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{{short description|American politician}}{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2018}}

factoids

| office = 47th Governor of New Jersey| term_start = January 15, 1974| term_end = January 19, 1982William T. Cahill>William Cahill| successor = Thomas KeanEssex County Prosecutor's Office>Prosecutor of Essex County| appointer1 = Robert B. Meyner| term_start1 = February 16, 1959| term_end1 = January 11, 1968| predecessor1 = Charles Webb| successor1 = Joseph P. Lordi| birth_name = Brendan Thomas Byrne19241}}| birth_place = West Orange, New Jersey, U.S.201844|1}}| death_place = Livingston, New Jersey, U.S.Democratic Party (United States)>Democratic

• {{marriage|Jean Featherly|1953|1993|end=div{edih}
• {{marriage|Ruthi Zinn|1994}}

}}Barbara Byrne>BarbaraPrinceton University (Bachelor of Arts>BA)Harvard University (LLB)United States}}United States}}8px) First Lieutenant| serviceyears = 1943–1945United States Army Air Forces414th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron>414th Bombardment Squadron, 97th Bombardment GroupBrendan T Byrne bio - American Air Museum in BritainDistinguished Flying Cross (United States)>Distinguished Flying CrossAir Medal (4)}}Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American attorney and Democratic Party politician who served as the 47th Governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982.Byrne began his career as a private attorney in Newark and East Orange. In 1959, Governor Robert B. Meyner appointed Byrne to serve as Essex County Prosecutor; he served in that role until 1968. In the late 1960s, an FBI wiretap recorded local mobsters calling Byrne "the man who couldn't be bought" in reference to his high ethical standards. The publication of the comment propelled Byrne to popularity in an era when corruption was a major concern in state and national politics. He left his office as prosecutor to serve as President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities from 1968 to 1970, then as a Superior Court judge.In 1973, using "the man who couldn't be bought" as a campaign slogan,WEB, Governor Brendan T. Byrne Timeline,weblink 3 February 2018, Rutgers University Center on the American Governor, Rutgers University, Byrne ran for governor of New Jersey. He won the Democratic primary with support from the powerful Hudson County political machine and carried the general election. His landslide victory, until then the largest in the state's history, was seen as a reaction against a bribery scandal in state government and the Watergate scandal.During his first term, Byrne signed the state's first income tax, which broke a campaign promise and was initially highly unpopular across party lines. In 1977, he faced several prominent challengers for the party nomination but won the Democratic primary with a small plurality of the vote. Despite expectations he would lose the general election to Raymond Bateman, Byrne came from behind to win a second term.During his time as governor, Byrne oversaw the opening of the first gambling casinos in Atlantic City and established the New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate. He also preserved a large majority of woodlands and wildlife areas in the state by restricting development.

Early life and education

Byrne was born and raised in West Orange, New Jersey.NEWS, Golway, Terry, When Codey Talks, He Talks to Them,weblink The New York Times, October 31, 2004, He was the fourth child among five of Irish American Catholic parents Francis A. Byrne (1886–1974), a local public safety commissioner,NEWS,weblink Brendan Byrne, two-term New Jersey governor in 1970s, dies at 93, The Washington Post, January 4, 2018, Portnoy, Jenna, and Genevieve Brennan Byrne (1888–1969).In 1942, Byrne graduated from West Orange High School in West Orange, New Jersey, where he as president of the debate club and senior class president. He briefly enrolled at Seton Hall University, but left the university in March of the following year to join the U.S. Army. During World War II, Byrne served in the U.S. Army Air Forces as a navigator on a B-17, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals. By the time of his discharge from active service in 1945, he had achieved the rank of lieutenant.After the end of World War II, Byrne attended Princeton University for two years, where he studied at the university's School of Public and International Affairs.WEB,weblink Brendan Byrne, Governor Who Gave New Jersey Casinos, Dies at 93, Bloomberg, January 4, 2018, January 4, 2018, Due to World War II, he spent only two years on campus, finishing his undergraduate thesis while enrolled at Harvard Law School. He graduated from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs in 1949 after completing a 95-page long senior thesis titled, "Proportional Representation in Municipal Government". He then attended Harvard Law School, where he graduated with his LL.B. in 1951.JOURNAL, Byrne, Brendan Thomas, 1949, Proportional Representation in Municipal Government,weblink

