10th District Assemblyman Wolfe Leaving Office At Term's End

BRICK, NJ — Assemblyman David W. Wolfe, who represents Brick and Toms River as part of New Jersey's 10th District, will be retiring from the Assembly in early 2020 after he announced he will not be seeking re-election this fall.

"It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to have had the opportunity to serve the families of the 10th Legislative District for the past 26 years," Wolfe, 76, said in the announcement. "My goal as an elected official always has been to help my constituency to have a better life for their families."

"I think it is time for me to be more involved in the lives of my family members, and I am looking forward to spending more time with them," Wolfe said.

His 10th District colleagues, Sen. Jim Holzapfel and Assemblyman Greg McGuckin, said seeing their friend and fellow legislator leave office is bittersweet.

"I have had the honor to serve alongside Dave since 1995 and during those years I have witnessed his passion and dedication to the people of our district and the State of New Jersey," Holzapfel said. "His public service cannot be measured by bills passed and votes cast but rather by his commitment to the real needs of the people of New Jersey."

"When I first joined the Assembly, Dave mentored me and assisted me," McGuckin said. "Many people don’t know that my relationship with Dave goes back a generation when he supported my father for mayor of Brick Township in the late 1960s. That is something that me, nor my family, will never forget. Dave will be missed not only by myself, Jim and our legislative staff but most importantly he will be missed by the residents of the 10th Legislative District."

Wolfe joined the Assembly in 1992, after serving on the Brick Township Council from 1975 to 1991.

His passion, he said, has always been education. He graduated from Westminster College in Pennsylvania with a bachelor's in history in 1964 and received a master's degree in education and guidance from the University of Delaware in 1967. He has been a professor of psychology a Ocean County College since 1969.

In the Assembly, Wolfe has served as chairman for the Education Committee and vice chairman for the Joint Legislative Committee on the Public Schools. He also serves on the Joint Legislative Committee on Public School Funding Reform.

"I am proud of my role as chairman of the Assembly Education Committee and Vice Chairman for the Joint Legislative Committee on the Public Schools. I'll never forget all of the classrooms I visited, or my 'blueberry kids' who learned about the legislative process by helping me to pass the law designating the state fruit," Wolfe said.

He also has worked closely with the State Beach Erosion Commission as a past chairman.

"I'm also proud of our work to protect the Jersey Shore for generations to come, including the clean-up of the Barnegat Bay and the relief and recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy," he said. "As the author of the original Blue Acres bill, I am extremely proud of the success the program has had to preserve and enhance New Jersey’s waterways."

Aside from education, he is also assigned to the Telecommunications and Utilities Committee.

While serving in the Assembly, he also has worked closely with the Ocean County Chapter of the American Cancer Society, the Governor's Advisory Panel on Higher Education Restructuring, and is a Board Member for the Health South Rehabilitation Hospital, A+ for Kids, and the Ocean Federal Foundation.

"It has been an honor to serve the district with strong leaders like Andy Ciesla, Ginny Haines, Jim Holzapfel, and Greg McGuckin. They were and always will be great teammates and friends. I would like to thank my staff, many of whom have been with me for nearly the entire ride," Wolfe said. "I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude to my wife, Carol, who has supported me every step of the way during my tenure as assemblyman."

David Wolfe photo via 10th District Legislative Office