Matthew Feldman Archives - Page 3 of 4

New Jersey was against Dr. King state holiday before it was for it

January 20, 2020 1:01 amJanuary 20, 2020 10:19 am

The road to establishing a legal holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in New Jersey was a slow one. During the final days of the 1974-75 legislative session, the Democratic-controlled State Senate rejected the idea of a...

Martin Durkin, former Assembly candidate, dies at 88

October 27, 2019 1:08 pm

Martin T. Durkin, a Ridgefield Park attorney who was the Democratic candidate for State Assembly in 1969, died on October 17. He was 88. Durkin spent more than 20 years as the Borough Attorney for Ridgefield Park and also served...

Freedom Rider Byron Baer spent 34 years in the NJ legislature — and 45 days in a Mississippi prison

July 29, 2019 8:02 amJanuary 18, 2021 4:17 pm

Today is the 58th anniversary of the arrest of Freedom Rider Byron Baer, a longtime New Jersey legislator who was charged with attempting to desegregate a blacks-only waiting room at the Greyhound bus terminal in Jackson, Mississippi. He spent 45...

Some 1960s Bergen County political history

March 3, 2019 10:22 pmMarch 4, 2019 8:59 am

Until the U.S. Supreme Court’s one-man, one-vote ruling, Bergen County began the 1960’s with one state Senator – Walter Jones (R-Norwood) — and seven Assembly seats. Jones gave up that Senate seat after eight years in 1961 to run for...

New Jersey was against King state holiday before it was for it

January 21, 2019 1:23 pmJanuary 21, 2019 2:30 pm

The road to establishing a legal holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in New Jersey was a slow one. During the final days of the 1974-75 legislative session, the Democratic-controlled State Senate rejected the idea of a...

How Burstein got screwed out of being Assembly Speaker and Congressman

December 28, 2018 12:22 pmDecember 28, 2018 8:21 pm

Albert Burstein, who died yesterday at age 96, was part of one of a great legislative leadership battle in the 1970s and a legendary Hudson County political deal that upset his chances to win a seat in Congress. Burstein was...

Albert Burstein, former Assembly Majority Leader, dies at 96

December 28, 2018 12:08 pmDecember 28, 2018 4:57 pm

Former Assembly Majority Leader Albert S. Burstein, one of the most intellectually gifted legislators of his era, passed away on December 27. He was 96. A Jersey City native who had served as executive director and counsel to the Jersey...