Career

Private attorney

Byrne then worked as a private attorney, first for the Newark-based law firm of John W. McGeehan, Jr., and later for the East Orange firm of Teltser and Greenberg.Edward J. Mullin, Fitzgerald's New Jersey Legislative Manual, 1980, "Governor's Biography, p. 413-414"

New Jersey state government

In October 1955, Byrne was appointed an assistant counsel to Governor Robert B. Meyner. The following year, he became the governor's acting executive secretary. In 1958, Byrne was appointed the deputy attorney general responsible for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.WEB,weblink Former New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne Dies At 93, Laura Kidd, Furgerson, January 4, 2018, January 4, 2018, Hackensack Daily Voice, The following year, Governor Meyner appointed him as the Essex County prosecutor. Governor Hughes reappointed Byrne to this same office in 1964 following the end of his first five-year term. From 1968 to 1970, Byrne served as the president of the Board of Public Utilities Commissioners.

New Jersey Superior Court

In 1970, Byrne was appointed by Governor William T. Cahill to the Superior Court. He served as the assignment judge for Morris, Sussex, and Warren Counties starting in 1972.

Governor of New Jersey (1974–1982)

1973 election

In April 1973, Byrne resigned from the Superior court to run for governor.Byrne defeated Ann Klein and Ralph DeRose in the 1973 Democratic primary to win the party's nomination for governor. In the November general election, Byrne won by beating the Republican nominee Congressman Charles Sandman in a landslide. Sandman had defeated the incumbent Governor Cahill in the primary. Byrne's landslide margin of victory was so vast that it allowed Democrats to capture control both chambers of the state legislature with supermajorities.NEWS, Sandman Routed — GOP Loses Control of State Legislature 3rd Time in Century, The New York Times, Ronald, Sullivan, November 7, 1973, April 30, 2014,weblink NEWS, Election Decimates the G.O.P.'s Ranks in Trenton, The New York Times, November 8, 1973, January 16, 2018,weblink NEWS, Jersey Republicans Urge Party Purge, The New York Times, Ronald, Sullivan, November 9, 1973, January 16, 2018,weblink

First term

On January 15, 1974, Byrne was sworn in as the 47th governor of New Jersey.Some of the policies enacted by the first Byrne administration include: the implementation of New Jersey's first state income tax, the establishment of spending limits on local governments, county governments, school districts, and the state, the establishment of both the Department of the Public Advocate and the Department of Energy, and the implementation of public financing for future gubernatorial general elections.Edward J. Mullin, Fitzgerald's New Jersey Legislative Manual, 1980, "Governor's Biography, p.413" Although Byrne claimed during the 1973 campaign that a personal income tax would not be necessary for "the foreseeable future", he eventually "muscled through" the unpopular income tax, New Jersey's first, in 1976; it earned him the nickname "One-Term Byrne".

1977 election

Byrne faced ten opponents in the 1977 Democratic primary, including future governor James Florio. However, Byrne obtained the party's nomination, and went on to defeat his Republican opponent, State Senator Raymond Bateman, in the general election on November 8, 1977. This despite the fact that in early 1977, three-quarters of voters disapproved of his job performance and in polls taken in the summer, he trailed Bateman by 17 points.WEB,weblink Blue Jersey:: Polls and the 1977 Democratic Comeback, May 26, 2014, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140526035031weblink">weblink May 26, 2014, mdy, Byrne and Bateman debated nine times and Byrne used the governorship to his advantage, signing bills and appearing with cabinet members all over the state, benefiting from a visit by President Carter and turning what was his biggest weakness, the income tax, into a strength. Shortly before the 1977 gubernatorial election, New Jersey homeowners began receiving rebate checks (funded by state income tax revenues) to offset their property taxes, while Bateman's plan—replacing the state income tax with an increased sales tax—was widely criticized.WEB,weblink Blue Jersey:: Byrne's strategy in the 1977 comeback, May 26, 2014, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140526035643weblink">weblink May 26, 2014, mdy-all, Until 2021, Byrne was the last Democrat to win re-election as Governor in New Jersey.

