Joseph George Minish (September 1, 1916 – November 24, 2007) was an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey who represented in the United States House of Representatives. Early life Born in Throop, Pennsylvania, Minish was the son of a coal miner, George Joseph Minish (1894-1932). His grandfather, Vincenzo "James" Minisci (1860-1920), emigrated to the United States from Italy in 1886. His mother, Angeline Nardozzi Minish (1898-1954), emigrated to the United States from Italy as an infant. Minish had two brothers: James Minish (1920-1928) and Francis X. Minish (1926-2009); and three sisters: Pauline Minish LaBelle (1918-2001); Mary Minish Mecca (1921-2000); and Lena Minish Mecca (1923-1994). His brothers-in-law, Charles and James Mecca, were brothers. He graduated Dunmore High School in 1935, and served in the United States Army from 1945 to 1946. Labor Leader Minish spent his early career in organized labor. He was the executive secretary of the Essex-West Hudson Council, Congress of Industrial Organizations, from 1954 to 1960, and the executive director of the Essex-West Industrial Union Council, AFL-CIO, from 1960 to 1962. Political career In 1962, seven-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Hugh Joseph Addonizio gave up his Essex County, New Jersey-based House seat to run for Mayor of Newark. Essex County Democratic leaders picked the 46-year-old Minish to defend the seat, which was considered to be politically competitive, especially in the mid-term election of President John F. Kennedy. The district included tenements and low-cost housing in Newark, New Jersey, as well as wealthy suburbs like South Orange and West Orange. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the general election, he faced Republican Frank A. Palmieri, a lawyer who had won 36% of the vote against Addonizio in 1960. Labor leaders rallied behind Minish, who as a first-time candidate pledged to support the Kennedy Administration. His campaign platform included advocacy of "Federal aid for education for construction and teacher salaries; extension of the Social Security Act to provide medical care for the aged; 'long-term loans and technical assistance to emerging nations; and the establishment of a cabinet-level Department of Urban Affairs." Minish won by a large margin, 48,102 (59.45%) to 30,244 (37.28%) for Palmieri. Minish spent 22 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, winning re-election easily. In 1964, he beat William L. Stubbs, who had been the first African American to win a major party nomination for Congress in New Jersey. He beat: attorney Leonard Felzenberg in