Marlene Lynch Ford (born February 23, 1954) is an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician, prosecutor and jurist 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 ...

. Born Marlene Lynch in

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

on February 23, 1954, she attended

St. Rose High School St. Rose High School is a co-educational four-year Catholic school, Catholic high school in Belmar, New Jersey, Belmar, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The school operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trento ...

Belmar, New Jersey Belmar is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated on the Jersey Shore. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 5,794,Georgian Court College Georgian Court University (GCU or Georgian Court) is a private Roman Catholic university in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. Founded in 1908 by the Sisters of Mercy, the university has more than 1,600 undergraduates and nearly 600 graduate students ...

with a bachelor's degree in history and was awarded a J.D. degree from

Seton Hall University Law School Seton Hall University School of Law is the law school of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law is the only private law school in New Jersey, and, according to the ''U.S. News & World Report'' rankin ...

in 1979. She married William J. Ford in 1974. Divorced in 1989. Married Francis J Kelly MD in 1998 A resident of Point Pleasant, she was elected to the State Assembly in 1983, defeating freshman Republican Assemblyman Warren Wolf. She was the youngest woman at 29 to be elected to the General Assembly. She was defeated for re-election in 1985 by Republican Robert Singer, but regained her seat in a 1989 rematch with Singer. She lost her seat again in the 1991 Republican landslide. In August 1985, Governor of New Jersey

Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American businessman, academic administrator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Kean served as the 48th governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Following his tenure as governor, ...

signed into law a bill sponsored by Ford that allowed residents to deduct property taxes paid from their income tax gross income calculation, resulting in cuts of $60 to $140 on their state taxes. It was at the time the largest tax cut in New Jersey history. In 1992 she was appointed to the Superior Court by Governor James Florio and reappointed with tenure in 1999. Governor

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

appointed Ford to serve as Ocean County Prosecutor in 2007 and Governor

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in Ne ...

appointed her to serve as a judge on the

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts.Jeffrey S. Mandel, New Jersey Appellate Pra ...

in 2013. A resident of Toms River, she was elevated to Assignment Judge (Chief Judge) of Ocean County in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Marlene Lynch 1954 births Living people Georgian Court University alumni Seton Hall University School of Law alumni Women state legislators in New Jersey Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey lawyers New Jersey state court judges People from Point Pleasant, New Jersey People from Toms River, New Jersey People from Yuma, Arizona Politicians from Ocean County, New Jersey St. Rose High School alumni 21st-century American women