| Anthony Bucco | |
| Office: | Minority Leader of the New Jersey Senate |
| Term Start: | July 1, 2023 |
| Predecessor: | Steve Oroho |
| State Senate1: | New Jersey |
| District1: | 25th |
| Term Start1: | October 24, 2019 |
| Predecessor1: | Anthony R. Bucco |
| State Assembly2: | New Jersey |
| District2: | 25th |
| Term Start2: | January 12, 2010 |
| Term End2: | October 24, 2019 |
| Predecessor2: | Rick Merkt |
| Successor2: | Aura K. Dunn |
| Birth Name: | Anthony Mark Bucco |
| Birth Date: | 12 April 1962 |
| Birth Place: | Boonton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Party: | Republican |
| Spouse: | Amy Bucco |
| Children: | 6 |
| Education: | Lycoming College (BA) Seton Hall University (JD) |
| Website: | |
Anthony Mark Bucco (born April 12, 1962) is an American lawyer and Republican Party politician currently serving as the State Senator for New Jersey's 25th Legislative District. He had been a member of the New Jersey General Assembly since 2010 and was appointed to the State Senate in 2019 following the death of his father, incumbent Senator Anthony R. Bucco.[1]
Bucco serves in the Senate as the Republican Whip. On July 1, 2023, he replaced Steve Oroho as Senate Minority Leader.[2]
Bucco is an attorney who currently serves on the Morris County Republican Committee as its general counsel.[3]
After Assemblyman Rick Merkt announced that he would run for the Republican nomination for Governor of New Jersey rather than seek re-election in 2009, Bucco announced that he would run for Merkt's seat, which was previously held by his father, Anthony R. Bucco, from 1995 to 1999. Morris County Freeholder Douglas Cabana, the brother of Bucco's wife Amy, also announced his candidacy. Cabana's campaign emphasized his many years in elective office as a Boonton Township Councilman, Boonton Township Mayor, and Freeholder, contrasting this with Bucco's lack of experience in elective office. Bucco countered by accusing Cabana of running a negative campaign, pointing to a Cabana mailer containing "unpleasant photos" of Bucco and "some misinformation."[4] Bucco defeated Cabana by less than 800 votes in the Republican primary.[5] He and running mate Michael Patrick Carroll, a veteran assemblyman, won the general election easily in the heavily Republican 25th district. The two would be reelected in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.
After his father's death on September 16, 2019, Bucco announced his candidacy for the State Senate vacancy while maintaining his campaign for reelection to the Assembly.[6] Bucco won the appointment to the Senate in a special convention of 25th district Republican committeemembers held on October 15, 2019[7] and subsequently won the Assembly seat for which he was running in the November general election. Bucco will decline being seated in the Assembly upon the start of the new term in 2020 and the district's Republican committee appointed a new Assemblyperson.[8]
Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[9]
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.[10] The representatives from the 25th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[11]
A lifelong resident of the Boonton, New Jersey area, Bucco attended Boonton High School.[12] Bucco attended Lycoming College and earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and managerial economics. He then graduated from Seton Hall University School of Law and was admitted to the bar. Bucco has spent over twenty years as a municipal attorney in private practice, specializing in local government law. He is currently a partner in the law firm of Murphy and McKeon, P.C. He has been involved in state issues such as the Highlands Act and affordable housing laws by representing municipalities on those issues in court.[13] Bucco has served as a volunteer firefighter with the Boonton Fire Department for 28 years, attaining the rank of captain. Bucco has been involved in fighting alcohol and drug abuse, having served on the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse since 1998, and helped found Daytop New Jersey, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for teenagers, later serving on the organization's board of directors. He is also one of 22 commissioners of the Morris County Sheriff's CrimeStoppers program, and has served in that capacity since 1999.
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