Gerald H. Zecker (born April 12, 1942) is an American

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politician who served 18 years in the New Jersey General Assembly, from 1984 to 2002, where he represented the 34th Legislative District, losing office after several heavily Democratic communities were added to his district in the 2001 apportionment following the

2000 United States census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

. He served as mayor of

Clifton, New Jersey Clifton is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways, the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area. As ...

from 1978 to 1982. An insurance executive by profession, Zecker earned an undergraduate degree in business and accounting from

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

. He served on Clifton's City Council from 1974 to 1986, on its planning board from 1976 to 1985 and was the city's mayor from 1978 to 1982.,

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 14, 2010. Zecker was first elected to the Assembly in 1983, filling the seat occupied by Terry LaCorte, a one-term Republican incumbent who gave up his seat to mount an unsuccessful primary challenge to

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Joseph L. Bubba. He served in the Assembly as Assistant Minority Leader in 1990, as Deputy Minority Leader in 1991, as Speaker Pro Tempore from 1992 to 1995 and as Deputy Speaker starting in 1996. Zecker served on the Education Committee and the Policy and Regulatory Oversight Committee. In 1990, Zecker questioned the viability of the construction of the 20-mile long Passaic River Flood Tunnel, saying that it could "be the biggest mistake we've ever made". The Assembly overrode

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 res ...

James Florio James Joseph Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022) was an American politician who served as the 49th governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. He was previously the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district from 19 ...

's veto of legislation that would prevent insurance companies to use age, marital status, place of residence as sex as criteria in setting insurance rates, with Zecker arguing that the reason rural and suburban drivers pay lower rates than those in the Garden State's large cities because "cars in

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are stolen and wrecked in far greater numbers". Zecker planned in August 1996 to introduce legislation that would allow Clifton to become the first city in the State of New Jersey to charge inmates for the costs of their incarceration.Newman, Andy
"No More Free Cells?"
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'', August 19, 1996. Accessed June 15, 2010. The

New Jersey Apportionment Commission The New Jersey Apportionment Commission is a constitutionally-created ten-member commission responsible for reapportioning the forty districts of the New Jersey Legislature. The commission is convened after each decennial U.S. Census, and the di ...

's 2001 redistricting map placed several heavily Democratic municipalities in District 34, Zecker was not reelected to his Assembly seat in the 2001 election as the Democrats took his seat, the seat that had been held by Marion Crecco for the previous ten years; she was unable to run for reelection to the seat because she instead decided to run for State Senate and her hometown of Bloomfield had been moved out of District 34, and Norman M. Robertson's State Senate seat in landslides.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zecker, Gerald H. 1942 births Living people Fairleigh Dickinson University alumni Mayors of places in New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey city council members Politicians from Clifton, New Jersey 20th-century American legislators 20th-century mayors of places in New Jersey 21st-century American legislators 21st-century New Jersey politicians