Holly Schepisi
Holly T. Schepisi is an American lawyer, businesswoman, and Republican Party politician who is the New Jersey State Senator, representing the 39th legislative district, in office since 2021.
Schepisi previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly, from January 10, 2012, until March 24, 2021. She has served as Deputy Minority Leader since January 14, 2020, and served as Assistant Minority Leader for two years before then. On March 9, 2021, she was chosen to succeed long-serving Senator Gerald Cardinale in the State Senate, who died in office. She was sworn in on March 25, 2021.
Background
Schepisi was born on December 20, 1971, the daughter of John A. Schepisi, a lawyer and former chairman of the Bergen County Republican Organization. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from The Catholic University of America in politics and psychology in 1993, and a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law in 1997. While in college, she worked at the 1992 Republican National Convention, interned for Organization of American States, Congresswoman Marge Roukema, and a member of the British Parliament. In 2007, she began serving as the Township Attorney for River Vale, a position she held until 2011. In addition, she was also a public defender for Oakland and an alternate prosecutor for Old Tappan and Westwood., Schepisi and her husband, Paul Garfinkel, live in River Vale, New Jersey; they have two children. In March 2015, she suffered a brain aneurysm but fully recovered after surgery in the summer of 2015.
New Jersey Assembly
In August 2011, Charlotte Vandervalk announced her retirement from the General Assembly seat in the 39th district. A resident of River Vale, Schepisi was selected by the Bergen County Republican Organization to take Vandervalk's place on the ballot, and in the general election she and her running mate Bob Schroeder defeated the Democratic candidates, Anthony Iannarelli Jr. and Michael McCarthy. She was sworn in on January 10, 2012.Tenure
In 2014, Schepisi introduced a bill that would have weakened vaccination requirements for school children. The bill would have allowed certain children under the age of six to attend school without receiving a Hepatitis B vaccine. Schepisi stated that the debunked link between vaccines and autism was not her "primary rationale" for introducing the bill. The bill did not become law. In the summer of 2017, Schepisi held the first of several planned public hearing in Paramus with various civic leaders on mandated affordable housing under the Mount Laurel Doctrine with local mayors and other state assembly members. In October 2018 Schepisi joined then-Republican State Senator Dawn Addiego and Republicans Kristin Corrado, Amy Handlin, DiAnne Gove, Serena DiMaso, BettyLou DeCroce, and Nancy Munoz in calling for an investigation into Governor Phil Murphy's hiring practices.Committees
Committee assignments for the current session are:- Community and Urban Affairs
- Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens
District 39
- Senator Holly Schepisi
- Assemblyman Robert Auth
- Assemblywoman John V. Azzariti
Electoral history