In February 2023, Caputo announced that he would leave office once he was nominated and confirmed by the Senate to serve as a director of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.[2] He left office on March 22, 2023, a day after his nomination to the position was confirmed by the New Jersey Senate.[3]
A long-time resident of Belleville, he is now a resident of Nutley. He is married to Celeste and has two grown children.[6]
Political career
Caputo along with C. Richard Fiore were elected as Republicans to the State Assembly in 1967, defeating Eugene Molinaro and Warren Davis in the Republican primary and Democratic incumbents Armand Lembo and Joseph Biancardi.[7] At the time of his election at age 27, he was the youngest person ever elected to the State Legislature.[6] They represented Essex County's District 11-C, a new district created in 1967 following the elimination of countywide at-large Assembly districts. Caputo and Fiore were re-elected in 1969 against Democrats Carmen Orechio and Joseph Iannuzzi.[8] During his first two terms in the Assembly, Caputo advocated for the construction of a casino in Newark.[9] Caputo lost the backing of the Essex County Republican organization when he ran for a third term in 1971, and lost the GOP primary to Carl Orechio and John N. Dennis.[10] He resigned his seat before his term ended effective October 4, 1971.[11]
By 1982, Caputo had become a Democrat. That year, he ran in the Democratic primary for Essex County Executive but was defeated by incumbent Peter Shapiro and East Orange mayor Thomas H. Cooke Jr.[12] In 2002, Caputo mounted a political comeback by running for a seat on the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders from District 5 consisting of Belleville, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Montclair, and Nutley.[13] Running as a Democrat, he defeated incumbent Republican Freeholder Joseph P. Scarpelli.[14] During his tenure on the Freeholder board, he reached the position of Vice President of the board.[1][15] He would be re-elected to two-more three-year terms until he retired from the board in 2011 citing the difficulties of holding two elected offices serving almost two different constituencies.[16]
In December 2005, following the death of 28th District Assemblyman Donald Kofi Tucker, Caputo sought the nomination of being appointed to the vacant seat by the local county Democratic committee. He lost the convention vote 73%-27% to Evelyn Williams.[17] In 2007, Caputo along with Tucker's widow Cleopatra ran in the Democratic primary for the same Assembly seat. With the backing of Newark MayorCory Booker, Caputo and Tucker defeated incumbents Craig A. Stanley and Oadline Truitt in the primary.[18][19] In the run-up to the general election, opponents used old articles from the 1960s and 70s to tie Caputo to controversial Newark activist Anthony Imperiale. Caputo stated that he never supported Imperiale's positions.[20] Upon Caputo's win in the general election, he returned to the Assembly after a 36-year gap, the second-longest gap in the state's history.
From 2008 to 2011, Caputo simultaneously held his seat in the New Jersey General Assembly and as Freeholder. Such dual-office holding, unique to New Jersey, was allowed under a grandfather clause in the state law enacted by the New Jersey Legislature and signed into law by Governor of New JerseyJon Corzine in September 2007 that prohibited future dual-office-holding but allowed for those who had held both positions as of February 1, 2008, to remain.[21]
He would be easily re-elected to a fourth two-year term in 2009 but would face an unusual difficulty in 2011. After Belleville was removed from the 28th District in the 2011 legislative redistricting, Caputo moved to Nutley, New Jersey in order to seek reelection in the 28th District.[22] The move led then-incumbent 36th District Assemblyman Kevin J. Ryan to retire from the Assembly as he too was a resident of Nutley.[23]
Caputo draws both a pension for his career in education and another for his many years in the state legislature. At the same time, he also draws a salary as a sitting legislator. This is a legal practice in New Jersey often referred to as "double dipping."[24]
^Johnson, Brent."N.J. lawmaker who first served in 1960s says he expects to leave for spot on Horizon board", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 22, 2023. Accessed February 24, 2023. "State Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, who has served two separate tenures in the New Jersey Legislature, nearly four decades apart and spanning both major political parties, confirmed Tuesday night he’s set to end his career as a lawmaker. The 82-year-old Democrat from Essex County — whose district includes parts of Newark, the state’s largest city — told NJ Advance Media that Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to nominate him to the board of directors of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey."
^Sobko, Katie. "Ralph Caputo, Essex assemblyman, resigns to take Horizon board seat", The Record, March 23, 2023. Accessed March 23, 2023. "Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, D-Essex, resigned his seat on Tuesday. The move was expected, because Caputo’s nomination to the Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey board was approved on Monday."
^Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 2010, p. 283. Accessed January 31, 2022. "Assemblyman Caputo was born Oct. 31, 1940, in Newark. He graduated from Barringer High School in 1958 and Bloomfield College in 1963. He received a master's degree in school administration from Seton Hall University in 1975."
^Byrne, Brendan; Linky, Donald (2014). The Man Who Couldn't Be Bought. Farleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 181. ISBN9781611477436. Retrieved September 20, 2015. Two years before the Dumont Commission's report, Republican Assemblyman Ralph Caputo of Essex County sponsored a proposal for casinos in both Atlantic City and Newark, which was struggling to recover from the 1967 riots.
^Narvaez, Alfonso A. (June 9, 1982). "Courter is winner of House race in Jersey primary". The New York Times. Retrieved April 21, 2020. In Essex County, the 30-year-old County Executive, Peter Shapiro, won renomination in a race with Mayor Thomas H. Cooke Jr. of East Orange and Ralph R. Caputo, a former Assemblyman.
^Moore, Elizabeth (October 27, 2002). "Essex County: Freeholder Race". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved September 20, 2015. Democratic district freeholder candidates include ... Ralph Caputo, a former two-term state assemblyman, who is expected to make a strong challenge to unseat Scarpelli in District 5.
^Milo, Paul. "Report: Caputo Bidding Adieu to Belleville; Redistricting Compelling Move, Assemblyman Says", Belleville Patch, April 8, 2011. Accessed December 22, 2014. "There's been another development in what is proving to be an eventful week in local politics: Assemblyman Ralph Caputo is leaving Belleville and relocating to Nutley, where he plans to seek re-election from the 28th District, according to a published report."
^"Yustein Sworn in as Legislative District 28’s Newest Assembly Member", Insider NJ, May 25, 2023. Accessed February 10, 2024. "Former Glen Ridge Councilwoman Jacqueline Yustein received the oath of office from Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin on Thursday to become a member of the New Jersey General Assembly. Yustein joins Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker in representing the 28th Legislative District in Essex County."
