Byrne ’73 campaign staffer dies

Geoffrey Waggoner, who worked on the advance staff for Brendan Byrne’s 1973, died last week.  He was 72.

He was the son of the late Walter H. Waggoner, who covered New Jersey politics during his 41-year career as a New York Times reporter and editor.  Walter Waggoner died in 2004.

Waggoner spent part of his youth in Montclair and joined the Byrne campaign after graduating from Duke University.   Byrne defeated Rep. Charles Sandman, Jr. (R-Erma) in the gubernatorial election that year by 738,378 votes, 67%-32%; Democrats won 29 seats in the State Senate and 66 in the Assembly.

He was a legal aid volunteer in the state attorney general’s office.   Waggoner later attended the University of South Carolina Law School and spent his career as a personal injury attorney in South Carolina.

Waggoner is survived by his partner, Michelle, his three daughters, and three grandchildren.