Bret Schundler
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Bret Schundler | |
---|---|
Commissioner of the Mayor of Jersey City | |
In office November 11, 1992 – June 30, 2001 | |
Preceded by | Joseph Rakowski |
Succeeded by | Glenn Cunningham |
Personal details | |
Born | Bret Davis Schundler January 14, 1959 Colonia, New Jersey, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic (before 1991) Republican (1991–present) |
Spouse | Lynn |
Children | 2 |
Education | Harvard University (BA) |
Bret Davis Schundler (born January 14, 1959) is an American politician from New Jersey who served as the 42nd mayor of Jersey City from 1992 to 2001. He remains the last Republican to hold that office. He also unsuccessfully ran for Governor of New Jersey in 2001 and 2005.
Earlier in his life, Schundler was a
Early life
Schundler grew up in
Following his graduation from college, Schundler worked for Democratic Congressman Roy Dyson of Maryland. He later worked for Gary Hart's 1984 presidential campaign. After Hart lost the nomination race, Schundler began his career in finance in the sales department of Salomon Brothers. While he had no experience in the field, his interviewer thought that anyone who could sell Hart in western Iowa had a future in finance. In 1987, he moved to a different firm, C. J. Lawrence, which has since been absorbed into Deutsche Bank, where he did very well financially. He retired in 1990, and after traveling around the world for a year, changed his registration to Republican. He later said that he felt the Democratic Party had been taken captive by special interests.
Mayor of Jersey City
His first run for elective office was an unsuccessful campaign for the
Once in office, Schundler developed a reputation as a politician who was incorruptible, which strongly resonated in a city with a long legacy of corruption dating to the
During his tenure as mayor, Schundler reduced crime, lowered property taxes, increased the city's tax collection rate and property values, instituted medical savings accounts for city employees and privatized the management of the city's water utility. He also led the battle to pass New Jersey's charter school legislation. Moreover, according to a Harvard University study,[6] during his tenure Jersey City led the 100 largest cities in the United States in job growth and poverty reduction. The redevelopment and gentrification of waterfront Jersey City opposite lower Manhattan had begun during the McCann era, but it grew markedly during Schundler's tenure because of his policies, raising the per capita income in the city. It also helped stimulate the redevelopment and gentrification of neighboring Hoboken, also on the Hudson River opposite Manhattan.
Schundler attracted considerable national attention because he was the Republican mayor of an overwhelmingly Democratic city. During his tenure, Jersey City remained a Democratic stronghold, as it has been for over a century. Indeed, on the same night as Schundler's special election victory,
2001 gubernatorial campaign
Toward the end of his tenure as mayor, Schundler served as chairman of the Hudson County Republican Committee, and in 2001, he ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, facing former Congressman Bob Franks, who was favored by the party establishment. Franks entered the race in April, two months before the primary, after Governor Donald DiFrancesco dropped out of the race because of a series of news stories regarding his alleged unethical behavior. Franks was backed by Governor DiFrancesco's political organization, which gave him the endorsement of every county Republican state committee in New Jersey, except, ironically, Schundler's very own Hudson County Republican state committee, as well as the Republican committee in Monmouth County, then led by William F. Dowd.
Schundler ran on a conservative platform, which was somewhat unusual, since most
After winning the primary, Schundler tried to reunite the party by connecting with the leaders who had endorsed Franks. This included a unity lunch with Franks, hosted by former governor
Schundler did not run for office again until the 2005 gubernatorial campaign, but remained one of the most visible spokespeople for the more conservative wing of the Republican Party in New Jersey.
2005 gubernatorial campaign
Schundler's
As in 2001, Schundler focused mostly on grassroots campaigning. However, he also targeted Republican county conventions to spread his message and won several county endorsements. Besides his base in Hudson County, he also won the endorsement of the Republican Party organizations in Monmouth, Hunterdon, and Somerset counties.
