John Adler
John Adler | |
---|---|
Jon Runyan | |
Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 6th district | |
In office January 14, 1992 – January 3, 2009 | |
Preceded by | Lee B. Laskin[1] |
Succeeded by | James Beach[2] |
Personal details | |
Born | John Herbert Adler August 23, 1959 Shelley Levitan |
Children | 4 |
Education | Harvard University (BA, JD) |
Profession | Attorney |
John Herbert Adler (August 23, 1959 – April 4, 2011) was an American lawyer, politician and a member of the
Only a few months after leaving the House, Adler unexpectedly died after suffering from
Early life and education
Adler was born in Philadelphia, the son of Mary Louise (née Beatty) and John Herbert Adler. His ancestry included German (including Bavarian), English, and Irish.[5] He moved to Haddonfield, New Jersey when he was two years old. His father owned a small dry cleaning store. When Adler was in high school, his father died after a series of heart attacks. Adler and his mother lost the family business, and survived off his father's Social Security benefits for widows and minors. He attended Haddonfield Memorial High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Harvard College and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.[6] He paid for law school through student loans, grants, and working odd jobs throughout college.
Early political career
From 1988 until 1989, Adler served on the Cherry Hill Township Council. While serving on the council, Adler passed the township's ethics ordinance.[7]
In 1990, Adler challenged incumbent Jim Saxton for his seat in New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District. Adler was defeated by Saxton by a margin of 60% to 40%.[8]
New Jersey State Senate
Adler was elected in 1991 to the
Legislation
Adler was co-sponsor of the New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act, enacted in 2006, which banned smoking in almost all public places.[9] Adler was one of three co-sponsors of a Senate bill submitted in 2008 that would extend the smoking ban to casinos and simulcasting facilities, which had been exempted in the earlier version of the ban.[10]
Adler co-sponsored legislation that strips government pensions from public employees who are convicted of or plead guilty to corruption charges.[11]
Adler co-sponsored a bill that would expand voting rights for military personnel and New Jersey citizens overseas to include state and local elections. The bill was signed into law on August 12, 2008, by Governor Corzine.[12]
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee assignments
- Committee on Financial Services
- Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
- Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology
- Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
U.S. Congressman Adler was ranked by
Legislation
Adler was in favor of the
In November 2009 and March 2010, Adler voted against House and the Senate Health Care bills.[19][20][21] He did not sign a petition circulated by Iowa Republican Steve King calling for a complete repeal of the law.[22]
Adler voted in favor of the American Clean Energy and Security Act.[23]
Political campaigns
2008
On September 20, 2007, Adler announced that he planned a second challenge to Saxton. By this time, the district had been renumbered as
Adler received a number of endorsements for the election, including those from the Teamsters,
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee committed $1.7 million in ad buys to Adler's campaign.[34] In comparison, the NRCC committed $84,200 in coordinated ad buys with the Myers campaign, in addition to help the NRCC gave in financing an internal poll in September with the Myers campaign. Myers also benefited from two ad buys by the 501(c)(4) organization Freedom's Watch, which attacked John Adler on his tax record, his legislative history, and contributions he received from subprime mortgage companies.[35][36]
Adler won a majority of newspaper endorsements. He was endorsed by the , [39] the Burlington County Times,[40] the Courier-Post,[41] Myers received the endorsement of the Asbury Park Press.[42]
The 3rd district race was the last one to be called in New Jersey on Election Night 2008. Adler ultimately defeated Myers with 52.08% of the vote to Myers' 47.92%.[43] He was sworn into his position as the Congressman from the 3rd district of New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives on January 6, 2009, the first Democrat to represent this district in 123 years. The district was the 1st for most of the time until 1967, then was the 6th from 1967 to 1983, the 13th from 1983 to 1993, and has been the 3rd since 1993.
2010
Adler lost the 2010 midterm election to Republican nominee
In addition to Runyan, Adler was challenged by NJ Tea Party nominee Peter DeStefano, Libertarian nominee Russ Conger, and Your Country Again nominee Lawrence J. Donahue.
Republicans heavily targeted this seat in this election cycle.[45] A warning sign for Adler came in the New Jersey gubernatorial race in 2009, when Republican candidate Chris Christie carried Adler's district by 17 points over Democratic Governor Jon Corzine[46] Governor Christie campaigned hard for Runyan, calling Adler a "career politician".
