After the war, Joelson first ran for the House seat in New Jersey's 8th congressional district against incumbent Gordon Canfield. In a close election, Canfield captured 59,191 votes, just 148 more than Joelson, and was proclaimed the winner of the election.[4] Joelson then served on Paterson's city counsel from 1949 to 1952.[1]
Politics and Superior Court
He then served as deputy Attorney General in New Jersey's criminal investigation division for three years, starting in 1954. That same year, he again ran for the Representative seat for New Jersey's 8th District, but again lost to incumbentGordon Canfield.[5] Joelson received 45.1% of the vote, in comparison to Canfield's 54.8%.[6] Afterwards, Joelson then went on to the Passaic County's Prosecutor's Office and then became the director of the state's criminal investigation division and served that post from 1958 to 1960.[1]
Congress
He won the seat for New Jersey's 8th District's in the November 1960 election. Canfield was not a candidate for renomination in 1960, and so Joelson was pitted against Republican Walter P. Kennedy. Joelson won the election by nearly 14,000 votes, capturing a 52%-43.8% majority.[7] He was sworn into the United States Congress on January 3, 1961. As Congressman, one of Joelson's achievements was a piece of legislation in 1969 that saved many school libraries. The legislation appropriated over a billion dollars for public school libraries, remedial programs and guidance counseling.[3]