Marie Sheehan Muhler (born July 19, 1937) is an American Republican Party politician who served in 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 ...

from 1976 to 1986. Born in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, Muhler grew up in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...

and graduated from Montclair High School and Marymount College (now known as

Marymount University Marymount University is a private Catholic university with its main campus in Arlington, Virginia. Marymount offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. It has approximately 3,897 students enrolled, representing approximately 45 states an ...

). Living in

Marlboro Township, New Jersey Marlboro Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located within the Raritan Valley region and is a part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a ...

with her husband—an engineer at

Bell Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

—and their four children, Sheehan served on the township's zoning board of adjustment and on the boards of education of both the Marlboro Public Schools and the

Freehold Regional High School District The Freehold Regional High School District is a public regional school district established in 1953, that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from eight communities in western Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The distric ...

. In her first campaign for the Assembly, running in 1975 in the 11th Legislative District, Muhler knocked off incumbent Democrat

Morton Salkind Morton Salkind (June 1, 1932 – October 4, 2014) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Marlboro Township from 1969 to 1975 and in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1974 to 1976. He died of liver cancer on October 4, 2014, in ...

by a margin of under 300 votes. In the Assembly, she served on the Education Committee and the Joint Committee on Ethical Standards, and was selected as deputy minority whip, one of the four party leadership roles selected by a vote of the assembly members of each party.Staff
"Interview: Legislative Whip"
''

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 ...

'', July 2, 1978. Accessed August 6, 2019. "A native of the Bronx, the former Marie Sheehan attended Montclair High School and Marymount College in Arlington, Va." In the 1980 general election, Muhler faced off against incumbent Democrat James J. Howard with campaign visits from President

Gerald R. Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

and plans to raise $200,000 and outspend the incumbent. She lost by less than one percent of the vote in the race for

New Jersey's 3rd congressional district New Jersey's 3rd congressional district is represented by Democrat Andy Kim of Moorestown who has served in Congress since 2019. It is one of seven districts that voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election while being held by a ...

. In 1982, Muhler and Howard faced off against each other for a second time. In redistricting following the

1980 United States census The United States census of 1980, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 226,545,805, an increase of 11.4 percent over the 203,184,772 persons enumerated during the 1970 census. It was th ...

, Marlboro Township was one of several strongly Republican municipalities that were removed from the district. With the changes in the political landscape, Muhler lost a second time to Howard, by a 62% to 36% margin.Staff
"Vote Results in New Jersey"
''

'', November 4, 1982. Accessed August 6, 2019. "Third District+ James J. Howard,* D 103,313 Marie Sheehan Muhler, R 60,059" Muhler resigned from the Assembly on October 20, 1986 to join the

New Jersey Department of Community Affairs The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The department is headed by Commissioner Sheila Oliver, who is also serving as lieutenant governor of New Jersey. Function The NJDCA prov ...

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Muhler, Marie Sheehan 1937 births Living people Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Montclair High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Marlboro Township, New Jersey Politicians from Montclair, New Jersey Politicians from Monmouth County, New Jersey Women state legislators in New Jersey 21st-century American women