William Vincent Musto Archives

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...

Andre Gruber, Middlesex GOP chairman in 1970s, dies at 84

February 21, 2020 4:55 amFebruary 23, 2020 12:13 pm

Editor’s note: the White House briefing memos at the end of this obituary are a must-read for political junkies. Andre Gruber, who served as the Middlesex County Republican Chairman from 1974 to 1978, died on February 18. He was 84....

How Bob Menendez became a mayor

January 3, 2020 9:30 am

It’s a story that happens often in New Jersey politics, where cliques and factions sometimes create toxic environments within one party in control of local government. That was in the case in Galloway on Thursday night, where a Republican township...

Bucco would be the 5th sitting Senator to run for Assembly

September 25, 2019 1:29 amSeptember 25, 2019 1:50 am

Anthony Bucco would not be the first sitting State Senator to seek a seat in the New Jersey State Assembly, but he is the first to run with no intention of keeping the job. Some Senators have gone to the...

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

July 29, 2019 8:02 amJanuary 20, 2020 5:31 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...

Joseph Simunovich, top New Jersey political figure, dies at 78

June 18, 2019 9:43 pmJune 19, 2019 9:01 am

Joseph J. Simunovich, a popular and influential fixture in North Jersey politics for the last six decades, passed away this evening. He was 78. Simunovich served twelve years as a Hudson County Freeholder and later as chairman of the New...