2011 Power List and Year in Review - PolitickerNJ.com

PolitickerNJ.com
year in review 2011
In Memorium
Peter Frelinhuysen
Peter
Frelinghuysen
The patriarch of the New Jersey political
family and father of U.S. Rep. Rodney
Frelinghuysen served from 1952 to 1975
in the U.S. House of Representatives. The
Republican lawmaker is remembered as a
leader in the battle to block an airport from
being built on the site of the Great Swamp in
Morris County. Today, the federally protected
area is a wildlife refuge, part of which is
the U.S. Department of the Interior’s first
designated wilderness region. Frelinghuysen
was 95.
John Adler
The long-serving, Harvard-educated
former state Senator from Cherry Hill made
his move in 2008 with the retirement of
U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton. Adler fought a tough
general election battle to win New Jersey’s
3rd Congressional District seat. Two years
later, he fought an equally difficult contest
and - in a bad year for Democrats - finished
on the losing end. He died in April after heart
surgery, leaving a wife and four sons, and the
memory of an eloquent, always prepared and
ever tenacious South Jersey Democratic Party
competitor. He was 51
Peter Biondi
The former mayor of Hillsborough built a
strong base in his hometown with a combination
Peter Biondi
of political savvy and engaging personal
qualities. The Republican served for 13 years
in the assembly where he built a reputation as
a bipartisan-minded veteran. Stricken with
cancer, Assemblyman Biondi competed in his
last race this year, won, and died two days after
Election Day. He was 69.
Frank McDermott
The Union County Republican served
in the state Senate, working his way up
to become senate president. He ran for
governor in 1969 as part of a Republican
Primary field ultimately overcome by future
GOP Gov. William Cahill. A highly respected
local political resource in the area of his
hometown of Westfield, Senator McDermott
was remembered as both a consummate
politician and devoted family man. He was 87.
Maurice
Fitzgibbons
The beloved local Hoboken Democrat
served four years on the Hudson County
Freeholder Board and until the end of his life
this year at the age of 57, remained actively
involved in Hudson County politics. To many,
he was Hudson County politics.
Dunstan McNichol
The Pulitzer prize winning reporter who
worked most recently for Bloomberg died
suddenly in January. McNichol was a fixture
with the Star Ledger’s vaunted State House
bureau and won the Pulitzer as part of the
team that covered the resignation for former
Gov. Jim McGreevey. McNichol, 54, left
behind a son Jake and a wife, Michelle.
Michael J. Herbert
The highly respected attorney made
his mark in New Jersey as a municipal
counsel and as counsel to the New Jersey
Interscholastic Athletic Association. Often
called the “Dean” of the state’s municipal
attorneys, Herbert died in September at the
age of 73.
Carol Murphy
The former 26th District Assemblywoman
and BPU Commissioner died in December at
the age of 78.
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