Nicholas Scutari has been a New Jersey state senator since 2004, representing the 22nd legislative district. He was elected after fellow Linden democrat Joseph Suliga announced he would not seek re-election. Prior to serving in the Senate, Scutari was a member of the Linden Board of Education and then served on the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders for three consecutive terms. Scutari served as Freeholder Chairman for a year upon entering his second term in 1999, becoming the youngest Freeholder Chairman in county history. As chairman, he was instrumental in establishing the Downtown Union County Initiative, which provided over $5 million to revitalize the county’s downtown areas, and in establishing the Freeholder Scholars program, which provides full scholarships to Union County College to students in the county with a Baverage or better. Nicholas Scutari received a B.A. from Kean University in Psychology, an Ed.M. from Rutgers University in Education, and a J.D. from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Senator Scutari is a practicing attorney at the Law Offices of Nicholas P. Scutari in Linden. He is a member of the Joint State Leasing and Space Utilization Committee, the Commerce Committee, and the Judiciary Committee, as well as Chairman of the State Government Committee.