John F. Kennedy Archives - New Jersey Globe

Trailblazer: Assemblywoman Madaline Williams

January 20, 2020 12:51 amJanuary 20, 2020 12:58 am

Madaline Williams (1894-1968) was the first African American woman to serve in the New Jersey Legislature. She was elected to the State Assembly in 1957 and re-elected in 1959. An East Orange, Democrat, she was elected Essex County Register of...

Democratic State Committeeman Paul Bontempo

Like his father, Bontempo thinks state chairman is the Governor’s choice

November 20, 2019 7:09 pmNovember 21, 2019 11:39 am

Paul Bontempo is the longest-serving Democratic State Committee member in New Jersey history. He was 26 when he was elected to represent Morris County in 1977, back in the days when each county had two seats. He’s been there for...

Labor: How a Texas primary helped focus unions on Pete Williams

September 2, 2019 3:42 pm

New Jersey Republicans, as they frequently do, convinced themselves that they could win a U.S. Senate seat in 1970. The two-term Democratic incumbent, Harrison Williams, was facing a challenge from Republican State Chairman Nelson Gross, a former State Senator from...

Labor Leader: Vincent J. Murphy was NJ AFL-CIO president, two-term Mayor of Newark

September 2, 2019 1:01 amSeptember 2, 2019 10:24 am

One of the most influential labor leaders in New Jersey history was Vincent J. Murphy (1893-1976), who spent nine years as the president of the New Jersey AFL-CIO after two terms as the Mayor of Newark. He was the Democratic...

Labor Leader: Paul J. Krebs, last president of NJ CIO served one-term in Congress

September 2, 2019 1:01 amSeptember 2, 2019 1:51 am

The last New Jersey Democrat to lose a U.S. Senate race in New Jersey was Paul Krebs (1912-1996), labor leader and one-term congressman from Livingston. His story involves one of the great New Jersey labor union feuds. The account starts...

The long road to a vote on Essex charter change

July 22, 2019 3:40 amJuly 24, 2019 8:50 pm

The debate over changing Essex County’s form of government runs began in 1972, when Assembly Speaker Thomas Kean (R-Livingston) called for the election of a charter study commission. During Kean’s first year as Speaker, the Legislature passed the Optional County...

Middlesex town voted down renaming to Kennedy Township

April 24, 2019 3:29 pmApril 24, 2019 3:32 pm

Before settling on Old Bridge, voters in the Middlesex County municipality rejected changing the name of their township from Madison to Kennedy Township in a vote that happened less than a year after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Madison...