Alexander J. Matturri (November 28, 1913 – January 14, 1992) was an American Republican Party politician and jurist who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1968 to 1972.
He won a hotly contested primary, finishing third in a field of thirteen candidates for six Senate seats elected At-Large in Essex County.
The four Democratic Senators elected in 1965 -- Nicholas Fernicola, John J. Giblin, Maclyn Goldman and Hutchins Inge—were all defeated.
The two-term incumbent, Hugh Joseph Addonizio, was seeking re-election in a city that was experiencing extraordinary social unrest.
In the period leading up to the riots, police racial profiling, redlining, and lack of opportunity in education, training, and jobs led local African-American residents to feel powerless and disenfranchised.
[7] Five other challengers to Addonizio emerged: Kenneth A. Gibson, a 37-year-old engineer who finished third in the 1966 mayoral race; City Councilman Anthony Imperiale, who organized vigilante patrols during the riots; Newark Fire Director John Caufield; former Assemblyman George C. Richardson, and Harry Wheeler.
In 1972, Governor William Cahill appointed Matturi to serve as a New Jersey Superior Court Judge.