Raymond H. "Ray" Bateman (October 29, 1927June 25, 2016) was an American politician who represented Somerset County 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 ...

in the 1960s and 1970s and was the Republican candidate 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 ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

. He was the father of Kip Bateman, who later occupied the same Senate district he held.

Biography

Early life, education and military service

Bateman was born on October 29, 1927, in

Somerville, New Jersey Somerville is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in and the county seat of Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Somerville High School in 1945. In 1946, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and was stationed at the Eighth Army headquarters in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

during the

Occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

."Somerville"
''Courier News'', Plainfield, New Jersey, March 21, 1947, page 22. In 1947, he was promoted to staff sergeant. After military service, he attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

, where he graduated in 1950, and attended the graduate program at the

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (''abbrev.'' SPIA; formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of c ...

.''Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey''
J.A. Fitzgerald, 1977.

Political career

He served as executive director of the Republican State Committee from 1954 to 1958. He entered 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 ...

in November 1958, serving as the lone Assemblyman from Somerset County (at the time, Assembly districts were apportioned by counties' populations) going on to serve as assistant majority leader in 1964 and majority leader in 1965. Bateman sponsored the 1962 legislation that established New Jersey's county-based

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

system. He was elected to the

in 1967 and was reelected in 1971 from the 8th Legislative District which consisted of all of Somerset County. He served as assistant majority leader in 1968, majority leader in 1969, and Senate president and acting governor in 1970–1972. In 1973, following the reconfiguration of all legislative districts, he was elected to serve in the Senate from the 16th District consisting of most of Somerset County and portions of Hunterdon and

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia * St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Man ...

counties. In 1977 Bateman won the Republican primary for

over

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 ...

and two other candidates, but he lost in the general election to

Brendan Byrne Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American attorney and Democratic Party politician who served as the 47th Governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982. Byrne began his career as a private attorney in Newark and Eas ...

by a margin of 1,184,564 to 888,880 votes. Brendan T. Byrne Archive: Interview with Raymond H. Bateman

Eagleton Institute of Politics The Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University was established in 1956 with an endowment from Florence Peshine Eagleton (1870–1953), and it focuses on state and national politics through education and public service. Ruth Mandel served ...

, January 11, 2007. Accessed March 18, 2008. Bateman served as chairman of 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 ...

. He resigned after a conflict with

Donald DiFrancesco Donald Thomas DiFrancesco (born November 20, 1944) is a retired American politician who served as the 51st governor of New Jersey from 2001 to 2002. He succeeded Christine Todd Whitman after her resignation to become Administrator of the Enviro ...

in 2001 over construction of a new arena for the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

in Newark and plans for the proposed Xanadu complex.Fitzgerald, Barbara
"The Incredible Shrinking Governor"
''The New York Times'', July 22, 2001. Accessed January 23, 2008. "And when Raymond Bateman, the chairman of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, disagreed with Mr. DiFrancesco over his proposal for a new arena in Newark and a sprawling retail and entertainment center in the Meadowlands, Mr. Bateman offered his resignation."

Personal life

He was married to Joan Speer Bateman until her death in 2003. They had five children: Caren, Raymond Jr. (a luger in the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Olympics, died 1990), Christopher, Michael, and Joan Anne. He died on June 25, 2016, at Morristown Memorial Hospital after a shoulder break and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. He is buried at the North Branch Reformed Church cemetery.

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bateman, Raymond 1927 births 2016 deaths Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Republican Party New Jersey state senators Politicians from Somerville, New Jersey People from Branchburg, New Jersey United States Army non-commissioned officers Somerville High School (New Jersey) alumni Wesleyan University alumni Presidents of the New Jersey Senate Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature Deaths from pneumonia in New Jersey

Biography

Early life, education and military service

Political career

Personal life

See also

References