Some Democratic operatives asserted that Adler campaign staffers and the Camden County Democratic Committee (CCDC) recruited Tea Party candidate Peter DeStefano in an attempt to split the conservative vote and benefit Adler. New Jersey Tea Party groups said they had never heard of DeStefano until he had a strong showing in a July poll released by the Adler campaign.[47] On October 8, 2010, the Associated Press reported, based on the details of an earlier article at CourierPostOnline.com, that there was "mounting evidence" that the Democrats recruited DeStefano. The article noted that a Democratic Party employee ran DeStefano's website and that many of the signatures on DeStefano's nominating petitions belonged to Democrats – including a former Adler campaign staffer.[48] Reportedly, Steve Ayscue, the paid head of operations for CCDC, and Geoff Mackler, Adler's campaign manager, presented a plan at CCDC Headquarters during a May 26 meeting of the South Jersey Young Democrats, and some of those present soon joined in circulating a petition to place Peter DeStefano on the ballot.[49] Adler denied the allegations.[50][51] DeStefano called the suggestion that he was a Democratic plant "a bunch of crap".[50] In the end, DeStefano garnered only 1.5% of the vote.[44]
Presidential endorsements in 2004 and 2008
On October 7, 2003, the then-State Senator Adler (along with Representative
Similar to in 2004, State Senator Adler was one of the first elected officials in New Jersey to go against the party establishment in his presidential endorsement during the 2008 election cycle. He endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination when the majority of other New Jersey Democratic politicians supported initial frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Like with Kerry instead of Dean, Obama, who was Adler's choice, would go on to become the Democratic nominee instead of Clinton.
Personal life
Adler met his wife,
In March 2011, Adler contracted a staph infection which resulted in endocarditis, leading to emergency heart surgery. He then died on April 4, 2011.[55] Adler was buried in Locustwood Memorial Park, Cherry Hill Township.
In 2012, Shelley Adler unsuccessfully ran against Runyan for Adler's old U.S. House seat.[54]
See also
References
- ^ Our Campaigns – NJ State Senate 06 Race – November 5, 1991
- ^ Our Campaigns – NJ State Senate 06 Race – November 6, 2007
- ^ "Former U.S. Rep. John Adler has died". New Jersey Real Time News. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
- ^ "Shelley Adler set to announce bid for Congress". PolitickerNJ. January 29, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ "john adler". Archived from the original on December 1, 2009.
- ^ a b Senator Adler's legislative web page Archived February 12, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Legislature. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
- ^ Adler for Congress website biography Archived June 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed March 22, 2010.
- ^ King, Wayne. " The 1990 Elections: New Jersey – Congressional Races; Voters Angry, but Not at Incumbents", The New York Times, November 7, 1990. Retrieved August 11, 2008.
- ^ Gurney, Kaitlin. "N.J. ban on indoor smoking passes: The Assembly sent the bill, with an exemption for casino floors, to Gov. Codey. He is expected to sign it Sunday.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 10, 2006. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
- ^ 213th Legislature: S236 Archived October 24, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Legislature. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
- ^ Della Santi, Angela via the Associated Press. "Convicted N.J. pols stand to lose hefty pensions" Archived October 19, 2007, at archive.today, Burlington County Times, August 12, 2007. Accessed August 7, 2008.
- ^ Staff. "Governor Signs Legislation Allowing Deployed Troops to Vote in State Races", Cape May County Herald, August 13, 2008. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
- ^ "The National Journal ranks Rep. John Adler one of the 10 most "Centrist" lawmakers | John Adler for Congress". Adlerforcongress.com. March 10, 2010. Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ "Project Vote Smart – HR 1 Appropriations, Tax Law Amendments, and Unemployment Benefit Amendments ("Stimulus Bill") Member Vote List". Votesmart.org. January 28, 2009. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
- ^ "Adler Votes Against Additional Bailout Funding". Adler.house.gov. January 21, 2009. Archived from the original on July 7, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ a b "Bill Summary & Status – 111th Congress (2009–2010) – H.R.746". Archived January 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine THOMAS (Library of Congress). Archived December 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved October 19, 2012.
