Raymond J. Zane (born July 23, 1939) is an American
Republican Party
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politician
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, who served in the
New Jersey
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Pittsburgh Pirates
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and played until his professional career was ended by injury.
Zane earned his undergraduate degree from St. Joseph's College in
New York
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with a major in business administration, then earned his J.D. from Rutgers School of Law–Camden. He is an attorney by profession with the firm of Zane and Lozuke.
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 the ...
. Accessed June 17, 2010.
Zane served in the Senate as the Assistant Majority Leader from 1986 to 1989, as the Deputy Assistant Minority Leader from 1992 to 1998 and as Deputy Minority Leader starting in 1998. He served there on the Judiciary Committee and the Legislative Oversight Committee.
Zane had been elected to eight terms in office as a Democrat and announced his switch to the Republican Party in February 2001 at a news conference where he was joined by Acting
Governor of New Jersey
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Ronald Reagan
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, Zane said that "I didn't leave the Democratic Party, but outgrew it." Zane criticized Democratic Party bosses in Camden County and what he perceived as their efforts to bring "boss-style politics" into Gloucester County. Zane had been feuding with Gloucester County Democratic Party head Michael A. Angelini, and the feud had escalated to the point that Zane faced the prospect of a challenge in the Democratic primary from
Stephen M. Sweeney
Stephen M. Sweeney (born June 11, 1959) is an American politician and labor leader who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2022, representing the 3rd legislative district. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 114th President ...
, then director of the Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders. In response to Zane's departure from the Democratic Party, Angelini stated that "Ray Zane's career has always been about money", and claimed that Zane had switched parties because his law firm had lost county contracts to service municipalities and school districts. Zane had been earning close to $95,000 a year from contracts with the
Deptford Township Schools
The Deptford Township Schools is a comprehensive community public school district, comprising eight school facilities, that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in Deptford Township, in Gloucester County, New Jersey.
As o ...
Asbury Park Press
The ''Asbury Park Press'' is a daily newspaper in Monmouth and Ocean counties of New Jersey and has the third largest circulation in the state. It has been owned by Gannett since 1997.
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'', September 24, 2003. Accessed June 17, 2010. Starting in 2000, Zane's paid positions were gradually stripped away from him, including a $40,000 a year position with the Gloucester County Improvement Authority. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', February 23, 2001. Accessed June 17, 2010.
Zane went unchallenged in the Republican primary, but was defeated by Sweeney in the 2001 general elections by a margin of 51.5%-48.5%. Sweeney was aided by the strong support of Camden County Democratic head
George Norcross III
George E. Norcross III (born March 16, 1956) is an American businessman and a Democratic Party organizer and power broker in southern New Jersey.
Norcross is executive chairman of Conner Strong & Buckelew, an insurance brokerage firm. He is c ...
in the Camden portion of the district. The race was the most expensive in New Jersey history at the time, totaling to $2.4 million, with Sweeney spending $1.8 million to Zane's $624,000. It was the most expensive legislative race in the state until $4 million was spent in Fred H. Madden's successful race to unseat
George Geist
George F. Geist (born June 18, 1955) is an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 2003 to 2004, where he represented the 4th Legislative District. He had earlier served six terms in the General Assem ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...