Bucco Sworn In To Late Father's Senate Seat

BOONTON, NJ — Anthony M. Bucco has been sworn into the Senate seat vacated by the death of his father, the late state Senator Tony Bucco, last month. The younger Bucco leaves his Assembly seat during the final weeks of a campaign to be re-elected to it.

Bucco will now represent New Jersey's 25th District in the Senate, instead of the Assembly. He was elected to the empty seat by the Morris County Republican Committee last week, and was sworn in on Thursday.

"It is my absolute honor to be sworn in today as Senator for the 25th District. I look forward to continuing my fight for the taxpayers of Morris and Somerset counties on the issues important to them – lower property taxes, fair school funding, safer communities, and creating better-paying jobs, just to name a few," said Bucco. "It is my pledge to the 25th District’s residents that I will continue with my track record of pristine constituent service and a work ethic that they have come to know with me as their Assemblyman."

The 25th District senate seat was vacated when Bucco's father, Tony Bucco, died suddenly in September at 81-years-old. The elder Bucco had served in the Senate for over 20 years.

Despite now being a state senator, the younger Bucco is still running for reelection for his old seat in the Assembly. Because his father died after ballots were finalized, the younger Bucco is currently on the ballot alongside running mate Denville Councilman Brian Bergen. They are being challenged by Democrats Lisa Bhimani and Darcy Draeger.

Should he be elected to the Assembly, the Morris County Republican Committee would be responsible for selecting a replacement. His challengers have harshly criticized his decision.

"Anthony Bucco and his team are hoping they can sneak past voters and anoint their hand-picked lackey to public office, regardless of qualifications and without ever giving the people a say. It's disingenuous to the core and flies in the face of every democratic principle. If Anthony Bucco has no intention of serving in the Assembly he needs to step aside," Bhimani and Draeger said last month.

Bucco has previously acknowledged that it was a difficult choice to leave his assembly seat in the middle of an election campaign.

"It is unfortunate, but the vacancy law according to the state constitution has placed me in the undesirable position of seeking to fill my father's Senate seat, while at the same time running to preserve my spot in the Assembly. While some have suggested a placeholder may have been the answer, I did not believe that trying to orchestrate such a position, in a backroom deal, was the answer to this dilemma," the Daily Record quoted Bucco as saying.