State Senate

Senator
Vince Polistina

Vince Polistina is a lifelong resident of Atlantic County.  He attended Galloway Township public schools and Absegami High School before graduating from Rutgers University where he earned his degree in Bio-Environmental Engineering.

Polistina specializes in the design and construction management of water and wastewater systems, and proudly serves communities across Atlantic County as their municipal engineer, utility engineer, or municipal planner.  In 2003, Vince launched Polistina & Associates, where he now employs more than a dozen local residents at offices in Egg Harbor Township and Galloway.

Polistina previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2008 through 2011.  During that time, he served as Deputy Republican Leader and sponsored legislation aimed at growing South Jersey’s economy, improving affordability for working families and retirees, and establishing a Tourism District in Atlantic City to improve public safety and economic opportunity.

Polistina resides in Egg Harbor Township with his wife Carolyn and their 3 sons Vincent, Dominic and Cole.

Senator
Michael Testa

Michael L. Testa, Jr.’s family has deep roots in Cumberland County and South Jersey.

On his dad’s side, his great-grandparents emigrated from Italy to secure a better future for their children and themselves.

His grandfather became the first elected Mayor of the City of Vineland and went on to become a Judge, despite not even speaking English until the 1st grade. Michael’s father went on to start and build their family law firm.

On his mom’s side, his grandparents were Polish Jews who met in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II and were, thank God, freed by Allied soldiers. After the war, they came to the United States, where his mom was born. They settled in Buena and his family ran a chicken farm.

Senator Testa is a graduate of Villanova University School of Law and received his Masters at Temple University Beasley School of Law. He and his wife Julie live in Vineland with their three children, Eva Marie, Sarah, and Tripp.

Julie is the engine that makes the Testa family go. She is a former Miss New Jersey, and currently a school librarian in Vineland.

At 26, Senator Testa was the Board Chairman of the Vineland Downtown Improvement District/Main Street Vineland. He is a proud member of the Greater Vineland Chapter of the NAACP, and Past Chair of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland and Salem Counties.

As the incredibly proud father of two little girls, Senator Testa has been the Board President of the Vineland Regional Dance company for several years, and was the 2016 recipient of the South Jersey Cultural Alliance Paul Aiken Encore Award for his dedication to the arts in South Jersey.

In 2019, Senator Testa was elected to the New Jersey State Senate to represent the First Legislative District. Currently, Senator Testa serves on the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, Senate Labor Committee, Joint Committee on the Public Schools, and is the co-chair of the New Jersey Legislative Manufacturing Caucus.

Senator
Jean Stanfield

Jean Stanfield was sworn into the State Senate in January of 2022. Prior to that, she served as an assemblywoman since 2019. She currently serves on the Law and Public Safety, Environment and Energy, and Heath, Human Services & Senior Citizens committees.

Senator Stanfield was sworn in as Burlington County’s first female sheriff in 2002 and remained sheriff for nearly two decades. Jean is the second woman in New Jersey’s history to serve as a county sheriff. She served as Undersheriff and an assistant prosecutor in Burlington County, prior to that. The Senator completed Rutgers School of Law in Camden and started her career working for the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office as a grant specialist and for the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights doing community outreach.

During her time as Burlington County Sheriff, she obtained more than $6.5 million in grant funds to create and maintain community programs, such as the Senior Expo, Veteran Expo, youth police academies, annual holiday toy drive and an Easter Egg hunt for children with disabilities.

Jean lives in Westampton with her family, where she often has the pleasure of babysitting her great granddaughter.

Senator
Chris Connors

Senator Christopher J. Connors was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey on June 26, 1956. He graduated from Southern Regional High School and attended Stockton State College, where he graduated with honors in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He earned a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University Graduate School of Public Administration in Newark in 1988. Senator Connors received a Juris Doctor Degree from Rutgers University School of Law at Camden in 1995 and was the recipient of the American Bar Association’s Award for Excellence in Municipal Law.

He was elected to the Lacey Township Committee in 1984 and served as Mayor from 1986 to 1990. He was the Republican Municipal Chairman from 1986 to 1990. He served on the Republican County Committee in 1984 and 1985. From 1982 to 1988, Senator Connors was Deputy Director of the New Jersey Commission on Capital Budgeting and Planning and served as its Director during 1988 and 1989. The Commission is responsible for the preparation of the annual capital budget for the State of New Jersey, coordinating the long-range capital expenditure plans for the State, evaluating and analyzing capital requests for all Departments, monitoring capital spending of all State Agencies and evaluating the impact of capital spending on future State budgets.

Senator Connors was selected by the Republican County Committee members and was sworn to the General Assembly on September 28, 1989. He was elected to his first full term in the Assembly in November, 1989, and was reelected in 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005. He was elected to the Senate in 2007 and was reelected in 2011, 2013, and 2017.

While serving in the Assembly, he was the ranking member of both the Assembly Judiciary and Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committees. He served as Assistant Majority Leader from 1992 to 1995. Senator Connors is currently a member of the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee and the Senate Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

He received the 1996 Public Service Award from the Ladies Auxiliary of the Retired Police and Firemen’s Association of Ocean County Local No. 8, was named Honorary Lifetime Member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Retired Police and Firemen’s Association of Ocean County Local No. 8, was named 1999 “Citizen of the Year” by the Bayville Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9503, was named 2000 Legislator of the Year by VFW Post 6063, received the 2000 Distinguished Service Award from the State VFW Commander, received the Legislative Achievement Award for 2001 from the State Retired Police and Firemen’s Association, served as the Legislator-In-Residence at Richard Stockton College for the Spring 2012 Semester, was named “Legislator of the Year” by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Department of New Jersey for 2012, received the 2013 Robert B. Meyner Award from the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA), was the recipient of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors “Legislator of the Year” award in 2013, was selected as a honoree by the Business and Professional Women of New Jersey Foundation (BFWNJ) Southern Ocean County organization during its 16th Annual “Women Helping Women” Award Dinner and was named “Legislator of the Year” by the New Jersey Apartment Association (NJAA) in 2014.

Senator Connors is an attorney with the law firm of Dasti, Murphy, McGuckin, Ulaky, Koutsouris & Connors. The Senator and his wife, Deborah, were married in 1979. They have two children, Christopher, Jr., born in 1982 and Kelly, born in 1987.