Thomas P. Giblin (born January 15, 1947) is an American Democratic Party politician, who serves in the New Jersey General Assembly where he represents the 34th legislative district, having taken office on January 10, 2006. He has been the Assembly's Deputy Majority Leader since 2008. Biography and early career Giblin was born on January 15, 1947, to John J. (1909–1975) and Theresa E. (née Moran) Giblin in East Orange. His father, a labor leader, served as a New Jersey state senator from 1966 to 1968 and as an Essex County commissioner after moving from County Roscommon, Ireland. Giblin was raised in Newark and attended Seton Hall Preparatory School. He served in the New Jersey Air National Guard from 1966 to 1972, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant. He also attended Seton Hall University where he received a B.A. in political science. He has also partaken in some post-graduate studies at Seton Hall and Rutgers University In 1973, at the time a West Caldwell resident, Giblin lost , a bid for the Assembly from the 25th District. His Republican opponents were Thomas H. Kean and Jane Burgio. He served as a member of the Essex County Board of County Commissioners from 1977 to 1978 and again from 1982 to 1990. Giblin served on the New Jersey Real Estate Commission from 1979 to 1982. In 1990, he was elected Essex County Surrogate (probate judge) defeating incumbent Bob Cottle. from 1990 to 1993. He served as the county surrogate until resigning in 1993 to run for Essex County Executive. In the June primary election following the resignation of Thomas J. D'Alessio who was eventually convicted of bribery and extortion, Giblin and East Orange mayor Cardell Cooper battled to a tie of 22,907 votes each. A judge decided in August that Cooper would be the Democratic nominee (he would lose to Republican James W. Treffinger in the general election). In 2002, he again ran for County Executive facing Commission President Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. in the primary. Giblin accused DiVincenzo of being the focus of a federal inquiry; DiVincenzo got then-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie to specifically state that he was not the focus of any probe. Both campaigns spent a total of $4.2 million (in 2015 dollars) in what is the 13th most-expensive local race in the state's history; ultimately DiVincenzo defeated Giblin and won the general election. He was a longtime chairman of