Judy Brenna, the first woman reporter for the Trentonian and the press secretary for Frank Lautenberg’s first U.S. Senate campaign in 1982, died on May 30. She was 81.
Brenna served as press secretary for Senate President Joseph Merlino’s bid for the 1981 Democratic gubernatorial nomination; in the general election, she was the spokeswoman for the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.
She was among the first campaign staffers Lautenberg hired when he decided to run for an open U.S. Senate seat. He won a ten-candidate Democratic primary with 26% of the vote, and defeated the front-runner, Rep. Millicent Fenwick (R-Bernardsville) with 51% in the general election.
Brenna began working for the Trentonian in the mid-1960s and worked in Gov. Jim Florio’s administration as public affairs director for the New Jersey State Council of the Arts.
Later, Brenna worked in advertising sales for Nassau Broadcasting, which owned the Princeton-based WHWH and WPST radio stations, and owned The Burg Dairy, a popular ice cream shop in the Chambersburg section of Trenton.
Her former husband, Dan Brenna, served as a Trenton East Ward city councilman from 1962 to 1966. After moving to Florida, she was a reporter for the Coastal Breeze newspaper in Marco Island.
Brenna is survived by her partner of 39 years, Joan Gerberding, four children and four grandchildren.