John O. Bennett III, who served as co-Senate President and for 84 hours in January 2002 as the acting governor of New Jersey, has been in a Florida hospital since January 14 after crashing his car into a school bus, according to a report on NJ 101.5.
No children were injured as a result of the crash, which involved Bennett crossing over four lanes of a one-way street and hitting the side of the bus, the report said.
“We don’t know if maybe it was a medical episode that caused it,” Kristin Capuzzi told the New Jersey radio station. “We really don’t know at this point.”
Bennett, 74, is the town administrator in Dover.
“He is in good spirits,” Alderman Edward Correa told the New Jersey Globe. “We hope he comes back soon. We wish him a speedy recovery.”
Once one of New Jersey’s most powerful politicians, Bennett had served a decade in the State Assembly before winning a 1989 special election for State Senate. He served as Senate Majority Leader from 1994 to 2002.
After Democrats and Republicans each won 20 seats in the 2001 general election, Bennett and Richard Codey (D-Roseland) became the co-Senate Presidents.
Donald DiFrancesco, who became governor after Christine Todd Whitman resigned to join George W. Bush’s cabinet in early 2001, did not seek re-election to the State Senate that year. His term as a legislator ended at noon on January 8, 2002 and since he was no longer Senate President, he was no longer governor.
Bennett and Codey agreed that each would serve 3 ½ days as acting governor before James E. McGreevey took office on January 15.
The 84-hour Bennett administration was full of hoopla and fanfare.
He moved into Drumthwacket, printed letterhead, and had pens made that said “John O. Bennett III, Acting Governor” to use when he signed his name to official documents. He delivered the State of the State address to the Legislature, hosted an engagement party for his daughter at the governor’s mansion, and issued daily schedules for himself and his wife, the Acting First Lady.
He even pardoned an old friend and campaign contributor.
The definitive historical account of the Bennett governorship was written by the New York Times’ David Kocieniewski, who said Bennett carried himself “with the measured exuberance of a high school yearbook advisor” and said that John and Peggy Bennett “toured New Jersey like a conquering Caesar visiting the provinces.”
After his 84-hour term ended, Bennett returned to the Senate.
He got himself in a little trouble – political, ultimately not legal — over billing practices at his law firm.
Throughout the 2003 campaign, Bennett faced a seemingly daily barrage of media attention – mostly from the local Asbury Park Press newspaper – attacking Bennett’s ethics and allegations that he over-billed municipalities that he represented as an attorney.
Held to 59% in the Republican primary, Bennett then lost the general election to Democrat Ellen Karcher by 4,574 votes. His 42.5% of the vote reflected in a drop of 16 percentage points from his 2001 total.
Bennett became the first sitting Senate President to lose his own seat in at least 100 years. In 2021, Steve Sweeney became the first Senate President who wasn’t sharing the post to lose his own re-election in at least 100 years.