Christopher DePhillips
American attorney & politician (born 1965)
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Christopher P. DePhillips (born March 30, 1965) is an American attorney and Republican Party politician who has represented the 40th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2018. [6] Since 2024, DePhillips has been the GOP conference leader, the third highest-ranking Republican in the NJ Assembly. He had previously served as mayor of Wyckoff.
Christopher DePhillips | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 40th district | |
| Assumed office January 9, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | David C. Russo |
| Commissioner of the Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority | |
| In office June 25, 2012[1] – December 31, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Peter A. Dachnowicz[2] |
| Succeeded by | Brian Chewcaskie[3] |
| Member of the Wyckoff Township Committee | |
| In office January 1, 2010 – January 1, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | David C. Alnor[4] |
| Succeeded by | Haakon Jepsen[5] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 30, 1965 |
| Party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Georgetown University Seton Hall University School of Law[6] |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Website | www |
Personal and early life
DePhillips graduated in 1983 from Bergen Catholic High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in government from Georgetown University in 1987 and a juris doctor degree from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1992.[6][7] From 1987 to 1989 he worked in Washington, D.C., as an aide to Congresswoman Marge Roukema.
A member of the Wyckoff Township Committee from 2010 to 2013, DePhillips was unanimously chosen by his peers to serve as mayor in 2012.[6][8] Appointed in June 2012, he served until 2017 as a Commissioner of the Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority, which provides sewage treatment services to 75,000 residents in Bergen County.[6][9]
DePhillips is a practicing attorney who has been a partner at Gibbons as well as Porzio Bromberg & Newman. From 2016 until 2024, DePhillips was chief operating officer and general counsel at Porzio Life Sciences, which was taken over by RLDatix in 2022. [10] In April 2024 he returned to private practice, becoming an equity partner at the North Jersey law firm Bernstein DePhillips & Kalosieh.[11]
New Jersey Assembly
Since 2024, DePhillips has been GOP conference leader, the third highest-ranking Republican in the Assembly. [12][13] DePhillips was first appointed to GOP caucus leadership in 2021, when he was named deputy Republican leader by leader Jon Bramnick.[14]
In February 2019, DePhillips introduced a bill that would abolish the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, but it never came to a vote in Committee.[15]
In December 2021, DePhillips introduced a bill that would allow vote-by-mail ballots to be counted as they are received, which would change the current policy that requires waiting until election day. In an NJ Assembly GOP press release promoting the bill, Dephillips stated that, "It is incumbent upon officials to fix the problems that lead to conspiracy theories. Earlier counting of mail-in votes will help address some of this year's hang-ups," referencing how, in 2021, New Jersey's gubernatorial race and some legislative races were too close to call on election night.[16]
In March 2022, DePhillips introduced proposed articles of impeachment against New Jersey Secretary of Labor Robert Asaro-Angelo.[17]
Committees
Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[6]
- Science, Innovation and Technology
- Transportation and Independent Authorities
District 40
Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.[18] The representatives from the 40th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[19]
- Senator Kristin Corrado (R)
- Assemblyman Al Barlas (R)
- Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips (R)
Electoral history
2023
Led by Kristin Corrado running for re-election in the New Jersey Senate, DePhillips and his Republican running mate, newcomer Al Barlas, defeated Democrats Giovanna Irizarry and Jennifer Marrinan in the 2023 New Jersey General Assembly election.[20][21]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Christopher P. DePhillips (incumbent) | 28,601 | 27.9 | |
| Republican | Al Barlas | 27,638 | 27.0 | |
| Democratic | Jennifer Marrinan | 23,202 | 22.7 | |
| Democratic | Giovanna Irizarry | 22,952 | 22.4 | |
| Total votes | 102,393 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Republican hold | ||||
2021
