Don Guardian

Don Guardian is serving in his second term as a member of the New Jersey Assembly, representing the shore towns, mainland suburbs, and Pinelands communities of Atlantic County. Don was born the son of Croatian immigrants and raised in both West New York and Palisades Park. An Eagle Scout, he has always maintained a passion for community service and civic engagement. After graduating from Upsala College in 1975, Don worked for fifteen years as an executive with the Boy Scouts, instilling young men with the values of leadership, integrity, and stewardship. His success with the Boy Scouts brought him to South Jersey’s Pine Barrens and later Atlantic City. There, he started as a casino executive before forming the city’s Special Improvement District (SID), where he oversaw the day-to-day upkeep of the city’s Tourism District. At SID, he became known for consistently delivering high-quality services that made the “World’s Playground” glisten. Twenty years later, Don was elected Mayor of Atlantic City against all odds, becoming the first Republican nominee to win since Prohibition. In his first year, four casinos closed, 10,000 workers lost their jobs, and he inherited a $100 million deficit. While fighting a state takeover of the city, Don still delivered on promises to cut wasteful spending, trim bloated government, and diversify the local economy. Having earned a reputation as a resourceful municipal official, Don was appointed as the business administrator for New Jersey’s eighth-largest municipality, Toms River, in 2018. In November 2021, Don was elected to the Assembly and currently serves on two committees: Tourism, Gaming & the Arts and Labor. He represents the most ethnically and linguistically diverse district in the Republican conference and is the state’s first openly gay Republican legislator. Don resides in Atlantic City’s Northeast Inlet with his husband, Louis Fatato.