Edward T. O'Connor Jr. (born October 6, 1942) is an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, who served in the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1982 to 2002, where he represented the 31st Legislative District.

Education

Born on

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.St. Peter's Preparatory School Saint Peter's Preparatory School ("Saint Peter's Prep" or "Prep") is a private, all-male, Jesuit, college-preparatory school located in Jersey City, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. T ...

. He earned an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Modern Languages from Saint Peter's University, followed by a J.D. from

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test take ...

. He then earned an

L.L.M. A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

with a specialization in Labor Law. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1968 to 1970, attaining the rank of captain.

Career

O'Connor was elected in 1981 to fill the seat vacated by fellow Democrat

Wally Sheil Walter N. "Wally" Sheil (April 15, 1929 – June 23, 2002) was an American academic administrator and politician from Jersey City, New Jersey, who served in the New Jersey Senate as a Democrat from 1978 to 1982, and ran as Republican candidate for ...

, defeating Republican Jean C. Lane by a 75.4%-24.7% margin. He was re-elected five times, with his closest scare coming in 1991, when he defeated Republican

Bret Schundler Bret D. Schundler (born January 14, 1959) is an American Republican politician from New Jersey. Schundler was the mayor of Jersey City from 1992 until 2001. Schundler was the city's first Republican mayor since 1917. He ran for Governor of New Je ...

by 55.1% to 44.9%. He served in the Senate on the Judiciary Committee and the Economic Growth, Agriculture and Tourism Committee. He served as Minority Whip starting in 1992.,

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 May 27, 2010. In December 2001, the Senate passed legislation introduced by O'Connor that would establish standards for DNA testing of prison inmates.Staff
"Metro Briefing , New Jersey: Trenton: DNA Testing Bill Advances"
''

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 ...

'', December 3, 2001. Accessed May 30, 2010.

References

External links

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Edward J. Jr. 1942 births Living people Fordham University School of Law alumni New Jersey lawyers Democratic Party New Jersey state senators New York University School of Law alumni Politicians from Jersey City, New Jersey Saint Peter's University alumni St. Peter's Preparatory School alumni United States Army officers Military personnel from New Jersey