Francis Xavier Herbert (January 11, 1931 – September 25, 2018) was an American school teacher and Democratic Party politician who served a single term on the New Jersey Senate where he represented the 39th Legislative District. He is the only candidate in New Jersey history to win a Federal primary election as a

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

Biography

Herbert was born January 11, 1931, in

Greenville, Jersey City Greenville is the southernmost section of Jersey City in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Geography In its broadest definition, Greenville encompasses the area south of the West Side Branch of Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and north of 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 ...

to a working class,

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...

family. Herbert received his bachelor's degree from Fordham University, in 1956, and his master's degree in education from

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

. He taught English at the William L. Dickinson High School in Jersey City from September 1956 at least through June 1960. Wildstein, David
"Frank Herbert, former State Senator, dies at 87 Lost his seat to Cardinale, was Frelinghuysen’s first Dem House opponent"
New Jersey Globe, September 27, 2018. Accessed September 28, 2018. "Frank X. Herbert, a charismatic, progressive Democrat who quoted Shakespeare, loved the New York Giants, and served in the New Jersey State Senate until Gerald Cardinale unseated him in 1981, passed away today. He was 87." Herbert lost his first race for office running for the Borough Council in Waldwick, but ran again the next year and won. In the wake of anti-

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

sentiment against

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, Herbert won a seat on the Bergen 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 ...

in 1973, but lost the seat when he ran for re-election in 1976. With

Brendan Byrne Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American politician, statesman, and prosecutor, serving as the 47th governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrne started his career as a priva ...

at the top of the ticket winning the race for

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

, Herbert won the 1977 race for Senate in the 39th District, standing together with his running mates in support of the establishment of a

state income tax In addition to Federal government of the United States, federal Income tax in the United States, income tax collected by the United States, most individual U.S. states collect a state income tax. Some local governments also impose an income tax, ...

to defeat Republican John Markert. Herbert was the sponsor of the Bill that created

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

, the statewide public transit agency, in July 1979.

Gerald Cardinale Gerald Cardinale (February 27, 1934 – February 20, 2021) was an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1982 until his death in 2021, representing the 39th Legislative District. He also served one ...

defeated the incumbent Herbert in 1981. Herbert fell short again running against Cardinale in 1983,losing by about 1,000 votes.Friedman, Matt
"Frank Herbert, back and ready for action"

PolitickerNJ The Politicker Network, or Politicker.com, was a national network of fifty state-based political websites operated by the ''New York Observer''. Origins The network had its origins in journalist Ben Smith's ''New York Observer'' blog, "''The Poli ...

, August 30, 2007. Accessed October 27, 2010. In 1994, Democratic Party officials asked Herbert, then a resident of Sparta Township, to run in the primary against John Kucek in

New Jersey's 11th congressional district New Jersey's 11th congressional district is a suburban district in northern New Jersey. The district includes portions of Essex, Morris, and Passaic Counties; it is centered in Morris County. The 11th congressional district, along with the 12 ...

. Kucek proclaimed himself as a "Christian populist" was a

Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

and a public admirer of KKK Grand Wizard

David Duke David Ernest Duke (born July 1, 1950) is an American white supremacist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, far-right politician, convicted felon, and former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. From 1989 to 1992, he was a membe ...

. New Jersey Democratic chairman Tom Byrne was elated by the success of the write-in campaign for Herbert that was organized in conjunction with Jewish organizations in the district, saying that "the first thing we had to do was convince people not to vote for the Nazi" before convincing voters to cast a write-in ballot for Herbert. In the general election Herbert lost resoundingly to Republican

Rodney Frelinghuysen Rodney Procter Frelinghuysen (born April 29, 1946) is an American former politician and lobbyist who served as the U.S. representative for from 1995 to 2019. The district includes most of Morris County, an affluent suburban county west of New ...

by a margin of 71.2%-28.0%,NJ District 11: 1994 General Election
OurCampaigns.com. Accessed October 27, 2010. By then a resident of Rockaway Township, Herbert won the Democratic primary for the party's state senate nomination in the 25th Legislative District in 2007. Campaigning on a platform that included a proposal to use a portion of revenue from the states toll roads to fund lower fares on

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

and opposing Bucco's vote against state funding for stem cell research, Herbert lost to incumbent Anthony Bucco by 61.5%-38.5%. He was married to the former Eleanor Gillen and has three adult children. He died at the age of 87 on September 25, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Frank 1931 births 2018 deaths County commissioners in New Jersey Democratic Party New Jersey state senators Politicians from Jersey City, New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey People from Rockaway Township, New Jersey People from Sparta, New Jersey People from Waldwick, New Jersey Fordham University alumni Montclair State University alumni Schoolteachers from New Jersey