| Thomas Kean, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 21st district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office March 1, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Rich Bagger |
| New Jersey Senate Minority Leader | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 8, 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Leonard Lance |
| Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 21st district |
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| In office April 2001 – March 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Alan Augustine |
| Succeeded by | Jon Bramnick |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 5, 1968 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Rhonda |
| Residence | Westfield, New Jersey |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
| Website | http://www.tomkean.com/ |
Thomas Howard "Tom" Kean Jr. (born September 5, 1968) is an American Republican politician, serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 2003. He represents the 21st Legislative District, which covers parts of Union, Morris, Somerset and Essex Counties. On November 8, 2007 he was elected to serve as Minority Leader of the Senate.
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Kean is the son of Thomas Kean, who was Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990 and Chairman of the 9/11 Commission following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. He grew up on the family's estate in Livingston, New Jersey.[1]
Kean is a graduate of the Pingry School and Dartmouth College and holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he is currently completing his doctoral dissertation in international relations.[2] He is a former aide to former Congressman Bob Franks and was a special assistant at the United States Environmental Protection Agency in the George H. W. Bush administration. He has also been a volunteer firefighter and a volunteer emergency medical technician. Kean currently resides in Westfield, New Jersey with his wife, Rhonda, and their two daughters.[3]
Kean was appointed to the New Jersey General Assembly, the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature, in April 2001, to fill out the unexpired term of Alan Augustine, who had resigned on March 21, 2001, due to health reasons. He then was elected to a full term in the Assembly in his own right in November 2001.[4] In the Assembly, he was the Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee and served as Vice Chairman for the State Government Committee.
In March 2003, he was appointed to the New Jersey Senate to fill out the unexpired term of Rich Bagger. In November 2003, he was elected to fill the seat he had been appointed to. In 2004, Kean was elected Senate Minority Whip, a position he held until 2007. He serves in the Senate on the Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.[2]
In the state legislature, Kean has been a proponent of ethics reform in New Jersey government. He was the original sponsor of legislation banning pay to play practices in New Jersey. He has sponsored legislation to streamline government, promote education, protect the environment, and lower property taxes.
Kean was one of only twenty-four elected officials from across the USA to be chosen as a distinguished Aspen Rodel Fellow in Public Service. In 2002, Kean was named one of forty state leaders from the entire nation to be recognized as a Toll Fellow by the Council of State Governments for high achievement and service to state government.
In 2005, the New Jersey Conference of Mayors named Kean as a Legislative Leader. He has also received, for the second year in a row, the Amerigroup Foundation’s Champion for Children award for his advocacy on behalf of children’s health issues. He also has been named Legislator of the year by the Fireman’s Benevolent Association and has received a 100% voting record with the National Federation of Independent Business.
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 21st District for the 2010-11 Legislative Session are:
Municipalities in the district include: Berkeley Heights Township, Chatham Township, Cranford Township, Garwood Borough, Harding Township, Long Hill Township, Madison Borough, Millburn Township, Mountainside Borough, New Providence Borough, Roselle Park Borough, Springfield Township, Summit City, Warren Township, Watchung Borough and Westfield Town.
Kean was the Republican nominee running for the United States Senate seat vacated by former U.S. Senator and former Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine, a seat now filled by Corzine's designated replacement, Bob Menendez. Kean was the winner of the June 6, 2006 primary against conservative John P. Ginty, by a 3-1 margin.[5]
After a hard-fought campaign, he lost the general election to Menendez by 53.3% to 44.3%. The New Jersey Senate race was the closest victory for a Democratic incumbent in the country.[6]
Kean was endorsed by The Courier-Post, The Press of Atlantic City, and Asbury Park Press.
Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean has unveiled a broad proposal to make New Jersey more affordable through budget savings and including long term strategies to provide more property tax relief and prevent toll increases. [1]
Since joining the legislature in 2001, Kean has pushed for comprehensive ethics reform to curb the influence of campaign contributions receiving inflated government contracts.
Legislation sponsored by Senator Kean will make New Jersey a leader in private sector economic growth. [2] [3]
As a member of the Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee, Kean has focused on chronic disease management as a long term solution to lower healthcare costs. [4] [5]
Kean is promoting a four point plan to make New Jersey a leader in alternative fuel development. [6]
In 2004, Kean introduced legislation to prohibit investment of public money in companies doing business in Sudan because of that country's failure to prevent genocide in Darfur and its human rights abuses that include severe restrictions on the freedoms of assembly, association, movement and speech. [7] The bill passed with bipartisan support and made New Jersey the second state in the country to divest from Sudan. [8] Kean has supported public interest campaigns to end violence against women of Darfur. [9]
| New Jersey Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Rich Bagger |
New Jersey State Senator - District 21 January 2003 - present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Bob Franks |
Republican Nominee for the U.S. Senate (Class 1) from New Jersey 2006 |
Succeeded by election to be held in 2012 |
| Preceded by Leonard Lance |
Minority Leader of the New Jersey Senate 2008 - present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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