In the week before the primary election, Schundler's campaign was criticized for using a photograph on its website that showed Schundler apparently standing with a crowd of enthusiastic young supporters. The photograph, which appeared for only a few days on a web page advertising campaign T-shirts and mugs, had actually been taken at a Howard Dean rally in 2004, with Dean's image digitally replaced by Schundler's and with campaign signs, hats, and shirts modified as well.[10] Schundler's campaign responded that the photograph had been prepared by the campaign's website contractor (which had also done work for the Dean campaign), and the campaign removed the picture from the website when it learned of the miscue.
Schundler lost the primary to
- Forrester: 35%
- Schundler: 31%
- Freeholder John J. Murphy: 11%
- Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan: 8%
- Washington Township Councilman Bob Schroeder: 6%
- Assemblyman Paul DiGaetano: 6%
- Former Bergen County Freeholder Todd Caliguire: 3%
Schundler carried Union, Hudson, Hunterdon and Somerset counties. He had the county line in Somerset and Hudson, and shared it with Forrester in Hunterdon. Forrester held the county line in Union County, which was the only county where he had the line, but still lost in the primary.
2009 Jersey City mayoral campaign
On August 14, 2008 Schundler confirmed, in a news interview, his intent to run again for the office of Mayor of Jersey City in the
Commissioner of Education
On January 13, 2010, Governor-Elect Chris Christie announced that Schundler was his nominee to serve as New Jersey Commissioner of Education.[13] On March 11, the New Jersey Senate approved his nomination by a vote of 35-2.[14] On August 27, 2010, he was dismissed by Governor Christie after an error on a $400 million Race to the Top education grant may have contributed to New Jersey narrowly missing out on the government funding.[15]
Other activities and family
Schundler was a Professor of Public Policy at
Schundler was also Managing Partner of People Power America, LLC, which licenses TeamVolunteer, an online utility that helps political campaigns and non-profit organizations coordinate phone banks.[citation needed] He is currently[when?] the principal of School Partners, LLC, a firm that provides consulting to charter schools on everything from facility finance to their education program.[citation needed]
Schundler and his wife, Lynn, have two children, a daughter named Shaylin, and son named Hans Otto III.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ "Gov. Chris Christie fires N.J. Schools chief Bret Schundler". 2010-08-27.
- ^ Staff. "Biography of former Education Commissioner Bret Schundler", The Star-Ledger, August 27, 2010. Accessed March 5, 2011. "Born: Morristown, grew up in Woodbridge and Westfield. Hometown: Jersey City. Education: Graduated Westfield High School in 1977."
- ^ NJ Senate District 31 - History, OurCampaigns.com. Accessed May 27, 2010.
- ^ "In N.J., GOP governor's race has taken on shrill tone". USA Today. June 25, 2001. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
- ^ "THE 1992 ELECTIONS: THE REGION -- MAYOR'S RACE; Schundler, Jersey City's Mayor-Elect, Gets Ready to Battle Anew". The New York Times. November 5, 1992. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
- ^ State of the Inner City Economies: New Learning Archived May 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Herszenhorn, David M. (2001-10-30). "2 Candidates for Governor Make Pitches to Hispanics". The New York Times.
- ^ "Bob Grant, father of conservative talk radio, dead at 84". 2014-01-02.
- ^ Nagourney, Adam (2001-09-14). "AFTER THE ATTACKS: THE ELECTION; Primary Rescheduled for Sept. 25, with Runoff, if Necessary, Set for Oct. 11". The New York Times.
- ^ Bergen Record Archived November 23, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Thorbourne, Ken (2008-08-15). "Bret: Bring Me Back". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- Jersey Journal. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
- ^ Halbfinger, David M. (January 14, 2010). "To Lead Schools, Christie Picks Vouchers Advocate". New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
- ^ "N.J. Senate approves Bret Schundler for education commissioner". The Star-Ledger. 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
- ^ "Christie dismisses Bret Schundler as ed chief". The Daily Journal (New Jersey). 2010-08-28. Archived from the original on 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
- ^ "~ the King's College ~". Archived from the original on 2010-01-04.
- ^ Institution Accreditation – Search Page Archived 2008-07-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Middle States Commission on Higher Education