The

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Department of the

Public Advocate An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

was a department within the

Executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

of the

government of New Jersey The government of the State of New Jersey is separated into three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The powers of the State of New Jersey are vested by the Constitution of New Jersey, enacted in 1947, in a bicameral st ...

that acted as a voice on behalf of the people of the state. It was responsible to make government "more accountable and responsive to the needs of New Jersey residents" through legal advocacy, policy research and reform and community and legislative outreach. The department was originally created in 1974 by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Brendan Byrne Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American politician, statesman, and prosecutor, serving as the 47th governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrne started his career as a privat ...

, The first Public Advocate was

Stanley Van Ness Stanley Carlton Van Ness (February 28, 1933 – September 26, 2007) was an American jurist who worked for a number of state agencies in New Jersey, US. Most notably, he led the New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate as the first Public ...

. The agency was dissolved in 1994. The

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 ...

passed the Public Advocate Restoration Act in 2005, which was signed into law on July 12, 2005, by Governor

Richard Codey Richard James Codey (born November 27, 1946) is an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 53rd governor of New Jersey from 2004 to 2006. He has served in the New Jersey Senate since 1982 and served as the President of the Senate ...

. In 2006, 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

Ronald Chen Ronald Chen( 1958 - ) is currently University Professor, Distinguished Professor of Law and Judge Leonard I Garth Scholar at Rutgers Law School. Until August 2018, he was co-dean of Rutgers Law School and is the former New Jersey Public Advocate. ...

to serve as the first Public Advocate since the position had been abolished in 1994. The previous Public Advocate was

Zulima Farber Zulima Farber (born 1944) is the former Attorney General of New Jersey and the first Latina (Cuban) to serve as Acting Governor of New Jersey. She was appointed Attorney General in 2006 by Governor of New Jersey, Governor Jon Corzine and resigned ...

, who served as state Public Advocate from 1992 to 1994 in the Cabinet of former Governor

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 ...

Wilfredo Caraballo Wilfredo Caraballo (born January 1, 1947, in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1996 to 2008. He represented the 29th legislative district. Caraballo also serve ...

served as Public Advocate from 1990 to 1992, resigning in protest of Republican Party efforts in the legislature to reduce his powers. Upon entering office as governor in early 2010, Republican

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 ...

began plotting the elimination of this department. On June 29, 2010, Governor Christie abolished the Department of the Public Advocate, transferring some offices and divisions to other departments, and abolishing others.http://www.state.nj.us/publicadvocate/

References

{{authority control State agencies of New Jersey Government agencies established in 1974 Government agencies disestablished in 1994 Government agencies established in 2005 Government agencies disestablished in 2010 1974 establishments in New Jersey