In the 2021 New Jersey General Assembly election, DePhillips (with 45,246 votes) and running-mate Kevin Rooney defeated their Democratic opponents, a team of Waldwick councilwoman Nicole McNamara (who earned 31,066 votes) and former assistant Bergen County prosecutor Genny Allard (who earned 30,606), to win re-election to his third two-year term in the General Assembly.[23][24] In Bergen County, DePhillips won with 28.09% of the 60,790 votes cast (versus Allard's 21.73% and McNamara's 21.71%),[25] in Passaic County with 30.48% of the 66,366 votes cast (versus 18.94% and 19.50%),[26] in Essex County with 29.14% of the 10,059 votes cast (versus 20.28% and 20.71%);[27] and in Morris County with 31.83% of the 15,730 votes cast (versus 17.69% and 18.07%).[28]
Leading up to the election, the New Jersey State FMBA (a union representing career firefighters, EMTs, and dispatchers) backed DePhillips in a slate of mixed Republican and Democrat endorsements.[29] The New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police, also in a politically heterogenous round of endorsements, chose to support DePhillips as well.[30]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kevin J. Rooney (incumbent) | 46,004 | 30.1% |  1.7 | |
| Republican | Christopher DePhillips (incumbent) | 45,246 | 29.6% | 2.0 | |
| Democratic | Genevieve Allard | 30,606 | 20.0% |  1.8 | |
| Democratic | Nicole McNamara | 31,066 | 20.3% | 1.8 | |
| Total votes | '152,922' | '100.0' | |||
2019
In the November 2019 election, DePhillips (with 21,955 votes) was re-elected to his second two-year term as an assemblyman, defeating the Democratic slate of former Bergen County Freeholder Julie O'Brien (who earned 17,557 votes) and Little Falls councilwoman Maria Martini Cordonnier (who earned 17,332).[32] In Bergen County, DePhillips won with 27.84% of the 17,046 cast (versus O'Brien's 22.17% and Cordonnier's 21.63%);[33] In Passaic County with 26.97% of the 36,050 votes cast (versus 22.58% and 22.45%),[34] in Essex County with 26.71% of the 3,254 votes cast (versus 22.74% and 23.11%);[35] and in Morris County with 30.26% of the 7,666 votes cast (versus 19.25% and 19.05%).[36]
In late October 2019, DePhillips and his running mate, Kevin Rooney, skipped a debate hosted by the League of Women Voters, claiming that the question-selection process was "broken" and "unfair" because an earlier debate sponsored by the Wayne League of Women Voters had allowed, "...a local Democratic candidate to be part of a group that was screening questions and determining what questions would be asked".[37]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kevin J. Rooney (incumbent) | 22,562 | 28.4% | 1.7 | |
| Republican | Christopher DePhillips (incumbent) | 21,955 | 27.6% | 1.3 | |
| Democratic | Julie O'Brien | 17,557 | 22.1% | 1.1 | |
| Democratic | Maria Martini Cordonnier | 17,332 | 21.8 | 0.8 | |
| Total votes | '79,426' | '100.0' | |||
2017
In the 2013 general election, the last time all three legislative seats in the 40th District were up for vote simultaneously, the winners were Republicans Kevin J. O'Toole in the Senate and Scott Rumana and David C. Russo in the Assembly. By the 2017 primaries all would be gone, with O'Toole resigning in 2017 to become a Commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (being replaced by Kristin Corrado), Rumana leaving in 2016 to become a judge in New Jersey Superior Court (replaced By Kevin J. Rooney) and Russo's announcement that he would not run for another term of office, leaving a vacuum that led to a series of primary challenges. DePhillips joined the June 2017 primary, seeking to replace Russo and running on a ticket with Rooney; they defeated primary opponents Joseph Bubba Jr. and the comeback attempt of former State Senator Norman M. Robertson by margins of 2–1; Kristin Corrado won the Senate nomination against former Assemblyman Paul DiGaetano.[39]
Since 1973, the 40th District has always leaned Republican, never electing a Democrat through the 2017 general election.[40] However, a poll conducted by Democrats shortly before the election showed the two slates tied at 39%, with 21% of voters undecided.[41] In the November 2017 general election, DePhillips (with 30,610 votes; 26.3% of all ballots cast) and his running mate, incumbent Kevin J. Rooney (with 31,170; 26.8%), defeated Democratic challengers Christine Ordway (27,092; 23.3%) and Paul Vagianos (26,737; 23.0%) to win both Assembly seats from the district for the Republicans.[42][43]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kevin J. Rooney (incumbent) | 31,170 | 26.8 | 0.8 | |
| Republican | Christopher DePhillips | 30,610 | 26.3 | 1.7 | |
| Democratic | Christine Ordway | 27,092 | 23.3 | 1.0 | |
| Democratic | Paul Vagianos | 26,737 | 23.0 | 0.8 | |
| You Tell Me | Anthony J. Pellechia | 748 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Total votes | '116,357' | '100.0' | |||