Nick Acocella

Nicholas Acocella (February 7, 1943 – June 20, 2020) was an American political journalist and author. He was the editor and publisher of Politifax, a weekly newsletter about New Jersey politics. From 2015 he was the host of the NJTV show Pasta & Politics.

Personal life
Acocella was born on February 7, 1943, at Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey, and grew up in West New York, New Jersey. He graduated from St. Peter's Preparatory School, went to La Salle University in Philadelphia, and spent a year studying in Vienna. He then studied English literature at the University of California, Berkeley before taking a teaching job at Indian Hills High School in Oakland, New Jersey. He also went back to graduate school, attending Stony Brook University and the University of Delaware.

He was married to Laura Eliasoph Acocella, with whom he has a daughter, Francesca Rebecca Acocella, and previously married to New Yorker writer Joan Acocella (née Ross), with whom he shares a son, Bart Acocella. He died of cancer at his home in Hoboken, New Jersey, on June 20, 2020.

Career
In 1997, Acocella started Politifax, a weekly newsletter about New Jersey politics, and was its editor, publisher, and sole writer. Initially a fax service before transitioning to email, an annual subscription cost $400 for 46 issues. The newsletter's design comprised a white background with letters in a simple black font. He initially covered statewide politics but later covered local politics as well. The large number of governmental authorities in the state, with 566 municipalities in 21 counties, led to a need for coverage outside of the state's daily newspapers covering the "little battlefields" at the county and municipal level. Acocella also wrote twenty books about baseball, of which he was a lifelong fan, with one book, The Ball Clubs, comprising a history of every major league team.

In 2015, Acocella started hosting a television show, Pasta & Politics, on NJTV, where he would interview various New Jersey politicians while making pasta dishes; the show ran for five seasons. Guests included Thomas Kean, Cory Booker, Chris Christie, and Stephen Sweeney.