Kimberly Ann Guadagno (; ''née'' McFadden; born April 13, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the first

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and 33rd

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 ...

from 2010 to 2018. Guadagno was the Republican nominee 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 ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, but lost in the general election to Democrat

Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American politician, diplomat, and financier serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was elected governor i ...

Early life and education

Kim Guadagno was born Kimberly Ann McFadden in

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 67,314, making it the List of cities in Iowa, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

, the middle child of five of Mary Patricia "Pat" (Blevens) and Charles A. "Chuck" McFadden Jr. Her father's job in sales had her living in many different places prior to going to college. She earned 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 ...

degree from

Ursinus College Ursinus College is a private liberal arts college in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869 and occupies a campus. Ursinus College's forerunner was the Freeland Seminary founded in 1848. Its $127 million endowment supports about 1, ...

Collegeville, Pennsylvania Collegeville is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a suburb outside of Philadelphia on Perkiomen Creek. Collegeville was incorporated in 1896. It is the location of Ursinus College, which opened in 1869. The population was 5,089 ...

in 1980, and a J.D. degree in 1983 from the Washington College of Law in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Career

Early legal work

Kim Guadagno is a former Assistant

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Eastern District of New York and the District of New Jersey. She was also Assistant

New Jersey Attorney General The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confi ...

. Serving as deputy chief of the U.S. Attorney's office's corruption unit from 1994 to 1998, Guadagno was responsible for the corruption prosecutions of former Essex County Executive Thomas D'Alessio (a Democrat) and of Somerset County Prosecutor Nicholas Bissell (a Republican).Stile, Charles
"Christie announces lieutenant governor pick"
''

The Record (Bergen County) ''The Record'' (also called ''The North Jersey Record'', ''The Bergen Record'', ''The Sunday Record'' (Sunday edition) and formerly ''The Bergen Evening Record'') is a newspaper in New Jersey, United States. Serving Bergen, Essex, Hudson and ...

'', July 20, 2009. Accessed July 21, 2009 In 1994, in a case involving an executive of lottery contractor

GTECH Corporation GTech Corporation was a Gambling, gaming technology company based in Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It was acquired in 2006 for $4.5 billion by Lottomatica of Italy, which later rebranded as GTECH in the U.S. ...

, the U.S. Attorney's Office was criticized by the judge overseeing the case for the disclosure of grand jury testimony in a sentencing report; the issue was never referred for further ethical or legal investigation. The lottery executive went to jail. The D'Alessio and Bissell cases were each recognized as one of the top federal prosecutions in the country at the time by the US Department of Justice. She served as deputy director from 1998 to 2001 in the Division of Criminal Justice, where she supervised prosecutions of a $40 million financial fraud and of David L. Smith, creator of the " Melissa"

computer worm A computer worm is a standalone malware computer program that replicates itself in order to spread to other computers. It often uses a computer network to spread itself, relying on security failures on the target computer to access it. It will ...

. She taught legal research and writing at Rutgers School of Law–Newark from 2003 until Nov. 2009. In 2005 Kim Guadagno was elected to Monmouth Beach's non-partisan governing body as one of its three Walsh Act commissioners.

Monmouth County Sheriff

Elected the 75th

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 ...

of Monmouth County in 2007, succeeding Joseph Oxley, she became the first woman to serve in the post when she took office in 2008. Guadagno served as the chief executive and administrative officer of Monmouth County's largest law enforcement agency with nearly 700 employees who serve in the Law Enforcement Division, the 1,328 bed maximum security correctional institution, the

youth detention center In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. ''Abbreviations Dictionary''. CRC Press, 20011202. Retrieved 23 August 2010. , . juvenile det ...

, the Civil Division and the Public Safety and 911 Emergency Dispatch Center. During her time as sheriff, the office received the Department of Defense Pro Patria Award which recognizes employers for their extraordinary support of employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve. Under her supervision, the office also received the "Six Star" simultaneous accreditation of the law enforcement division, the correctional facility, correctional healthcare and youth detention center from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. The Monmouth County Sheriff's Office was the first out of 3,088 Sheriff's Offices in the United States to receive the award. The department was one of 11 accepted nationwide into the federal program established under Immigration and Nationality Act Section 287(g) which allowed corrections officers to check the immigration status of prisoners before they were released. Sheriff Guadagno also expanded "Project Lifesaver," which uses bracelets with a radio-tracking device that allows Sheriff's Officers to locate persons with Alzheimer' or

Autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

who wander or become lost.

Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State

On July 20, 2009, Republican gubernatorial nominee

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...

chose Guadagno as his running mate, in the first New Jersey election to include voting for a lieutenant governor. Guadagno was selected over a number of other Republican women, including

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Diane Allen and

Bergen County Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Kathleen Donovan.Margolin, Josh; and Heininger, Claire
"Chris Christie introduces Monmouth Sheriff Kim Guadagno as GOP lieutenant gov. candidate"
''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'', July 20, 2009. Accessed July 21, 2009. Guadagno was not a well known political figure statewide in October 2009. According to Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind Poll, Guadagno's name recognition in New Jersey was low with only 15% of voters reporting that they were aware of her. Out of the New Jersey voters that knew of Guadagno, 4% reported having a "very favorable" or "somewhat favorable" opinion while 3% reported that they had a "very unfavorable" or "somewhat unfavorable" opinion of the prospective lieutenant governor. Christie and Guadagno defeated Jon Corzine and Loretta Weinberg on November 3, 2009.Silverleib, Alan
"CNN projects Republicans win governor races in Virginia, New Jersey"

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, November 3, 2009. Accessed November 3, 2009. Kim Guadagno 2010

Christie also appointed Guadagno New Jersey's Secretary of State and charged her with overseeing economic development efforts and the streamlining of government regulations. She was sworn in on January 19, 2010 as lieutenant governor of New Jersey. As the secretary of state, Guadagno was responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within New Jersey, as well as volunteerism and community service projects within the state. She supervised multiple programs, including the State Archives, the state's research facility and repository for public records of historical value and the Division of Travel and Tourism, which is charged with promoting New Jersey as a premier travel destination. Additionally, Guadagno headed the Division of Elections and served as the Chief Elections Official and chair of the Board of State Canvassers, which certifies election results for federal and state office elections and public questions. She oversaw the Division of Programs which includes the Governor's Office of Volunteerism, the New Jersey Commission on National and Community Service, the Office of Faith Based Initiatives and the Center for Hispanic Policy, Research, and Development.

Candidacy for governor

Kim Guadagno was the 2017 Republican gubernatorial nominee, having won approximately 46.8% of the popular vote in the June 2017 statewide primary. She lost to Democrat

on November 7, 2017, garnering 42% to Murphy's 56%.

Post-political career

In April 2018, Guadagno joined law firm Connell Foley as a partner working out of its Jersey City office. In May 2019, Guadagno became CEO and president of Fulfill NJ (formerly known as The Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean County). During her two-year tenure at the foodbank, Guadagno closed a $1.5 million budget gap and managed a food delivery system during the COVID crisis. Her contract with the FoodBank was not renewed in May 2021 amid disputes with Monmouth County officials, including Shaun Golden, the chair of the county Republican Party. That July, Guadagno left the Republican Party and registered as an unaffiliated voter, reportedly due to her discontent with Golden. Guadagno is now a partner at the law-firm of Connell Foley and the President and Executive Director of Mercy Center Corporation in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Mercy Center is a four star charity rated non-profit that feeds and services 3000 families in six counties and operates a tuition free, faith based middle school for girls in Asbury Park, New Jersey, mercycenternj.org. The agency’s vision is to end generational poverty one child and one family at a time.

Controversies, issues and positions

Abortion

Guadagno supports a

pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their ...

position on

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

but would like to see fewer women choose the option of abortion. She herself adopted a son. Guadagno's views on abortion contrast with Christie's

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the lega ...

stance on abortion.

Arts Council allegations

In early 2011, after reviewing a routine state audit of the prior administration's affairs, Guadagno publicly criticized the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for its sloppy handling of public art projects, implying that state funds may have been fraudulently awarded. An official state investigation ended in December 2011 with no finding of illegality. But, the insider contracts were cancelled, the money was returned and the director who awarded the insider contracts was replaced by the Council of the Arts.

