Jane Grey Burgio (July 8, 1922 – December 20, 2005), an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

politician, served as

Secretary of State of New Jersey The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as we ...

and as a member of 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 for ...

Biography

Burgio was born and raised in Nutley and graduated in 1940 from

Nutley High School Nutley High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the Township of Nutley, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Nutley Public Schoo ...

, later attending Caldwell College and

Essex County College Essex County College (ECC) is a public community college in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. History In August 1966, the Essex County Board of Freeholders approved the creation of Essex County College and in September 1968, more than a ...

. She lived in

North Caldwell North Caldwell is a borough in northwestern Essex County, New Jersey, United States, and a suburb of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,694, an increase of 511 (+8.3%) from the 2010 census count ...

. She served as Vice Chair of the Essex County Republican Committee and as a Commissioner of the Essex County Board of Elections. Her sister, Ruth Bedford, was also a Republican activist. Her brother-in-law, Stanley Bedford, served as a New Jersey Superior Court Judge. Her grandfather, Abraham Blum, was the first Mayor of Nutley. In 1973, after the primary election had already been held, incumbent Assemblyman Philip D. Kaltenbacher announced that he would not run for re-election. Essex County Republicans held a meeting and picked Burgio as his replacement. Burgio's running mate was Thomas H. Kean. Kean and Burgio defeated their Democratic opponents, Thomas Giblin and Nicholas Saleeby. Kean and Burgio were re-elected in 1975. Kean gave up his Assembly seat in 1977 to pursue election as governor. Essex County Republican County Chairman

Frederic Remington Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United State ...

became Burgio's new running mate. They faced a primary and beat Wayne mayor Newton Edward Miller, Norman Lapidus, a businessman from Maplewood, Melvin I. Tolstoi, and Shirley Szabo. In November, Burgio and Remington prevailed over the Democrats, Livingston mayor Donald S. Coburn and Bernie Reiner. In 1979, Burgio and Remington were re-elected. Defeated were Alex Trento and

James Bildner James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

. In 1981,

James Wallwork James Harold Wallwork (born September 17, 1930) is an American Republican Party politician who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature and twice sought the Republican nomination for Governor. Early life and military career Wallwork ...

gave up his

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as 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, ...

seat to become a Republican gubernatorial candidate. Burgio and Remington both wanted to run for the Senate, but when their shared hometown of North Caldwell was moved into a different district, neither of them ran for anything. After Kean was elected

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 ...

in 1981, he asked Burgio to become his Secretary of State, the first woman to serve in that role. She accepted and served in that office through the entire eight years of the Kean administration. She retired with Kean in January 1990. In 1996, Burgio attempted a political comeback as a candidate for the position of Surrogate of Essex County, but lost by a very big margin. Burgio died on December 20, 2005.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burgio, Jane Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Caldwell University alumni Essex County College alumni Nutley High School alumni People from North Caldwell, New Jersey People from West Caldwell, New Jersey People from Nutley, New Jersey Politicians from Essex County, New Jersey Women state legislators in New Jersey Secretaries of State of New Jersey 1922 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women