofficial final results Wednesday, have flipped the solidly 'blue' Third Legislative District into the Republican column. It has been two decades since a Republican represented the Third District in the Senate or Assembly. Generally, Democratic state Sen. Stephen M. Sweeney and Assemblymen John Burzichelli and Adam Taliaferro were regarded as overseeing a safe district."
^Pensiero, Nicole (October 21, 1990). "Paulsboro Puts Its Pride On Line". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2015. Burzichelli, son of Paulsboro Mayor John D. Burzichelli, is one such believer. A 1972 graduate of Paulsboro High School, he knows his community well and is unflinching in his willingness to discuss the town's problems as well as its strengths.
^Home page, 5OnTheWeb.com. Accessed January 16, 2014.
