Jane Grey Burgio (July 8, 1922 – December 20, 2005), an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Republican politician, served as

Secretary of State of New Jersey The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing New Jersey State Council on the Arts, artistic, cultural, and New Jersey Historical Com ...

and as a member of 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 ...

Early life and education

Burgio was born and raised in

Nutley, New Jersey Nutley is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 30,143, an increase of 1,773 (+6.2%) from the 2010 United ...

. In 1940, she graduated in 1940 from

Nutley High School Nutley High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the Township of Nutley, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Nutley Publi ...

, and later attending Caldwell College and

Essex County College Essex County College (ECC) is a public community college in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. History In August 1966, the Essex County Board of Freeholders approved the creation of Essex County College and in September 1968, more tha ...

. She lived in North Caldwell. Her sister, Ruth Bedford, was also a Republican Party activist. Her brother-in-law, Stanley Bedford, served as a New Jersey Superior Court Judge. Her grandfather, Abraham Blum, was the first Mayor of Nutley.

Career

Burgio served as vice chair of the Essex County Republican Committee and as a Commissioner of the Essex County Board of Elections. In 1973, after the primary election had already been held, incumbent Assemblyman Philip D. Kaltenbacher announced that he would not run for re-election. Essex County Republicans held a meeting and picked Burgio as his replacement. Burgio's running mate was

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 ...

. Kean and Burgio defeated their Democratic opponents, Thomas Giblin and Nicholas Saleeby. Kean and Burgio were re-elected in 1975. Kean gave up his Assembly seat in 1977 to pursue election as governor. Essex County Republican County Chairman

Frederic Remington Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United Sta ...

became Burgio's new running mate. They faced a primary and beat Wayne mayor Newton Edward Miller, Norman Lapidus, a businessman from Maplewood, Melvin I. Tolstoi, and Shirley Szabo. In November, Burgio and Remington prevailed over the Democrats,

Livingston Livingston or Livingstonemay refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North Am ...

mayor

Donald S. Coburn Donald Stephen Coburn (April 18, 1939 – August 7, 2024) was an American Democratic Party politician and jurist from New Jersey. Early life Coburn was born on April 18, 1939, the son of H. Jules Coburn (1904-1995), a New York attorney. He is ...

and Bernie Reiner. In 1979, Burgio and Remington were re-elected. Defeated were Alex Trento and James Bildner. In 1981,

James Wallwork James Harold Wallwork (September 17, 1930 – October 23, 2024) was an American Republican Party politician who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature and twice sought the Republican nomination for Governor. Early life and militar ...

gave up his

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 ...

seat to become a Republican

gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

candidate. Burgio and Remington both wanted to run for the Senate, but when their shared hometown of North Caldwell was moved into a different district, neither of them ran for anything.

New Jersey Secretary of State

After Kean was elected

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 ...

in 1981, he asked Burgio to become his Secretary of State, making her the first woman to serve in that role. She accepted and served in that office through the entire eight years of the Kean administration. She retired with Kean in January 1990. In 1996, Burgio attempted a political comeback as a candidate for the position of Surrogate of Essex County, but lost by a very big margin.

Death

Burgio died on December 20, 2005, at age 83.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burgio, Jane 1922 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American women politicians Caldwell University alumni Essex County College alumni Nutley High School alumni People from North Caldwell, New Jersey People from West Caldwell, New Jersey Politicians from Nutley, New Jersey Politicians from Essex County, New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Secretaries of state of New Jersey Women state legislators in New Jersey 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature