A New Reality in Trenton
THE STATE WE'RE IN: With November’s election, the New Jersey Legislature is a different place, with many alumni serving in both houses.
Trenton is a different place today than it was six months ago. Phil Murphy became the first Democrat in 44 years to be reelected as governor of New Jersey and, for the first time in a dozen years, Steve Sweeney no longer presides over the state senate. The partisan split in the legislature is much closer than in recent years, with the Republicans gaining ground both in the state senate and the general assembly.
Senator Sweeney was a strong and reliable supporter of Rutgers. His leadership brought about the $750 million Building Our Future bond act that helped make possible nearly $2 billion in new construction on all three Rutgers campuses. Although he occasionally crossed swords with the Rutgers Board of Trustees, he was always there for the Rutgers team in the university’s Department of External Affairs. He took our calls, he always listened, and he almost always said yes. He was a very good friend, and he will be sorely missed.
The new senate president, Nicholas Scutari, is a Democrat from Union County and a Rutgers alumnus. Remarkably, Scutari GSE’90 is the first Rutgers graduate to serve as president of the state senate in more than 50 years.
To help readers learn about our alumni in the state legislature, we are introducing a new feature in Rutgers Magazine that will highlight three alumni in each issue. Read the profiles of state senator Bob Smith and assemblyman Joe Danielsen, both of Middlesex County, and assemblyman Brian Bergen of Morris County.
Our alumni in the legislature are among our best advocates. I hope you will enjoy learning who they are.
Peter J. McDonough is senior vice president for external affairs at Rutgers.