While in the Assembly, Addigeo served as the Assistant Republican Whip after taking office in 2008. She also served on the Appropriations Committee and the Higher Education Committee.[2] In March 2009, Addiego, along with fellow Assemblyman Scott Rudder, asked for a 10% cut from her legislative salary in light of New Jersey's current economic crisis.
A legal opinion from the New Jersey Office of Legislative Services found that they were the first lawmakers in New Jersey history to ask to waive part of their salary.[3]
In 2011, the two legislators proposed that the 10% pay cut that they took should be extended to other state legislative, judicial and executive branch employees, including the Governor.[4]
Addiego was a vocal opponent of Governor Jon Corzine's Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) plan to require towns to build a government-set number of affordable housing units. She argued that "COAH's new regulations will drive up property taxes, destroy open space and discourage economic development."[5]
New Jersey Senate
Addiego was elected to the New Jersey Senate in November 2011, running unopposed after prospective Democratic Party candidate Carl Lewis was knocked off the ballot because he didn't meet the state's residency requirement.[6]
State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation
Labor
Budget and Appropriations
Votes on Key Issues
In 2012, Addiego voted against legalizing marriage for same-sex couples[8]
In 2017, Addiego voted to increase the New Jersey gas tax by 23 cents[9]
In 2018, Addiego voted against a bill requiring New Jersey employers to provide earned sick leave to their employees[10]
In 2019, Addiego came out against the legalization of recreational marijuana in New Jersey[11]
Party switch
On January 28, 2019, Addiego switched political affiliation to the Democratic Party.[12] After Addiego's party switch, 8th District Assemblyman Joe Howarth had allegedly tried to switch his party from Republican to Democrat, and Republican leaders were unable to contact Howarth for two days. The Burlington County Republican Committee subsequently dropped their support for Howarth and endorsed Burlington CountySheriffJean Stanfield for his seat in the Assembly.[13] Ultimately, Stanfield and incumbent Republican Assemblyman Ryan Peters defeated Howarth in the primary and won the general election.
In 2021, Addiego ran for reelection to the Senate as a Democrat. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary, and despite having a fundraising advantage, narrowly lost to Stanfield in the general election. Addiego later became Superintendent of Elections for Burlington County in late January 2022. [14]
^Levinsky, David. Pols seek pay cut", Burlington County Times, March 13, 2009; accessed January 23, 2012. "The legal opinion from the Office of Legislative Services found no previous examples of lawmakers waiving part of their salaries."
^Levinsky, David. "8th District legislators propose pay cuts for top government officials"Archived 2011-10-17 at the Wayback Machine, Burlington County Times, October 9, 2011; accessed January 12, 2012. "Two years ago, New Jersey Sen. Dawn Marie Addiego and Assemblyman Scott Rudder voluntarily took a 10 percent pay cut, claiming state lawmakers should share in the pain being felt by residents and taxpayers. Now Addiego and Rudder want Gov. Chris Christie to take the same cut, along with his Cabinet, their fellow legislators, and many other state officials, judges and prosecutors. According to their math, the state would save about $9.6 million from the salary reductions."
^Staff. "2011 N.J. election notebook: Voting vignettes from around the state", The Star-Ledger, November 9, 2009. Accessed January 7, 2012. "The Associated Press called the race for incumbent Sen. Dawn Marie Addiego (R-Burlington) about 10 minutes after polls closed.The reason: Addiego ran unopposed. Her opponent — former Olympic track and field star Carl Lewis — was kicked off the ballot after Secretary of State Kim Guadagno, also the lieutenant governor, ruled he did not meet New Jersey's four-year residency requirement for state Senate candidates."