Kathleen A. Donovan
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Kathleen A. Donovan (born 1952) is 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 Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...
politician, who served as
County Executive of Bergen County, New Jersey The Bergen County Executive is county executive of Bergen County, New Jersey, United States who, as the chief officer of the county's executive branch, oversees the administration of county government. The office was inaugurated in 1986 at the sa ...
. She previously served as County Clerk of Bergen County, New Jersey for four terms, and one term in the New Jersey General Assembly. Donovan unsuccessfully sought support to run for Bergen County Executive in the 2002 Republican primary, and lost a campaign for the 2006 Republican nomination for County Executive. She ran again for County Executive in 2010, where she defeated incumbent
Dennis McNerney The Bergen County Executive is county executive of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States who, as the chief officer of the county's Executive (government), executive branch, oversees the administration of county govern ...
.


Early life and education

Donovan, a graduate of Queen of Peace High School, earned a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University-Newark and was awarded a J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. She is a resident of Rutherford, New Jersey.


Public service

Donovan was a part-time public defender of Lyndhurst, New Jersey (her hometown), from 1983 to 1988. From 1986 to 1988, she represented the 36th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly. In the Assembly, Donovan served on the State Regulatory Efficiency Committee (as Vice-Chair) and as a member of the Environmental Quality Committee.Kathleen A. Donovan
,
Bergen County, New Jersey Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey Republican State Committee from June 1989 to February 1990, before being replaced by her predecessor, Union County Assemblyman Bob Franks. She was first elected County Clerk in 1988 and was reelected in 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008. As County Clerk, Donovan was in charge of maintaining land use records in the county, including deeds and mortgages, preserving county records, handling certain election functions including counting ballots, receiving petitions, handling absentee ballots and designing ballots, serving as the local passport office for Bergen County and handling other services including identification cards for veterans. As County Clerk she also functioned as a Recorder of Deeds for Bergen County. In 1994 Donovan was appointed by Gov.
Christine Todd Whitman Christine Temple Whitman (née Todd; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration o ...
as a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey with the designation of Chairwoman of the Port Authority. As Port Authority Chairwoman, Donovan was a part-time official overseeing a bi-state agency governing all of the New York area ports, including LaGuardia Airport,
Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Count ...
and John F. Kennedy International Airport, along with the World Trade Center and the PATH mass transit system between
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and New Jersey. Donovan stepped down as Port Authority Chairwoman in December 1995 in order to unsuccessfully run for Congress in the 1996 election, but she retained her seat on the agency's Board of Commissioners. Donovan remained a Port Authority Commissioner until 2002 when she was replaced by Gov.
James McGreevey James Edward McGreevey (born August 6, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 following the revelation of his extramarital affair w ...
when her term expired. She was a commissioner when the September 11 terrorist attacks destroyed the World Trade Center. Seats on the Port Authority Board are considered one of the top political appointments that can be awarded by the Governor of New Jersey or the
Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...
.


Bergen County Executive

Donovan ran for County Executive in 2010, where she defeated incumbent
Dennis McNerney The Bergen County Executive is county executive of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States who, as the chief officer of the county's Executive (government), executive branch, oversees the administration of county govern ...
and swept into office with her three Freeholder running mates, in an election in which perceived corruption by the Democratic incumbents, and rising spending and taxes were the major issues. Donovan won with 52.9% of the vote (117,104), while McNerney received 47.1% (104,366). On November 4, 2014, Donovan lost her reelection bid to Democratic Freeholder James J. Tedesco III, in an election in which the major issues were the county budget, consolidation of the county police and sheriff, and issues regarding lawsuits filed between the different branches of government. Election results showed her garnering 45.8% (91,299) of the vote compared to Tedesco's 54.16% (107,958).Staff
"RESULTS OF MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY RACES"
''
The Record The Record may refer to: Music * ''The Record'' (album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Records, an English power pop band * '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record'', a 2001 greatest-hits album by the pop-music group Bee Ge ...
'', November 5, 2014. Accessed December 27, 2014.


References


External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, Kathleen 1952 births Living people Chairmen of the New Jersey Republican State Committee Cleveland–Marshall College of Law alumni County clerks in New Jersey Bergen County, New Jersey executives Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly People from Rutherford, New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni Women state legislators in New Jersey Port Authority of New York and New Jersey people Chairmen of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey 21st-century American women