Marcia A. Karrow (born March 10, 1959) is an American politician affiliated with the Republican Party. She is currently serving as the mayor of Flemington,
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 ...
. She previously served in the
New Jersey State 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 ...
representing the 23rd Legislative District from February 9, 2009 to November 23, 2009. She previously served for three years in the
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
representing the same district she represented in the Senate.
In the assembly, Karrow was one of two assemblymembers representing the 23rd district, the other being Michael J. Doherty. When
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 ...
resigned from the State Senate after his election to the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...
, Karrow and Doherty ran against each other in a January 24, 2009 special election convention for the right to succeed him, with Karrow winning. However, Doherty decided to run against Karrow again in the June 2009 Republican primary election for the State Senate seat, and he defeated her. After going on to win the general election in November of that year against Democrat Harvey Baron, Doherty succeeded Karrow in the State Senate on November 23, 2009.
Biography
A 1977 graduate of
Hunterdon Central Regional High School
Hunterdon Central Regional High School is a comprehensive high school, comprehensive, four-year state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school, and regional school district that serves students from five municipaliti ...
, Karrow graduated with 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
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...
in History (1981), an
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
from the
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
in Classical Archaeology (1985) and was awarded a
M.B.A.
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
from
Baruch College
Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City, United States. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the colle ...
of the
City University of New York
The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...
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 April 16, 2008.
Karrow's father, Sol, served on the borough council in
Flemington, New Jersey
Flemington is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in and the county seat of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Political career
Local politics
Karrow served on the Raritan Township Committee from 1994 to 2002, as Deputy Mayor in 1996, and as Mayor in 1998. She served on the Raritan Township Planning Board from 1992 to 1993 and in 1998. She served on the Raritan Township Environmental Commission from 1994, the Raritan Township Open Space Advisory Committee from 1997, the Raritan Township Agricultural Advisory Board from 1999, and on the Raritan Township Economic Development Committee from 1994 to 1996. She also served on the Flemington Partnership for Progress on its board of directors / chair, Economic Restructuring from 1994 to 1997 and on the Governor's Planning Council on Aging in 1994. Karrow was a member of the
Raritan Valley Community College
Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) is a public community college in Branchburg, New Jersey. RVCC offers Associate degree programs leading to an Associate of Arts (A.A.), Associate of Science (A.S.), Associate of Fine Art (A.F.A), or an ...
Search Committee from 1995 to 1998.,
Hunterdon County, New Jersey
Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2020 census, the county was the state's 4th-least populous county,Hunterdon County
Hunterdon County is a County (United States), county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the county was the state's List of counties in New Jersey, 4th-least populous ...
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 ...
beginning in 1999, and served as the Freeholder Director from 1999 to 2000. As a Freeholder, Karrow served on the Hunterdon County Planning Board (Liaison), Health and Human Services (Liaison), Hunterdon County Economic Partnership (Liaison), Work Force Investment Board (Member), Polytech Special Sub-Committee (Member) and the Hunterdon County Agriculture Development Board (Liaison).
State legislature
Karrow was elected to the Assembly on November 8, 2005, filling the seat of fellow Republican Connie Myers, who did not run for reelection and had held the seat since 1996. In the Assembly she served on the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, the Budget Committee, and the State House Commission. She resigned from her Assembly seat on February 9, 2009 when she is sworn into the State Senate.
Karrow was appointed to seats on the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, the Senate Labor Committee, and the State's Capital Budget Commission by Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr. after her swearing into the Senate. Lance served as Ranking Minority Member of the Budget and Appropriations Committee during his last year in the Senate.
2009 State Senate race
On November 20, 2008, Karrow announced her intention to run for the
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 ...
seat vacated by
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 ...
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 ...
. Karrow's opponent in the race was Assemblyman Michael J. Doherty. Hunterdon County Freeholder Matt Holt originally planned to run for the vacancy as well, but dropped out to run for one of the Assembly vacancies opened up by Karrow or Doherty.
On January 24, 2009, a special election was held by a convention of Republican committee members from Hunterdon and
Warren
Warren most commonly refers to:
* Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits
* Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named
Warren may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Warren (biogeographic region)
* War ...
counties. Karrow defeated Doherty in the special election by a margin of 195 votes to 143. Doherty announced he would run against Karrow a second time in the June 2009 primary, when she would be running as the incumbent.
The Hunterdon and Warren county Republican committee members held another special convention on February 21, 2009 to fill Karrow's vacant Assembly seat. In the contest, Warren County Freeholder
John DiMaio
John DiMaio (born November 27, 1955) is an American Republican Party politician, who was selected on February 21, 2009 to fill the New Jersey General Assembly seat for the 23rd legislative district vacated by Marcia A. Karrow, after Karrow fil ...
defeated Hunterdon County Freeholders Matt Holt and Erik Peterson.
On June 2, 2009, Doherty defeated Karrow in the Republican Senate primary by a margin of 52%-48%. Doherty went on to win the November special election, defeating Democratic candidate Harvey Baron to fill the remaining two years of the term. Karrow's Senate term ended on November 23, 2009 when Doherty was sworn into office.
Post-state legislature
In November 2009, Karrow was named a member of the transition team of Governor-Elect
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) ...
, serving as chair of the subcommittee on environmental protection. She then was appointed Chair by Governor Christie under his Executive Order 12 to review issues with the Council on Affordable Housing.
Karrow was chosen in December 2010 to serve as Executive Director of the
New Jersey Meadowlands Commission
The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC; formerly the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission) was a regional zoning, planning and regulatory agency in northern New Jersey. Its founding mandates were to protect the delicate balance of ...
, succeeding Robert Ceberio, who had held the position for eight years. After the
New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) is an independent authority established by the State of New Jersey in 1971 to oversee the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Originally consisting of Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack in ...
took over the responsibilities of the Meadowlands Commission, Karrow's role as director ended in October 2015.
Karrow later served as the administrator of
Middlesex, New Jersey
Middlesex is a borough in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located within the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 14,636, its highest decennial count and an increas ...
from 2019 until her retirement in 2022. She would then announce her run for Mayor of
Flemington, New Jersey
Flemington is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in and the county seat of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Raritan Township in 2005) against incumbent Democrat Betsy Driver. She defeated Driver in the November 2022 election by 94 votes.
References
External links
*''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms'' 2008200720062005
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 ...