Second term

During his second term, Byrne focused on policies such as: the passage of the Pinelands Protection Act, expansion of major highways, including the Atlantic City Expressway and Interstate 287, upgrades to sewage systems, further development of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, and casino-hotel development in Atlantic City. He is one of only two Democrats, also including incumbent Phil Murphy, to be elected governor twice in the past fifty years. The other Governors elected to two terms (Thomas Kean, Christie Whitman, and Chris Christie) have all been Republicans.NEWS, Haddon, Heather, Brendan Byrne, 90 Years Old and Still in the Mix,weblink The Wall Street Journal, December 19, 2014,

Cabinet and administration

factoids

| border_color1 = #000Governor of New Jersey>Governor| name1a = Brendan Byrne| term1a = January 15, 1974 – January 19, 1982| border_color2 = #000New Jersey Department of Agriculture>Secretary of Agriculture| name2a = Phillip Alampi | term2a = July 2, 1956 – June 30, 1982Attorney General of New Jersey>Attorney General| name3a = William F. Hyland| term3a = January 15, 1974 – January 17, 1978| name3b = John J. Degnan| term3b = January 17, 1978 – March 5, 1981| name3c = Judith J. A Yaskin| term3c = March 5, 1981 – March 26, 1981 (acting)| name3d = James R. Zazzali| term3d = March 26, 1981 – January 19, 1982New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance>Commissioner of Banking| name4a = Richard F. Schaub| term4a = February 26, 1973 – August 31, 1976| name4b = Robert F. Wagner| term4b = September 1976 – May 1977| name4c = Mary L. Parell| term4c = May 2, 1977 – February 22, 1978| name4d = Robert R. Bianchi| term4d = February 24, 1978 – February 8, 1982New Jersey Civil Service Commission>President of the Civil Service Commission| name5a = James A. Alloway| term5a = June 8, 1970 – September 23, 1976| name5b = S. Howard Woodson| term5b = September 23, 1976 – March 23, 1982New Jersey Department of Community Affairs>Commissioner of Community Affairs| name6a = Sidney L. Willis | term6a = 1974 (acting)| name6b = Patricia Q. Sheehan | term6b = January 17, 1974 – December 1, 1978| name6c = Joseph A. LeFante| term6c = December 15, 1978 – February 10, 1982 New Jersey Department of Corrections>Commissioner of Corrections| name7a = Robert Mulcahy| term7a = November 8, 1976 – January 17, 1978| name7b = William H. Fauver| term7b = June 15, 1978 – December 31, 1997(Acting: January 18, 1974 – June 15, 1978)New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs>Defense Adjutant General| name8a = Major General William R. Sharp| term8a = April 23, 1970 – March 20, 1974| name8b = Major General Wilfred C. Menard Jr.| term8b = March 20, 1974 – February 10, 1982New Jersey Department of Education>Commissioner of Education| name9a = Fred G. Burke| term9a = July 1, 1974 – March 31, 1982| office10 = Commissioner of Energy| name10a = Anthony J. Grossi, President (PUC)| term10a = 1972 – 1975| name10b = Joel R. Jacobson, President (PUC)| term10b = 1975 – July 20, 1977| name10c = Joel R. Jacobson, Commissioner (DOE) | term10c = July 21, 1977 – December 22, 1981| name10d = Charles A Richman| term10d = 1981 – 1982 (acting)New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection>Commissioner of Environmental Protection| name11a = Richard J Sullivan | term11a = May 5, 1970 – May 6, 1974 | name11b = Joseph T. Barber| term11b = 1974 (acting) | name11c = David J. Bardin | term11c = May 9, 1974 – May 6, 1977 | name11d = Rocco D. Ricci| term11d = July 10, 1977 – May 12, 1978(Acting: 1977)| name11e = Betty Wilson| term11e = 1978 (acting)| name11f = Daniel Joseph O'Hern| term11f = May 12, 1978 – July 16, 1979| name11g = Betty Wilson | term11g = 1979 (acting)| name11h = Jerry F. English| term11h = August 23, 1979-March 1, 1982New Jersey Department of Health>Commissioner of Health| name12a = James R. Cowan| term12a = January 29, 1970 – May 13, 1974| name12b = Joanne E. Finley| term12b = June 17, 1974 – March 5, 1982| office13 = Chancellor of Higher Education| name13a = Ralph A. Dungan| term13a = June 26, 1967 – August 9, 1977| name13b = T. Edward Hollinder| term13b = August 9, 1977 – June 30, 1990New Jersey Department of Human Services>Commissioner of Human Services| name14a = Ann Klein, DIA | term14a = 1974 – October 31, 1976| name14b = Ann Klein, DHS| term14b = November 1, 1976 – February 5, 1981| name14c = Timothy Carden| term14c = March 17, 1981 – February 25, 1982New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance>Commissioner of Insurance| name15a = Richard C. McDonough| term15a = February 14, 1972 – January 21, 1974| name15b = James J. Sheeran| term15b = January 21, 1974 – January 25, 1982New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development>Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development| name16a = Joseph A. Hoffman| term16a = 1974 – 1976| name16b = John J. Horn | term16b = 1976 – 1982New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate>Public Advocate| name17a = Stanley Van Ness| term17a = May 21, 1974 – February 11, 1982Secretary of State of New Jersey>Secretary of State| name18a = J. Edward Crabiel| term18a = January 15, 1974 – July 11, 1977| name18b = F. Joseph Carragher| term18b = 1974 (acting)George W. Lee (New Jersey politician)>George W. Lee | term18c = 1977 (acting)| name18d = Donald Lan | term18d = July 11, 1977 – January 19, 1982 New Jersey Department of Transportation>Commissioner of Transportation| name19a = Alan Sagner| term19a = January 21, 1974 – August 15, 1977| name19b = Russell Mullen| term19b = August 15, 1977 – May 22, 1978| name19c = Louis Gambaccini | term19c = May 22, 1978 – September 25, 1981| name19d = Anne Canby| term19d = November 16, 1981 – April 16, 1982(Acting: August 13, 1981 – November 16, 1981)New Jersey Department of the Treasury>State Treasurer| name20a = Richard Leone| term20a = January 15, 1974 – December 10, 1976| name20b = Clifford A. Goldman| term20b = February 18, 1977 – January 19, 1982(Acting: 1976 – 1977)}}

