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Linda Stender (born July 25, 1951) is an American Democratic Party politician who served in 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 2002 to 2016, where she represented the 22nd legislative district. She ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, seeking to represent New Jersey's 7th District, in 2006 and 2008. She was narrowly defeated by incumbent Representative Mike Ferguson in 2006 but lost by a wider margin to
Leonard Lance Leonard John Lance (born June 25, 1952) is an American politician and attorney who served as the U.S. representative for , from 2009 to 2019. He ran for re-election in 2018, but was defeated by Democrat Tom Malinowski. He is a member of the R ...
in the November 4, 2008 election. Stender served as the Assembly's Deputy Speaker from 2006–2009 and currently serves in the Assembly on the State Government Committee (as Chair), Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee (as Vice-Chair), and the Appropriations committee. She is a former Vice Chairwoman of the Tourism and Gaming Committee and a former Vice Chairwoman of the Environment and Solid Waste Committee.


Background

Stender was born on July 25, 1951, in
Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a City (New Jersey), city in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nicknamed "The Queen City",
and graduated from
Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School (or SPFHS) is a comprehensive regional four-year public high school in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from the Township of Scotch Plains a ...
. She received a
B.A. 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 degree ...
from
American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
in Interdisciplinary Communications in 1973. Stender previously served as a Councilwoman (from 1988–1990) and as Mayor of Fanwood, New Jersey from 1992 to 1995. She then won the first of three terms on the Union 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 ...
where she served from 1994-2002. She served as Chairwoman of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1997. She was elected to the State Assembly in 2001 and reelected in 2003. Democratic Party leaders denied her a chance to run for the State Senate in 2003. Legislation sponsored by Stender and signed into law includes: The Integrated Pest Management Act, A-2841, which requires public and private schools to establish an integrated pest management policy to protect students and staff; A-2654 and A-2655, which permitted the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement on public highways maintained by local governments and by the
New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transport ...
on the State’s three toll roads; and the Toll Road Consolidation Bill, A-3392, which abolished the New Jersey Highway Authority and transferred projects and functions to the
New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although ma ...
Authority. Legislation sponsored by Stender includes: A-2330, which creates a low interest mortgage loan program in the NJ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency for volunteer firefighters, emergency medical squads, and emergency rescue squads; A-2753, which requires the
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 ...
to use transported remains of victims of the
September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
in a memorial; A-2930, which permits municipalities to place stop signs on certain intersections near schools, playgrounds, and youth recreational facilities; A-3345, which provides public safety members in federal or state military service who are injured or killed with disability or death benefits; A-3502, which provides municipalities with equal funding for new construction where the existing facilities are considered unfit for rehabilitation for health and safety reasons.


Congressional campaigns


2006 congressional race

Stender was the Democratic Party nominee for
New Jersey's 7th congressional district New Jersey's 7th congressional district includes all of Hunterdon and Warren Counties; and parts of Morris, Somerset, Sussex, and Union Counties. The district is represented by Republican Thomas Kean Jr., who was first elected in 2022, de ...

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, where she faced off against Republican incumbent Mike Ferguson. Stender lost the 7th District race by slightly more than 3,000 votes, or about 1.5% of all votes cast in the election. This is the closest challenge Ferguson has faced since being elected. Stender campaigned as a self-described "progressive" and advocated for stem cell research. In April 2006, Stender was endorsed by
EMILY's List EMILYs List is a left-leaning American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "E ...
and Democracy for America (DFA). In May 2006, Stender was endorsed by The
Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...
. On October 22, 2006, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' endorsed Linda Stender over Mike Ferguson in the 7th district. The Ferguson campaign ran advertisements featuring the catchphrase "Linda Stender is a Spender," criticizing her voting record as a mayor and assemblywoman. In the end, ''
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 ...
'' reported that it was in fact conservative-values women who helped to defeat Stender in her bid for Congress.


2008 congressional race

In late 2007, Stender announced another run for Congress in 2008. Ferguson stated on November 19, 2007, that he will not run for reelection in 2008. On November 19, 2007, EMILY's List announced their 2008 endorsement of Stender. On January 18, 2008, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced that Stender would be part of its 'Red to Blue' fundraising program, indicating that the district has been targeted by national Democrats. As of late January, Stender has raised over $615,000 for her 2008 campaign. On June 3, 2008, Republicans primary voters selected State Senator Leonard Lance to be Stender's opponent in the November general election. Stender was defeated again for this seat, losing to Leonard Lance with 41.6% to his 50.8%.


Controversies


Criticism of Ann Coulter

On June 8, 2006, Stender and Assemblywoman Joan M. Quigley publicly criticized
Ann Coulter Ann Hart Coulter (; born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic ...
's book '' Godless: The Church of Liberalism''. Stender and Quigley issued a press release in response to Coulter's criticism of the Jersey Girls, four widows of the
September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
from New Jersey who have criticized U.S. policies in the events leading up to September 11. They did not seek any legislative prohibition, but in the press release, they called on New Jersey retailers to "express their outrage by refusing to carry or sell copies of Coulter's book."


Alleged abuse of the Habitat for Humanity program

In February 2015, an investigation by NJ Advance Media found that Richard Stender, the husband of the Assemblywoman, had applied for assistance from Coastal
Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...
to demolish and then rebuild his house. The home, which was located in Manasquan, was severely damaged by
Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...
in 2012. The home was deemed beyond repair and demolished with funds from the organization. In August 2014, plans were filled with the Manasquan Zoning Office to replace the original with a much larger home. The home that was requested was about three times larger than the original and much larger than the ones that the organization usually builds for low-income residents. When the organization received the plans, Maureen Mulligan, executive director of Coastal Habitat for Humanity immediately said "...no. This was not the type of house that Habitat builds, which is a three-bedroom one-and-a-half bath, 1,200 square foot house." Habitat for Humanity helps homeowners who make up to 80 percent of Monmouth County's median household income, which is $84,526. However, Linda Stender's legislative financial disclosure records shows her combined income with her husband was at least $99,000 a year in 2012 and 2013. The financial disclosures also list the Manasquan property as the only one owned by either Stender or her husband. Stender registered to run for reelection in 2013 from a Scotch Plains address, and told her district-mate, Assemblyman Jerry Green, that she lives with her mother and that her husband lives in Manasquan. The controversy has led Stender to retire from the Assembly choosing not to run for re-election in 2015.


References


External links

*''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms''
2007200620052004

Linda Stender for Congress 2008
''official campaign website'' *
Campaign contributions
at
OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector and ...

Linda Stender's blog entries
from
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stender, Linda 1951 births Living people American University alumni Women mayors of places in New Jersey Mayors of places in New Jersey County commissioners in New Jersey Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly People from Fanwood, New Jersey Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School alumni Women state legislators in New Jersey New Jersey city council members 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century mayors of places in New Jersey Politicians from Union County, New Jersey Women city councillors in New Jersey 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature