John P. Scott

Who was John P. Scott?

John P. Scott was an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1992 to 1998 where he represented the 36th Legislative District, which covered Passaic and portions of southern Bergen County.

Scott was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Jersey City and graduated from William L. Dickinson High School in June 1951. He graduated from Montclair State University before serving in the United States Army. During the 1980s, Scott served as chairman of the New Jersey Conservative Caucus. Scott was campaign manager for Arthur F. Jones in his 1986 bid to unseat Congressman Robert Torricelli.

A resident of Lyndhurst, Scott was elected to the State Senate in 1991, when he defeated incumbent Gabriel Ambrosio in the wake of widespread voter dissatisfaction with then-Governor of New Jersey James Florio. The feared loss of state aid to local communities under the 1990 Quality Education Act also played a role in Scott's win. The two faced off again in 1993, with Scott winning re-election by a 53%-47% margin. While serving in the Senate, Scott pushed for the elimination of wasteful spending and was an advocate for smaller government.