| Brendan T. Byrne | |
 Former Governor Byrne, in September 2007 |
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| In office January 15, 1974 – January 19, 1982 |
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| Preceded by | William T. Cahill |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Kean |
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| Born | April 1, 1924 West Orange, New Jersey |
| Birth name | Brendan Thomas Byrne |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Ruthi Zinn (1994-present)
Jean Featherly Byrne (1953-1993) (seven children) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Brendan Thomas Byrne (born April 1, 1924) is an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey, who served as the 47th Governor of New Jersey, from 1974 to 1982.
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Byrne was born and reared in West Orange, New Jersey.[1] He is the fourth of Francis A. Byrne (1888-1973) and Genevieve (Brennan) Byrne's five children.
In 1942, Byrne graduated from West Orange High School, where he had served as both the president of the debating club and senior class president. He briefly enrolled at Seton Hall University, only to leave in March the following year to join the U.S. Army. During World War II, Byrne served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals. [2] By the time of his discharge from active service in 1945, he had achieved the rank of lieutenant.
After the war, Byrne attended Princeton University, where he majored in Public and International Affairs. He received his A.B. in 1949 from Princeton, and went on to obtain his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1951.
On June 27th, 1953, he married Jean Featherly.[3]
Prior to entering public service, Brendan Byrne worked as an attorney, first for the Newark firm of John W. McGeehan Jr, and later for the East Orange firm of Teltser and Greenberg.[4]
In October of 1955, Byrne was appointed an assistant counsel to Governor Meyner, and the following year he became the Governor's acting executive secretary. In 1958, Byrne was appointed the deputy attorney general responsible for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. The following year, Governor Meyner appointed him as the Essex County Prosecutor. Governor Hughes reappointed Byrne to this same office in 1964 following the end of his first five-year term. From 1968 to 1970, Byrne served as the president of the Board of Public Utilities Commissioners.
In 1970, Byrne was appointed by Governor Cahill to the Superior Court. He served as the assignment judge for Morris, Sussex, and Warren Counties starting in 1972. In April of 1973, Byrne resigned from the Superior court to run for governor.[5]
Byrne defeated Anne Klein and Ralph DeRose in the 1973 Democratic primary to win the party's nomination for governor. In the November general election, Byrne won again, this time beating the Republican nominee Congressman Charles Sandman.[6]
On January 15, 1974, Brendan Byrne was sworn in as the 47th governor of New Jersey.[7]
Some of the policies enacted by the first Byrne administration include: the implementation of New Jersey's first State Income Tax, the establishment of spending limits on local governments, county governments, school districts, and the state, the establishment of both the Department of the Public Advocate and the Department of Energy, and the implementation of public financing for future gubernatorial general elections.[8]
Although Byrne claimed during the 1973 campaign that a personal income tax would not be necessary for "the foreseeable future", he eventually enacted the state's first income tax. [9]
Byrne faced no less than 10 opponents in the 1977 Democratic primary, including future governor James Florio. However, Byrne obtained the party's nomination, and went on to defeat his Republican opponent, State Senator Ray Bateman, in the general election on November 8, 1977.
During his second term, Byrne focused on policies such as: the passage of the Pinelands Protection Act, expansion of major highways, including the Atlantic City Expressway and Interstate 287, upgrades to sewage systems, further development of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, and casino-hotel development in Atlantic City. [10]
Byrne is a member of the Essex County, New Jersey and New Jersey State Bar Associations.
He also served as
He is currently a partner at Carella, Byrne, Bain, Gilfillan, Cecchi, Stewart & Olstein in Roseland. Additionally, Byrne and his successor as governor, Thomas Kean, co-write a weekly column in the The Star Ledger, containing their "dialogue" on state and national public affairs and politics.
In 2006, the Rutgers Program on the Governor of the Eagleton Institute of Politics established the Brendan Byrne Archive, an online database containing various resources from the Byrne administration, including original documents and video interviews with Brendan Byrne and members of his administration.
The Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (formerly Lebanon State Forest) is named for him. The Brendan T. Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford was also named for him, although it was renamed the Continental Airlines Arena in 1996, and then the Izod Center in 2007.[11]
Byrne's son, Tom Byrne, was the New Jersey Democratic Party chair in the 1990s and was a prospective candidate for the U.S. Senate race in 2000, before withdrawing in favor of eventual winner Jon Corzine, who later became governor.
On 16 February 2010, while holidaying in London with his wife, Byrne was punched in the face by a mentally ill man. The attack took place outside Waterloo underground station. The attacker was subsequently restrained by a London Underground station supervisor who came to Byrne's aid until the police arrived. Byrne suffered minor cuts to the face and though an ambulance arrived and treated the former governor, he refused to go to a hospital. The London Underground Supervisor Mr Darren Potter was praised for his bravery by the Evening Standard newspapers. see article
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William T. Cahill |
Governor of New Jersey January 15, 1974–January 19, 1982 |
Succeeded by Thomas Kean |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Robert B. Meyner |
Democratic Nominee for Governor of New Jersey 1973, 1977 |
Succeeded by James Florio |
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   | New Jersey Governor Brendan Thomas Byrne - National Governors Association |
| | " HOCKEY;Brendan Byrne Arena Goes Continental" - HOCKEY;Brendan Byrne Arena Goes Continental - The New York Times |
| | "When Codey Talks, He Talks to Them" - The New York Times > Log In |
| | " HOCKEY;Brendan Byrne Arena Goes Continental" - HOCKEY;Brendan Byrne Arena Goes Continental - The New York Times |
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