Background
DiMaio was born in Newton and raised in Hackettstown.
DiMaio was born in Newton and raised in Hackettstown.
He graduated from Hackettstown High School in 1974 and shortly thereafter was elected the president of the Hackettstown Democratic Club.
He was sworn in on March 16, 2009. In 1999, he was elected the president of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors. DiMaio was defeated by Democrat Roger Hines in his bid for re-election for mayor in 1999.
In December 2000, when incumbent Republican Warren County Freeholder Susan Dickey was elected County Surrogate, DiMaio was chosen by the Warren County Republican Committee to fill the remainder of her term.
Almost immediately, he was chosen as Freeholder Director for the year of 2001. He was chosen as Freeholder Director again in 2008.
On February 21, 2009, a special election was held by a convention of Republican committee members from Hunterdon and Warren counties to fill the vacant Assembly seat of Marcia A. Karrow. On the first ballot, the totals were: DiMaio 129, Peterson 104, and Holt 56.
On the second runoff ballot, the totals were: DiMaio 153 and Peterson 141.
DiMaio was sworn into office on March 16, 2009. He and his running mate, Hunterdon County Freeholder Erik Peterson, narrowly edged out Editor Smith for the two spots on the November general election ballot. DiMaio and Peterson defeated Democratic candidates William Courtney and Tammeisha Smith in the general election.
DiMaio currently serves on the Assembly Appropriations Committee and Higher Education Committee.
District 23
Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 23rd District for the 2014–2015 Legislative Session are:
Senator Michael J. Doherty
Assemblyman Erik Peterson.
He began serving as mayor in 1991 and switched parties to join the Republicans in March 1995.
In the June 2009 Republican primary, DiMaio successfully defended his Assembly seat.
While in high school, he was a charter member of the Hackettstown First Aid and Rescue Squad’s Youth Squad, later joining the squad as a life member. He served as a member of the town council for 10 years as a Democrat starting in 1980 before resigning in late 1990 just after he was elected mayor. DiMaio was a member of the Hackettstown Municipal Utilities Authority from 1991 until 1995 and rejoined it in 1999 where he continues to serve.
While serving as Freeholder, he was a member of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (2001 through 2009) serving as vice-chair in 2008.
At the special election convention, DiMaio defeated Erik Peterson and Matt Holt, both members of the Hunterdon County Board of Chosen Freeholders. He was assigned to serve as a member of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and the Telecommunications and Utilities Committee.