Amy Handlin

Amy H. Handlin (born January 28, 1956) is an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly, where she represented the 13th Legislative District from 2006 to 2020.

Amy Handlin
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 13th district
In office
January 10, 2006 – January 14, 2020
Preceded byJoseph Azzolina
Succeeded byGerard Scharfenberger
Deputy Minority Leader of the New Jersey General Assembly
In office
2007 – January 14, 2020
LeaderAlex DeCroce
Jon Bramnick
Preceded byOffice Established
Member of the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders
In office
January 1, 1990 – January 10, 2006
Succeeded byAnna C. Little
Personal details
Born (1956-01-28) January 28, 1956
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDavid Handlin
ChildrenTwo
Residence(s)Middletown Township, New Jersey
Alma materHarvard University (BA)
Columbia University (MBA)
New York University (PhD)
WebsiteLegislative Website

Education and career

Handlin earned a B.A. in 1977 from Harvard University, a MBA from Columbia University in 1979, and a Ph.D. in Marketing from New York University in 1991.[1] She was an associate professor of marketing at Monmouth University until her retirement in 2019[2] and was also a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Public Issues.

Monmouth County Politics

Handlin was elected to the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1989 and re-elected in 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2004. Previously, she served as deputy mayor and township committeewoman in Middletown Township.[1][3] Handlin is a former commissioner on the New Jersey State Commission on Higher Education and chair of Monmouth County's Communities Against Tobacco Coalition. Named 2003 Elected Official of the Year by the Northern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce, she has also been honored by the American Cancer Society of New Jersey, Prevention First, 180:Turning Lives Around and many other public health organizations for her work to reduce teen smoking.[4] Handlin has also served on the boards of the New Jersey League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women, among others. She is a past recipient of the Legislative Award of the New Jersey Environmental Federation, the Humanitarian Award of Brandeis University Women, the Rose and Scroll Award of the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners, and numerous other citations for civic leadership. Handlin, the author of the 1998 book Whatever Happened to the Year of the Woman? Why Women Still Aren't Making It to the Top in Politics,[5] and the books Be Your Own Lobbyist, (Praeger, 2010) and Government Grief (Praeger 2011). She has also been a columnist for the New Jersey Reporter, a public-affairs magazine. A founding member and former chair of the Monmouth County Advisory Commission on Women, Handlin is a member of the national board of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and vice president of community relations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County. A past chair of the Central Jersey Israel EXPO, she has also co-chaired the United Jewish Communities' Northeast Leadership Conference.

New Jersey Assembly

Handlin ran against fellow Republican Joseph Azzolina whom she defeated in the June 2005 GOP primary.[6] Handlin was one of the main proponents of the ban enacted in 2007 on consumption of alcohol in the PNC Bank Arts Center parking lots.[7] After incumbent 13th District Senator Joe Kyrillos announced he would not seek re-election in 2017, Handlin initially intended to run for his seat, putting her into a contested primary with fellow Assembly member Declan O'Scanlon.[8] However, Handlin ultimately dropped her Senate bid, and instead ran for re-election to her Assembly seat, which she retained in the general election.[9]

For the 2019 general election, Handlin announced she would not run for another term and was retiring from the Assembly.[2] Her current term concluded in 2020 and she was succeeded by Republican Gerard Scharfenberger.

Committees
  • Higher Education
  • Regulated Professions

Personal life

Handlin resides in Middletown Township, where she lives with husband David, son Daniel and daughter Rebecca.[10]

