William Vincent Musto Archives

Temporary Supreme Court Justice who was deciding vote on cop killer release got to the bench as part of an old-fashioned political deal

May 16, 2022 12:40 amMay 16, 2022 5:12 pm

When the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered the release of a notorious cop killer last week, the deciding vote was cast by Jose L. Fuentes, a onetime Hudson County political insider with ambitions for high public office, who is on...

Codey starts 49th year in N.J. legislature today

January 11, 2022 12:03 amJanuary 11, 2022 12:05 am

When Richard James Codey takes the oath of office at noon today, he will begin his 49th year in the New Jersey Legislature – a continuation of the record he’s held for the last eight years as the longest serving...

The history of Albio Sires’ congressional district

December 21, 2021 11:16 am

The congressional seat that Rep. Albio Sires will vacate next year has been in Democratic hands since another West York congressman, freshman Republican Rep. Vincent Dellay, switched parties in late 1957. This will be the first open seat contest in...

James Dugan, former senator and Dem state chairman, dies at 92

December 12, 2021 3:28 pmDecember 12, 2021 7:16 pm

James P. Dugan, a former New Jersey Democratic State Chairman and state senator from Bayonne who was once among New Jersey’s most powerful political insiders, died on Sunday. He was 92 and had been in failing health. Dugan, who represented...

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

July 29, 2021 12:01 amJuly 28, 2021 6:39 pm

Today is the 60th 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...

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

July 29, 2020 12:10 amJuly 29, 2020 12:59 pm

Today is the 59th 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...

Paul McCurrie, elected Assemblyman from Hudson in 1961, dies at 91

May 17, 2020 4:20 pmMay 19, 2020 1:27 pm

Paul J. McCurrie, who served in the New Jersey State Assembly from 1962 to 1964, died on May 15. He was 91. McCurrie was a 32-year-old attorney and U.S. Navy veteran when the Hudson County Democratic organization picked him to...