Michael J. Doherty

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Michael J. Doherty (born May 24, 1963) is an American Republican Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2002, where he represents the 23rd legislative district.

Doherty has been identified as a likely candidate for the 2008 U.S. Senate race against incumbent Frank Lautenberg.^[1]

Doherty was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 2001, and re-elected in 2003 and 2005. He serves on the Assembly on the Appropriations Committee and the Labor Committee.^[2] Previously, he has served on the Agriculture Committee, the Housing and the Local Government Committee and the State House Commission. Doherty has been endorsed repeatedly by pro-business groups such as the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, the New Jersey Restaurant Association and the National Federation of Independent Business (awarded a perfect 100% voting record by the NFIB). His voting record is ranked A+ by the National Rifle Association and has been repeatedly endorsed by New Jersey Right to Life. Doherty is an outspoken critic of the court system, and has introduced numerous pieces of legislation challenging court decisions and procedures. He was designated as "Legislator of the Year" in 2007 by the N.J. Family Policy Council for his continued efforts to support pro-family legislation.

Before being elected to the General Assembly, Doherty served on the Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders.^[2] In 2000, Doherty defeated the incumbent Freeholder Director, a Democrat, to capture control of the Freeholder Board for the Republican party. In 2001, he served as Deputy Director of the Freeholder Board.^[2] He was elected to serve as the Director of the Freeholder Board in both 2002 and 2003.^[2] During his three years on the Freeholder Board, Doherty cut the county tax rate by 21%. Doherty also began a program to reduce the county debt so that today Warren County has the lowest debt of any county in the state. He also prevailed in a showdown with a Superior Court judge who threatened to jail Doherty unless he issued $5 million in bonds to fund an expansion of the local county college. The showdown was eventually decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court, which sided with Doherty and held that the Freeholder Board was correct to ignore the judge's order.

In 1985, Doherty graduated with a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and was commissioned as an officer in the Field Artillery. Doherty served on active duty in the United States Army from 1985-1989 and in the United States Army Reserve from 1989-1993. He achieved the rank of Captain. He is a graduate of the U.S. Airborne School, the U.S. Army Jungle School and the Defense Language Institute (German). In the Army, he was stationed in Germany and served as a nuclear operations officer. His unit's mission was to utilize nuclear armed missiles to defend Western Europe and NATO forces from possible Soviet aggression. He was granted a Top Secret clearance to perform his nuclear duties.

In 1993, he was awarded a J.D. from the Seton Hall University School of Law. Doherty is a patent attorney, specializing in semiconductor and medical device technology, with the law firm Lerner, David, Littenberg, Krumholz & Mentlik, LLP, located in Westfield, New Jersey.

Michael Doherty and his wife, Linda, are the proud parents of three sons, one serving in the United States Army (Matthew), one in the United States Marine Corps (Ryan), and one in the United States Air Force (Jared).

[edit] District 23

Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 23rd Legislative District for the 2006-2008 legislative session are:

• Assemblywoman Marcia A. Karrow, and
• Senator Leonard Lance

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Assemblyman Doherty's Legislative Website
• New Jersey Voter Information Website 2003
• New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2005 (PDF)
• New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2004 (PDF)