- ^ "The Safeguarding America's Seniors and Veterans Act". Press release by John Adler, reproduced at Project Vote Smart. January 26, 2009. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
- ^ Final Vote Results for Roll Call 968
- ^ Fitzgerald, Thomas (March 18, 2010). "S.J. Democrat gives thumbs down to health-care reform | The Philadelphia Inquirer | 03/18/2010". Philly.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ [1] Archived November 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger (March 19, 2010). "U.S. Rep. John Adler opposes health-care bill, despite pleas from Obama | NJ.com". Blog.nj.com. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ Discharge Petition 0011
- ^ "House Roll Call #477 Details". OpenCongress. June 26, 2009. Archived from the original on September 3, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
- ^ Hester Jr., Tom (Associated Press). "State Sen. Adler to challenge Saxton for Congress", Newsday, September 20, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
- ^ Hernandez, Raymond. "Citing Health, Lawmaker Announces Plan to Retire", The New York Times, November 10, 2007. Accessed December 1, 2007. "Representative Jim Saxton of New Jersey, a Republican who has served in Congress since 1984, said Friday that he would not seek re-election next year because he has prostate cancer."
- ^ Chris Myers campaign website. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
- ^ Smith, Bridget. "Adler has big edge over Myers in raising campaign funds", Courier-Post, August 3, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
- ^ "Winners and Losers", PolitickerNJ.com, July 18, 2008. Accessed August 6, 2008. "Democrat John Adler is a clear winner: he's raised $1.9 million for his third district race – that's more than any non-incumbent candidate nationally."
- ^ 2008 Race: New Jersey District 3 – Total Raised and Spent, OpenSecrets. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
- ^ "Adler campaign announces new slew of endorsements | John Adler for Congress". Adlerforcongress.com. November 3, 2008. Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ "Adler gets endorsement of Teamsters, Police Union, Sierra Club | John Adler for Congress". Adlerforcongress.com. July 11, 2008. Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ “Humane Society Legislative Fund Announces Endorsements” Archived October 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, May 22, 2008. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
- ^ “National Committee Endorsement”, PolitickernNJ, October 22. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2008.
- ^ Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee website Archived September 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Crisis NJ". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ "Enough NJ". YouTube. September 26, 2008. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- Press of Atlantic City, October 19, 2008. Retrieved October 19, 2008.
- ^ “Editorial: N.J. Districts: House”[permanent dead link], Trading Markets, October 20, 2008. Retrieved October 20, 2008.
- ^ “Editorial – For the House”, The New York Times, October 25, 2008. Retrieved October 25, 2008.
- ^ “Burlington County Times Endorsement for John Adler”, Burlington County Times, October 26, 2008. Accessed October 27, 2008.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ a b "Official List – Candidates for House of Representatives – For November 2010 General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. State of New Jersey Department of State.
- ^ "If GOP can't beat Adler in '10, he'll get a safe seat until he runs statewide". Politicker NJ. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ "Christie won Adler's district by 17 points". Politicker NJ. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ "Democrats: Adler campaign backed Tea Party candidate". Cherry Hill Courier-Post. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
- ^ Geoff Mulvihill (10/8/10) Report: Dems planted NJ tea-party House candidate Associated Press. Retrieved 10-8-10.
- ^ Jane Roh (October 8, 2010). "Dems picked spoiler candidate". CourierPostOnline.com. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
- ^ a b Cynthia Burton (October 9, 2010). "John Adler denies allegation he recruited third-party candidate DeStefano". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
- ^ Geoff Mulvihill (October 12, 2010). "Dem denies NJ House campaign recruited tea-partier". Associated Press. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
- ^ "Shelley Levitan Adler". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
- ^ Forward, The. "Record Number of Jews slated for next U.S. Congress – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News". Haaretz.com. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- ^ a b Levinsky, David. "Shelley Adler striving to continue her late husband's legacy of service". Archived May 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine PhillyBurbs.com February 21, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
- ^ "Former U.S. Rep. John Adler has died", PolitickerNJ, April 4, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Profile at Vote Smart
- New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms
- 2007 Archived September 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine 2006 Archived June 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine 2005 Archived July 16, 2006, at the Wayback Machine 2004 Archived September 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- Appearances on C-SPAN