Thomas Kean

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Thomas Kean bigraphy, stories - Former Governor of New Jersey and Chairman of the 9/11 Commission

Thomas Kean : biography

April 21, 1935 –

Thomas Howard Kean ( born April 21, 1935) is an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 48th Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Kean is best known globally, however, for his 2002 appointment as Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, widely known as the 9/11 Commission, which was responsible for investigating the causes of the September 11, 2001 attacks and providing recommendations to prevent future terrorist attacks. He was appointed to this post by U.S. President George W. Bush. Upon the completion of his second term as Governor, he served as the president of Drew University for 15 years, until his retirement in 2005.

New Jersey political career

Originally a teacher of history and government, Kean was elected, in 1967, as a Republican to the New Jersey General Assembly.

At the start of the Assembly session in 1972, Democratic leadership had wanted to name S. Howard Woodson of Trenton as Speaker, until Assemblyman David Friedland made a deal as one of four Democrats who voted to give the minority Republicans control of the General Assembly, electing Kean as Assembly Speaker. Woodson would have been the Assembly’s first African American Speaker, and charges of racism were leveled by fellow Democrats against Friedland.Sullivan, Ronald. , The New York Times, January 12, 1972. Accessed May 20, 2009. In the next Assembly, in 1974, the Democrats united behind Woodson for Speaker; Kean then became the minority leader of the Assembly. In 1973, he briefly served as acting New Jersey Governor

During the 1976 presidential campaign, Kean served as Gerald Ford’s campaign manager for the state of New Jersey.

1977 gubernatorial loss and aftermath

In 1977, Kean ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for the governor of New Jersey. Although he spent most of his career as a political moderate, in this race Kean ran to the right of New Jersey Senate Minority Leader Raymond Bateman. Kean was unable to obtain the endorsement of many county Republican chairmen, or Gerald Ford, despite having served as his campaign director for the state of New Jersey the previous year. Bateman defeated Kean and won the nomination, though Bateman went on to lose the general election to Brendan Byrne.

After the election, Governor Byrne appointed Kean as a commissioner on the board of the New Jersey Highway Authority. Kean also worked as a political commentator on New Jersey public television.http://governors.rutgers.edu/THK-bioindex-2.htm#governor

1981 gubernatorial victory and 1985 re-election

Kean fared better four years later, in 1981, when he again ran for Governor. Kean made campaign promises to foster job creation, clean up toxic waste sites, reduce crime, and to preserve home rule. He also received the endorsement of Gerald Ford his second time running for governor.

Kean defeated U.S. Representative James Florio in the closest election in New Jersey gubernatorial election history; Kean won by 1,797 votes. The election was controversial, due to the involvement of the Republican National Committee, who appointed a Ballot Security Task Force, allegedly to intimidate voters.

Kean proved hugely popular in office. In striking contrast to his slim 1981 victory, he won re-election in 1985 with the largest margin of victory in the history of New Jersey gubernatorial races, defeating Peter Shapiro, then Essex County Executive, 71%–24%.Sullivan, Joseph F. , The New York Times, November 9, 1986. Accessed October 10, 2007. Kean won every municipality in the state except Audubon Park and Chesilhurst in Camden County and Roosevelt in Monmouth County., The New York Times, November 15, 1999. Accessed June 14, 2008.

1988 Republican Convention speech

In 1988, reflecting his stature as an up-and-coming leader of the Republican Party’s moderate wing, Kean delivered the keynote speech at the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans. The same year, he also authored a book, The Politics of Inclusion, published by Free Press, which urged political cooperation among historically divided interest groups and politicians.