Bernard Kenny
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Bernard F. Kenny, Jr. (born November 17, 1946 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American Democratic Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 1993, where he represents the 33rd Legislative District. Before moving up to the Senate, Kenny served in the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature, the General Assembly, from 1987 to 1993. Upon the resignation of Robert Menendez from the New Jersey Senate, due to his election to the United States House of Representatives, Kenny was selected to fill the vacancy.
A Navy veteran, Senator Kenny is a partner at the law firm of Florio & Kenny. When the Senate was tied 20-20 in 2002 to 2003, Kenny served as the Democratic Majority Leader, and when the Democrats regained majority control, he took over as full Majority Leader, a position which he still holds.
Senator Kenny is the Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards, the Vice Chairman of the Legislative Services Commission, and is also a member of the Budget & Appropriations Committee, as well as the Joint Budget Oversight Committee and the Intergovernmental Relations Commission. Kenny was Hoboken's Assistant Corporation Counsel from 1984-1985 and was an Assistant Prosecutor in Hudson County from 1976-1979. Kenny served in the United States Navy from 1968-1971 as a Lieutenant, junior grade.
In the Senate, Kenny sponsored two laws, the Water Supply Public/Private Contracting Act and the County and Municipal Water Supply Act, which makes it possible for municipalities to enter into public/private water utility agreements. He sponsored the legislation which conforms the State's trademark law and application procedures with federal law. He also sponsored a law providing for interstate banking and a law giving gross income exclusions for certain savings in Roth IRAs.
Kenny was one of New Jersey's presidential electors casting the state's Electoral College votes after the 2004 presidential election. New Jersey's electors cast their ballots on December 13, 2004 in the State House Annex, in Trenton, where all 15 votes were cast for the Democratic Party candidate John Kerry.
The senator was a member of the New Jersey Sports History Commission and served on the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.
From 1983 to 1987, Mr. Kenny was counsel to the state division of the American Cancer Society. He served, at the appointment of the New Jersey Supreme Court, on the District VI Ethics Committee which reviewed complaints against lawyers, from 1985 to 1988.
Kenny received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania (1968) in Economics and was awarded a J.D. (1976) from the Fordham University School of Law.
[edit] District 33
Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 33rd Legislative District are:
- Assemblyman Brian P. Stack
- Vacant (Assemblyman Albio Sires resigned to be sworn in to represent New Jersey's 13th congressional district on November 13, 2006.)
[edit] External links
- Senator Kenny's Senate Website
- New Jersey Senate Democrats Website Biography
- New Jersey Voter Information Website 2003
- New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2005 (PDF)
- New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2004 (PDF)