Allegations of pension fraud

While she was Monmouth County Sheriff, in 2008, Guadagno hired Michael Donovan, a retired investigator with the county prosecutor's office, as her chief of law enforcement. Under state laws on "double dipping", anyone holding such a position must forego any public

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

they are otherwise eligible to rec. Donovan became the chief warrant officer, in charge of serving

legal process Legal process (sometimes simply process) is any formal notice or writ by a court obtaining jurisdiction over a person or property. Common forms of process include a summons, subpoena, Mandate (criminal law), mandate, and warrant (law), warrant. ...

and

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a jud ...

s, exempt from the pension system. Guadagno argued this saved taxpayers' money Guadagno established that the state Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS) had approved her actions. However, in 2011 the PFRS board, responding to allegations of pension fraud within sheriff's offices around the state, requested that the office of

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Paula T. Dow review records of Donovan's hiring for possible "false and conflicting statements" by Guadagno, by then lieutenant governor. Instead of requesting a special prosecutor, Governor Christie referred the case to Attorney General's Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ), which a year later concluded the investigation. An investigative reporter sued the state to release the records of the investigation; in early 2016 a court ordered DCJ to release some of those records but excluded a five-page document on Guadagno's role.

Hoboken Sandy funds

On January 18, 2014, Mayor of Hoboken Dawn Zimmer, appearing on

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

, claimed that Guadagno had pulled her aside in a supermarket parking lot and directly linked Hoboken's receipt of Sandy funding to the approval of a large proposed private development project that required substantial zoning changes to move forward. Mayor Zimmer then said that several days later Richard Constable, director of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs also insinuated to her that more Sandy relief funds would be released to the city if it approved the project in its northwest quadrant. The developer, the

Rockefeller Group Rockefeller Group International, Inc. is an American private company based in New York City, primarily involved in real estate operations in the United States and it is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Group. The company began with Construction of Roc ...

, has ties with

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

Chief David Samson, a Christie appointee and close Christie associate. On February 22 the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

interviewed members of the city's government and potential witnesses, who were instructed to preserve any evidence they might possess. They were also asked by the office of United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Paul Fishman, to not discuss the matter publicly. On January 31, the city acknowledged that it had received subpoenas from that office. After a 16-month investigation the US Attorney for NJ concluded that Zimmer's claims were unfounded. In letters dated May 1, 2015, to Guadagno, Constable and Ferzan the US Attorney wrote: "Based on the evidence developed during the investigation and our review of applicable law, we have concluded that no further action is warranted in this matter. Accordingly, the investigation of these allegations have been closed."

2010 vacation

In December 2010, Guadagno went on a scheduled vacation with her father who was dying of prostate cancer, while Governor Christie later decided to go with his family to Disney World. With both officials out of state, a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

hit New Jersey and Stephen M. Sweeney, the senate president and a Democrat, had to preside as acting governor to declare a state of emergency. Guadagno and Christie were criticized for both being out of state at the same time.

Personal life

Guadagno moved to New Jersey in 1991 and has been a resident of Monmouth Beach, a borough in Monmouth County, since marrying Michael Guadagno in 1991. Her husband was a judge of the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division. He was appointed to the bench in 2005 by then-Governor Richard Codey, and elevated to the Appellate Division by Chief Justice

Stuart Rabner Stuart Jeff Rabner (born June 30, 1960) is the chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. He served as New Jersey Attorney General, chief counsel to Governor Jon Corzine, and as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Dis ...

in 2012."Judge Michael A. Guadagno Elevated to Appellate Division of Superior Court"
July 3, 2012. Accessed August 8, 2012. The Guadagnos have three sons. Judge Guadagno submitted his letter of resignation on January 26, 2017, in advance of reaching the mandatory judicial retirement age of 70 later that year. Because Lieutenant Governor Guadagno is also secretary of state and thereby receives resignation and retirement letters of New Jersey judges, Judge Guadagno's resignation letter was addressed to his wife in her personal as well as official capacity, referred her then-prospective run for the post of governor, and was signed "your loving husband". The Guadagnos have three sons. One of the three, Kevin, is a graduate of the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

and is an F-35 fighter pilot. Another son, Michael, rowed crew at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

References

External links

* * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Guadagno, Kim 1959 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women politicians American women lawyers American lawyers American women police officers Candidates in the 2017 United States elections Law enforcement officials from New Jersey Lieutenant governors of New Jersey Lawyers from Monmouth County, New Jersey New Jersey independents New Jersey Republicans Sheriffs of Monmouth County, New Jersey People from Monmouth Beach, New Jersey Politicians from Waterloo, Iowa Rutgers School of Law–Newark faculty Secretaries of state of New Jersey Ursinus College alumni Washington College of Law alumni Women in New Jersey politics Women sheriffs American women legal scholars American legal scholars American women academics 20th-century American women