Francis "Frank" X. McDermott (October 15, 1924 – December 15, 2011) was an American Republican Party politician who served in both houses of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

Biography

McDermott was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1924. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from Columbia College, a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

, and a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

and

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. He was admitted to practice as an attorney in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. He settled in

Westfield, New Jersey Westfield is a Town (New Jersey), town in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 31,032, an increase of 716 (+2.4% ...

, with his wife, the former Patricia Keogh. In 1955, he served as a New Jersey delegate to the White House Conference on Education. In 1963 he was elected to the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

from Union County for the first time. He served as assistant majority leader in 1965 and minority leader in 1966. In 1967, McDermott was elected to the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

. The following year he served as majority leader. In 1969 he was selected as Senate President, serving as acting governor in the absence of Governor

Richard J. Hughes Richard Joseph Hughes (August 10, 1909December 7, 1992) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge. A Democrat, he served as the 45th governor of New Jersey from 1962 to 1970, and as Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1973 to ...

. Also in 1969, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

. He lost the Republican primary to William T. Cahill, also finishing behind U.S. Rep. Charles W. Sandman Jr. and State Sen. Harry L. Sears. He was Senate President pro tempore from 1970 to 1973. In 1973, when Democrats made great gains in the Legislature with the landslide election of

Brendan Byrne Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American attorney and Democratic Party politician who served as the 47th Governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982. Byrne began his career as a private attorney in Newark and Eas ...

, McDermott was defeated in the general election for State Senate by Assemblymember Alexander J. Menza as the Democrats gained control of the state legislature for only the third time in the 20th century. In 1975 he was again elected to the General Assembly, serving one term. In 1977, he considered running in the Republican primary for governor but dropped out to become the campaign chairman for

Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American politician, statesman, and academic administrator from the state of New Jersey. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Kean served two terms as the 48th governor of New Jersey f ...

. Instead of running for the Assembly, McDermott sought a return to the State Senate after Menza decided not to run for re-election so that he could seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 1978. He lost to Anthony E. Russo, the Mayor of Union Township. McDermott was co-founder of the law firm Apruzzese, McDermott, Mastro & Murphy of Liberty Corner, and he continued to serve as a senior partner there until he died in 2011. He had also served as Chairman of the New Jersey Turnpike and Highway Authority and as Trustee for

Kean University Kean University () is a public university in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, Union, Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth, and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education and is a state-designated rese ...

. Frank McDermott died on December 15, 2011, surrounded by his family.Star-Ledger Obituary, Published 17 December 2011
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References

External links

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDermott, Frank X. 1924 births 2011 deaths Politicians from Westfield, New Jersey Columbia Law School alumni New York University alumni Lawyers from Union County, New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Republican Party New Jersey state senators Presidents of the New Jersey Senate Columbia College (New York) alumni 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature