President of the Hudson County School Boards Association from 1978 to 1979. Serving for nearly a quarter century in the New Jersey General Assembly, Doria sponsored more than 240 bills that were signed into law. During his years in the Assembly, Doria authored major pieces of legislation in the areas of education, consumer protection, healthcare and transportation. He is responsible for measures to decrease state bureaucracy, especially in the areas of environmental protection and healthcare. Doria was the sponsor of laws giving New Jersey's public colleges and universities greater autonomy. He also wrote the legislation allowing new mothers to stay in the hospital 48 hours after giving birth. Doria was the founding chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee and chaired the Assembly Education Committee. In 2004, Doria's name was suggested as President of Ramapo College, a position that was supported by then-Acting Governor Richard Codey and his predecessor Jim McGreevey (before he had resigned). The school's board of trustees ignored what had been called an "academic coup" to install Doria as President, and a search committee left his name off of a list of finalists for the position, leading Doria to abandon his pursuit of the appointment. In March 2007, Doria announced he would not seek a second term in the State Senate. On September 21, 2007, Corzine nominated Doria as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), replacing Susan Bass Levin. Doria resigned his Senate seat and his mayoralty and assumed the commissionership on an acting basis on October 10, 2007. He was confirmed by the State Senate on November 29, 2007. Governor Corzine announced Doria's resignation as Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, in the wake of a corruption probe in which his home in Bayonne and his office in Trenton were raided. Though Doria had not been included in a series of arrests, 44 people had been taken into custody as part of a wide-ranging probe known as Operation Bid Rig. Doria was cleared of all charges by the U.S. Attorney's office in October 2011. Education Doria received a B.A. degree from Saint Peter's College in History, an M.A. from Boston College in American Studies and was awarded an Ed.D. from Columbia University Teachers College. References External links New Jersey Senate Democrats Website Biography New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2006 (PDF) New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2005 (PDF)