Law practice and columnist

(File:Brendan Byrne 2011 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Byrne accepting honors for a career in public service from The Citizens Campaign in 2011)After leaving office in 1982, Governor Byrne became a senior partner at Carella, Byrne, Bain, Gilfillan, Cecchi, Stewart & Olstein in Roseland, New Jersey (now Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Brody and Agnello, P.C.).WEB,weblink Son: Former New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne, Democrat who mobsters said was too ethical to be bribed, dies at age 93, ABC News, January 4, 2018, January 4, 2018, Additionally, Byrne and his successor as governor, Thomas Kean, co-wrote a weekly column in The Star-Ledger, containing their "dialogue" on state and national public affairs and politics. He has also taught courses at Princeton University and Rutgers University.Despite not supporting all of his policies, Byrne said that Governor Chris Christie should run for president in 2016, calling Christie "the best candidate that the Republicans have" and complimented his "charm".

Personal life

On June 27, 1953, he married Jean Featherly,WEB, Governor Brendan T. Byrne Biography,weblink Center on the American Governor, Rutgers University, December 21, 2014, October 14, 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141014082057weblink">weblink dead, with whom he had seven children. Byrne's son, Tom Byrne, was the New Jersey Democratic State Committee chair in the 1990s and was a prospective candidate for the U.S. Senate race in 2000, before withdrawing in favor of eventual winner Jon Corzine, who later became governor. Brendan's oldest granddaughter, Meaghan, who also saved Brendan's life with the Heimlich at Nero's Grille in April 2016, worked as a legislative staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives before moving into NGO foreign policy work.WEB, meaghan byrne - LegiStorm Search Results,weblink 2021-08-12, www.legistorm.com, Jean and Brendan Byrne divorced in 1993 after 40 years of marriage. She died in 2015 of babesiosis, aged 88.WEB,weblink Former N.J. First Lady Jean Byrne dies at 88, The Star-Ledger, August 12, 2015, October 16, 2017, Byrne married Ruth Zinn, who was also divorced, in 1994.BOOK, Linky, Donald,weblink New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne: The Man Who Couldn't Be Bought, 2014-10-13, Rowman & Littlefield, 9781611477436, en,

