Douglas H. Romaine, the only Democrat to serve as a Morris County freeholder in the last 100 years, died on June 18. He was 80.
Romaine was 30 years old when he rode a Democratic wave spurred by the Watergate scandal to an upset victory in the 1973 freeholder race.
Romaine unseated Republican Freeholder James Plante by about 600 votes; two other Republican incumbents, Dean Gallo and Peter Burkhardt defeated Roman’s running mates, former Morris County Democratic Chairman Robert Tonry, and Barry Kantor, a Morristown attorney. Democrats came within roughly 860 votes of ousting Burkhardt; Gallo won by over 3,000 votes,
Democrats accused the GOP-controlled freeholder board of non-competitive purchasing at the county jail, noting that they paid nearly one dollar per pound for hamburger patties when a Morris County meat wholesaler was charging 79 cents per pound; they also accused the Republicans of overpaying for butter.
But the attacks weren’t what swung the election for Romaine; it was the massive Democratic landslide in an election that occurred seventeen days after the Saturday Night Massacre, where President Richard Nixon ordered the firing of the Watergate special prosecutor, Archibald Cox. Impeachment proceedings began on October 30, one week before the election.
The Democratic candidate for governor, former Superior Court Judge Brendan Byrne, carried Morris County by 32,015 votes against Republican Charles Sandman, a congressman from Cape May County, 63%-35%. Sandman ousted incumbent William Cahill in the GOP primary.
That year, Morris County-based legislative districts elected a Democrat to the State Senate and three Democrats to the Assembly; they came within 203 votes of a fourth Assembly seat.
Romaine’s victory was the first for Morris County Democrats since 1912, when they won four of five freeholder seats in the election where Morris transitioned to a smaller, five-member board, and ousted a Republican surrogate. The Democratic governor of New Jersey, Woodrow Wilson, carried Morris County in the presidential race that year by a 40%-32% margin against Bull Moose candidate Theodore Roosevelt, with incumbent Williams Howard Taft finishing third with 24%.
While national politics led to Romaine’s victory in 1973, it also contributed to his defeat in 1976 when Gerald Ford carried Morris County by 24 percentage points against Jimmy Carter. County politics realigned and Republicans swept all three seats; Jefferson Council President Alvin Gunnerson ran nearly 18,000 votes ahead of Romaine, who finished fifth and sandwiched between his running mates, Butler Mayor Wiliam Monahan and Dover Alderman Garry Fields.
During his three years in county government, Romaine fought to enhance senior citizen transportation, opposed sharing county jail services with Sussex County, and fought for expanded opportunities for the public to speak at freeholder meetings.
After leaving the freeholder board, Romaine served as Rockaway Democratic municipal chairman and made several unsuccessful bids for a township council seat. Byrne nominated him in 1977 to serve on the Morris County Board of Taxation.
In 1979, Romaine became a Democratic candidate for State Assembly in the Morristown-based 23rd legislative district, running on a ticket with Assemblywoman Rosemarie Totaro (D-Denville). Romaine won the primary by just 320 votes against Erhard Thierfelder, an attorney who had been Totaro’s pick.
With Carter and Byrne both unpopular, Republicans picked up ten Assembly seats across the state, including one in the 23rd. Hanover Councilman Arthur Albohn unseated Totaro by 3,403 votes; Romaine ran 3,630 behind Totaro and 10,080 votes behind two-term Republican Assemblyman James Barry (R-Harding). Romaine carried his hometown, Rockaway Township
Later, when Morris County Democrats withdrew party support for Totaro to remain as a state committeewoman, she blamed Romaine.
A pollution control officer in Rockaway and executive of a local construction company, Romaine had been chairman of the Morris County New Democratic Coalition and the secretary of the Morris County Democrats.
Romaine had run as a candidate for alternate delegate to the 1972 Democratic National Convention pledged to George McGovern and won, defeating a candidate backing another contender, Hubert Humphrey.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Rossi, two children, two step-children, and four grandchildren.
A visitation will be held on June 21 at the Maguire Memorial Home in Hackettstown from 5-8 PM, with funeral services immediately after.