Electoral history

Assembly
New Jersey general election, 2017[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Amy Handlin 35,990 28.9 Decrease 1.5
Republican Serena DiMaso 34,214 27.5 Decrease 1.6
Democratic Tom Giaimo 27,212 21.9 Increase 2.1
Democratic Mariel DiDato 26,640 21.4 Increase 1.8
Libertarian Eveline H. Brownstein 458 0.4 N/A
Total votes '124,514' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2015[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Amy Handlin 19,829 30.4 Decrease 3.1
Republican Declan O'Scanlon 18,977 29.1 Decrease 3.4
Democratic Thomas Herman 12,934 19.8 Increase 2.8
Democratic Jeanne Cullinane 12,779 19.6 Increase 3.3
Jobs, Sidewalks, Transit Joshua Leinsdorf 770 1.2 N/A
Total votes '65,289' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2013[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Amy Handlin 38,795 33.5 Increase 3.0
Republican Declan O'Scanlon 37,577 32.5 Increase 3.7
Democratic Allison Friedman 19,623 17.0 Decrease 2.4
Democratic Matthew Morehead 18,843 16.3 Decrease 2.9
Vote Green 13 Anne Zaletel 796 0.7 N/A
Total votes '115,634' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2011[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Amy Handlin 24,073 30.5
Republican Declan O'Scanlon 22,754 28.8
Democratic Patrick Short 15,333 19.4
Democratic Kevin M. Lavan 15,165 19.2
Constitution Frank C. Cottone 834 1.1
Constitution William H. Lawton 757 1.0
Total votes 78,916 100.0
New Jersey general election, 2009[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Amy H. Handlin 39,998 32.9 Increase 4.3
Republican Samuel D. Thompson 38,967 32.1 Increase 3.6
Democratic Robert "Bob" Brown 20,371 16.8 Decrease 4.0
Democratic James Grenafege 18,769 15.4 Decrease 6.7
Fight Corruption Sean Dunne 3,388 2.8 N/A
Total votes '121,493' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2007[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Amy H. Handlin 22,705 28.6 Increase 2.7
Republican Samuel Thompson 22,576 28.5 Increase 2.6
Democratic Patricia Walsh 17,502 22.1 Decrease 0.7
Democratic Robert "Bob" Brown 16,505 20.8 Decrease 1.1
Total votes '79,288' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2005[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Amy Handlin 29,405 25.9 Increase 1.8
Republican Samuel D. Thompson 29,326 25.9 Increase 1.5
Democratic William E. Flynn 25,814 22.8 Decrease 1.0
Democratic Michael Dasaro 24,824 21.9 Decrease 1.1
Green Mike Hall 2,061 1.8 Decrease 0.6
Green Greg Orr 1,899 1.7 Decrease 0.6
Total votes '113,329' '100.0'

References
  1. Assemblywoman Handlin's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed February 21, 2008.
  2. Amy Handlin retiring from New Jersey Assembly, Asbury Park Press. Accessed June 5, 2019.
  3. "Deputy Republican Leader Amy H. Handlin - New Jersey Assembly Republicans". New Jersey Assembly Republicans. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  4. "Freeholder Handlin honored for anti-tobacco efforts" Archived January 26, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, Allentown Examiner, December 29, 2000. Accessed April 24, 2008.
  5. Currey, Virginia. "Whatever Happened to the Year of the Woman? Why Women Still Aren't Making It to the Top in Politics.", Perspectives on Political Science, June 1999. Accessed April 24, 2008.
  6. Donohue, Joe. "Voters unseat two assemblymen: Handlin beats GOP veteran Azzolina as Epps ousts Democrat Chiappone in primaries", The Star-Ledger, June 8, 2005. Accessed August 1, 2007. "Republicans in the 13th Legislative District, which includes parts of Monmouth and Middlesex counties, ousted Assemblyman Joseph Azzolina. The primary ends the long career of the 79-year-old Azzolina, who first won election in 1966 and has served 24 years in several stints in the lower house. The supermarket owner and Navy veteran lost to Monmouth County Freeholder Amy Handlin after county Republicans dropped him from the ticket earlier this year."
  7. Herget, Alison and Biese, Alex. "Officials ban booze in arts-center lots" Archived August 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Home News Tribune. August 18, 2007. Accessed August 18, 2007. "Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, R-Monmouth, who brought the issue to the public's attention earlier this year, said a zero-tolerance policy is the only way to go."
  8. Cervenka, Susanne (December 9, 2016). "Amy Handlin running for Joe Kyrillos' D13 Senate seat". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  9. Kurson, Ken (March 2, 2017). "BREAKING: Amy Handlin Dropping Bid to Replace Kyrillos in NJ State Senate". Observer. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  10. Assembly Member Amy H. Handlin, Project Vote Smart. Accessed August 10, 2007.
  11. "2017-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  12. "2015-official-ge-results-nj-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  13. "2013-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  14. "2011-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-results-121411.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  15. "2009-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-tallies-120109.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  16. "2007-official-general-election-tallies(ga)-12.12.07.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  17. "05831236.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
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