Husband, father, managing partner, state senator…Kevin O’Toole certainly has a full plate, but he somehow manages to do it all.
Q. You have a lot of different roles in life. How do you manage to keep it all together?
A. Being a husband and father are my most important roles, so I make sure my family is my first priority. Family dinners are very important and I never miss the opportunity to attend one of my children’s activities.
Q. How old are your children?
A. My son, Kevin, is a junior in high school. He’s an advanced scuba diver and interested in studying marine biology in college. My daughter, Ryan Marie is a freshman in high school. Her first name, Ryan, is an anagram of the first initials of all four of her grandparents.
Q. How did you meet your wife?
A. It was a total fluke. I lived in New Jersey and Bethany lived in Florida. A mutual friend set us up one weekend when Bethany was in town. We met on December 3 and 26 days later I proposed. I was instantly attracted to her intelligence and sense of humor. I’m not an impulsive person, so my parents were pretty shocked. We were married the next November and this year we’ll celebrate our 20th anniversary.
Q. How did you get into politics?
A. When I was a law student, I ran and was elected to our township council in Cedar Grove, NJ. I served three terms on the council and three years as mayor. Then I ran for state legislature. I first served in the house in 1995 and have been a state senator since 2007, a total of 19 years so far.
Q. What are you most proud of during your tenure in political office?
A. I’m proud of my pension reform efforts and my sponsorship of a child pornography law. New Jersey now has one of the toughest laws in the country. What I enjoy most is being able to help my constituents. I have a great senate office staff. We work tirelessly to help people who don’t know how to help themselves. We help people with veteran’s benefits, senior housing, job placement…just everyday challenges. It’s awesome to be able to make a difference in the lives of those people who need the help.
Q. Do you ever have time for vacation?
A. My son and wife are scuba divers and my daughter and I like to snorkel, so we take a lot of trips to the Caribbean and we love Florida. We also love deep-sea fishing. We always make a contest out of it…first fish, biggest fish, most fish…It’s just a fun tradition and we spend the day laughing and having fun as a family. My wife, children and I also like to golf together.