2010 assault

On February 16, 2010, while vacationing in London with his wife, Byrne was punched in the face by a mentally ill man near Waterloo tube station. The attacker was subsequently restrained by a London Underground station supervisor who came to Byrne's aid until the police arrived. Byrne, who had taken part in a staged charity boxing match with Muhammad Ali in 1979, joked, "At least I didn't fall down at Waterloo, as when I fought Ali."NEWS, Ted, Sherman, Former N.J. Gov. Brendan Byrne is mugged, punched in face while in London,weblink The Star-Ledger, February 16, 2010, NEWS, Kirby, Terry, Jack Sparrow impersonator saves visitor from meeting his Waterloo,weblink London Evening Standard, February 19, 2010,

Death

(File:Brendan Byrne Grave.jpg|thumb|Byrne's grave in the Princeton Cemetery with orange flowers during Princeton Reunions in May 2022. )Byrne died on January 4, 2018, in Livingston, New Jersey, of a lung infection at the age of 93.NEWS,weblinkweblink dead, January 5, 2018, Son: Former New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne, Democrat who mobsters said was too ethical to be bribed, dies at age 93, The Washington Post, January 4, 2018, January 4, 2018, WEB,weblink Ex-New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne, too ethical for mobsters, dies at 93, Chicago Tribune, January 4, 2018, January 4, 2018, WEB,weblink Brendan Byrne, Former New Jersey Governor, Dies at 93, The Star-Ledger, January 4, 2018, January 8, 2018, NEWS, Chris, Christie, Governor Chris Christie On The Passing Of Governor Brendan T. Byrne,weblink Office of the Governor, January 4, 2018, January 4, 2018,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180105233630weblink">weblink January 5, 2018, dead, mdy-all, His funeral was held on January 8 at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey.WEB,weblink Hundreds gather to remember former N.J. Gov. Byrne, New Jersey.com, February 2, 2018, January 8, 2018, Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin, then-Governor Chris Christie and Governor-elect Phil Murphy, former Governors Thomas Kean, Donald DiFrancesco, Jim McGreevey, Richard Codey and Jon Corzine and U. S. Representative Bill Pascrell were in attendance.WEB,weblink What they said about Brendan Byrne: Former governors salute their colleague, Daily Record, February 2, 2018, January 8, 2018, Byrne's remains were cremated and his ashes were interred in Princeton Cemetery.

Legacy

From 1981 to 1996, the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford was named Brendan Byrne Arena. It hosted the New Jersey Devils, New Jersey Nets, and Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball. The arena was then renamed Continental Airlines Arena, followed by IZOD Center.NEWS, Sandomir, Richard, January 5, 1996, Brendan Byrne Arena Goes Continental, The New York Times,weblink The Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, formerly Lebanon State Forest, in New Lisbon is named for him. In 2006, Rutgers University's Center on the American Governor of the Eagleton Institute of Politics established the Brendan T. Byrne Archive, an online database containing various resources from the Byrne administration, including original documents and video interviews with Brendan Byrne and members of his administration.WEB, Brendan T. Byrne Archive,weblink December 21, 2014, Center on the American Governor, Rutgers University, In 2011, Byrne was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame along with Queen Latifah, John Travolta, and ten others.NEWS, DeMarco, Megan, January 21, 2011, Queen Latifah, Gov. Brendan Byrne announced as New Jersey Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductees, The Star-Ledger,weblink In 2014, Byrne's former chief counsel Donald Linky published a biography of Byrne, New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne: The Man Who Couldn't Be Bought.BOOK, Linky, Donald,weblink New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne: The Man Who Couldn't Be Bought, 2014, Fairleigh Dickinson, 978-1611477429, WEB, August 18, 2015, Summer Reading 2015: Biography Takes Admiring Look at Popular Governor - NJ Spotlight,weblink October 16, 2017, NJSpotlight.com,

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

Archival collections

• Brendan Byrne papers (The Monsignor Field Archives & Special Collection Center at Seton Hall University) - Contains materials related to Brendan Byrne's campaigns for governor of New Jersey and some personal materials documenting his time as governor and his activities with the Democratic party, primarily from 1973-1977

External links

• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070930041119weblink">New Jersey Governor Brendan Thomas Byrne, National Governors Association
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100223012940weblink">Rutgers Program on the Governor, the Brendan Byrne Archive
• Gone But Not Forgotten: Remembering Governor Brendan Byrne episode from One on One with Steve Adubato

{{Governors of New Jersey}}{{Authority control}}