James "Jim" Whelan (November 8, 1948 – August 22, 2017) was an American Democratic Party

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, who served in the

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 ...

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

where he represented the 2nd Legislative District, from January 8, 2008, until his death.

Early life

Whelan was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and attended

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

where he became a nationally ranked distance swimmer before a broken leg in his senior year cut short his career. His achievements, however, ultimately led to his induction in the Temple University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. He received a M.Ed. from Temple University.

Political career

In 1977, Whelan took a job in the

Atlantic City School District Atlantic City School District is a comprehensive community public school district in Atlantic City, in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The district serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2020–2 ...

. During this timeon a volunteer basishe helped coach the Atlantic City High School swim team. In 1978, to draw publicity for a bid to restore the Around the Island Swim (a 22.5 mile open-water swimming race around Absecon Island), Whelan did the race solo. Four years later, he made his first foray into politics, making an unsuccessful run for the Atlantic County

Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the ...

in 1980. The following year, he won election to the

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

Council, in 1981, and was re-elected in 1985. He won the mayor's office in a landslide in 1989. Whelan served three terms as Mayor of Atlantic City. Whelan was elected president of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors. Following a defeat at the hands of Lorenzo T. Langford in 2001, Whelan returned to teaching. He also served on the board of the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority. Whelan was elected to the Assembly in November 2005, unseating Republican Kirk W. Conover, who had held the seat since 2003 in this Republican-leaning district. In 2007, Whelan won his bid for a seat in 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 ...

, defeating Republican Party incumbent James J. McCullough. Whelan won re-election in November 2011, defeating Assemblyman Vincent J. Polistina in the state's most expensive race, with more than $3 million spent by both candidates. In the 2013 election, Whelan defeated Atlantic County

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

Frank X. Balles 55%–45%. Whelan served in the Senate on the State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee (as chair); the Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee; and the Economic Growth Committee.Senator Whelan's Legislative web page

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 ...

. Accessed December 28, 2016. On January 4, 2017, Whelan announced that he was planning to retire as senator.

District 2

Each of the 40 legislative districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one senator and two members of the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 2nd Legislative District for the 2016-2017 (217th) Legislative Session are: *Assemblyman Chris A. Brown (R) *Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo (D)

Electoral history

Death

Whelan died on August 22, 2017, at age 68 from a heart attack at his home in Atlantic City. Whelan was survived by his wife Kathy Whelan and his son Richard Whelan. Atlantic City's

Boardwalk Hall Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Built during 1926–1929, it was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of ...

was officially dedicated to his memory.

References

External links

State Senator Jim Whelan's Legislative web page

*''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms''
201620152014201320122011201020092008200720062005State Senator James 'Jim' Whelan

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected offic ...

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Jim 1948 births 2017 deaths Politicians from Philadelphia American male swimmers Mayors of Atlantic City, New Jersey Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey city council members Democratic Party New Jersey state senators Temple University alumni 20th-century mayors of places in New Jersey 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature