O'Toole was elected to the Assembly in 1995 and re-elected five times. He served in the Senate from May 2001 to January 2002, and was elected to the Senate again on November 6, 2007. O'Toole serves in the Senate on the Budget and Appropriations Committee and on the Senate Judiciary Government Committee. He also served as the Senate Minority Whip.[1]
In January 2016, O'Toole announced that he would not seek re-election in 2017.[2] In February 2017, Governor Chris Christie nominated him to a six-year term on the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to succeed Pat Schuber.[3] The State Senate confirmed his nomination in March 2017, though O'Toole indicated that it would take a few months to wrap up his time in the Senate before he took office as a commissioner.[4]
O'Toole resigned from the State Senate on July 1, 2017, to begin his term as Port Authority commissioner.[5] The following month, he was selected as the chairman of the agency's Board of Directors by his fellow commissioners, succeeding John J. Degnan, who had served in that position since July 2014.[6]
At the age of 25, O'Toole began his political career by serving on the Cedar Grove Township Council from 1989 to 1996. He was elected as its Mayor from 1990 to 1991, 1993 to 1994 and from 1995 to 1996.[1] O'Toole was later elected as Chairman of the Essex CountyRepublican Committee from 1997 to 2011. He replaced incumbent Chair Jeanne Parke.[8][9][10]
In 1995, O'Toole was elected to the General Assembly, the lower house of the New Jersey State Legislature, representing the 21st Legislative District. He was appointed as the Assembly's Deputy Republican Leader from 2004 to 2008 and was the Assistant Majority Leader from 1998 to 2001.[1] O'Toole was briefly appointed to the State Senate in 2001, where he served for eight months before redistricting forced him into a different legislative district.[1]
In 2007, O'Toole defeated Democrat John Zunic to win election to the New Jersey Senate seat in the 40th District, filling the seat vacated by Henry McNamara, a fellow Republican who had represented the district since 1985. O'Toole's running mates David C. Russo and Scott Rumana also won election.[11]
After his brother's death in 2011, O'Toole retired from his position as Chairman of the Essex County Republican Committee and recommended that County Party Executive Director Al Barlas from Bloomfield succeed him. Barlas serves as O'Toole's Chief of Staff.[12]
By profession, O'Toole is an attorney with the firm of O'Toole Fernandez Weiner Vanlieu LLC.[1] Senator O'Toole and his wife, Bethany, have two children, Kevin Jr. and Ryan Marie.[13]
State legislator
O'Toole has sponsored laws to reform welfare, strengthen domestic violence statutes, increase penalties on businesses and individuals who engage in discrimination, mandate insurance coverage for mammography and for treatment of breast and cervical cancer, preserve the state's drinking water supply through the preservation of Sterling Forest, and create more government transparency. In the state legislature, O'Toole has been a proponent of ethics reform in New Jersey government. He was the original sponsor of legislation creating pension reform in New Jersey. He has sponsored legislation to streamline government, promote education, protect the environment, and lower property taxes. O'Toole was one of the primary sponsors of pre-paid college education expense program (529 college savings plan) and legislation that would prohibit campaign contributions from vendors who have government contracts.[13]
In 2013, O'Toole challenged Thomas Kean Jr. for the leadership of Republicans in the Senate. O'Toole was backed by Governor Chris Christie, reportedly because of disagreements with Kean in regards to strategy during the elections that year, where no gains occurred during the Senate elections despite Christie winning re-election with over 60% of the vote. Kean held on to his position of Senate Minority Leader in a 10–6 caucus vote.[14][15] In the following session, Kean removed O'Toole from his position as Minority Whip.[16]
^Livio, Susan K. "Longtime N.J. senator says he won't run again in 2017", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, January 15, 2016. Accessed November 23, 2016. "Republican state Sen. Kevin O'Toole of Essex County announced Friday morning he will not seek reelection after his term ends in two years, capping a 22-year tenure in the New Jersey Legislature."
^Arco, Matt. "Christie appoints longtime loyalist to Port Authority board", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 27, 2017. Accessed February 28, 2017. "Gov. Chris Christie announced Monday Sen. Kevin O'Toole, a lawmaker who has long been loyal to him, will serve on the Port Authority's board of commissioners. O'Toole (R-Essex) announced in January he won't seek re-election to his Senate seat after serving as a legislator for more than two decades. Christie's office announced his longtime ally would replace outgoing Commissioner Pat Schuber."
^Johnson, Brent. "Christie ally confirmed to join Port Authority board", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, March 14, 2017. Accessed March 14, 2017. "State Sen. Kevin O'Toole, a longtime ally of Gov. Chris Christie, was one of two Christie nominees confirmed Monday to join the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's board of commissioners.... The lawmaker announced last year that he would retire next January after 21 years in the state Legislature. Now, O'Toole told NJ Advance Media, he intends to leave even earlier to serve on the board, though he may not do so for a few months, in part to tie up loose ends in the Senate."
^Cowen, Richard (July 26, 2017). "Corrado tapped to replace O'Toole in state Senate". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved October 5, 2017. Republicans in the 40th District on Wednesday selected Kristin Corrado to finish the unexpired Senate term of Kevin O'Toole, who resigned on July 1.
^Deignan, Tom. "The Asians, the Irish and Sharpton", Irish Voice, June 8, 2007. Accessed July 7, 2008. "For the record, O’Toole’s father was Irish. He fought in the Korean War, and met his future wife in Korea. O’Toole the politician was born in Cedar Grove, New Jersey in 1964, and later attended Cedar Grove High School and Seton Hall University."
