Peter J. Barnes III (April 26, 1956 – February 22, 2021) was 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, who served in the

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, ...

, where he represented the 18th Legislative District until 2016, when he was appointed

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 ...

judge. He previously served in the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

from 2007 to 2014. Barnes previously served on the Assembly Judiciary Committee (as Vice-Chair), the Appropriations Committee and the Environment and Solid Waste Committee.Assemblyman Barnes's legislative web page

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 ...

. Accessed February 20, 2008.

Biography

Barnes was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, but grew up primarily in

Edison, New Jersey Edison is a township located in Middlesex County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Edison is a commercial hub, home to Menlo Park Mall and Little India. It is ...

. He attended the

Edison Township Public Schools The Edison Township Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Edison, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The school district has two preschools ...

, having attended Menlo Park Elementary School, John Adams Junior High School and

J. P. Stevens High School John P. Stevens High School (abbr. JP or JPS) is a four-year comprehensive high school, comprehensive state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school that serves students in ninth grade, ninth through twelfth grades fr ...

. Barnes graduated in 1978 with a B.A. from

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

in management in 1980, and was awarded a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

by the

Widener University School of Law Widener University Delaware Law School (Delaware Law School and formerly Widener University School of Law) is a private law school in Wilmington, Delaware. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited law schools of Widener University. Widener Univ ...

in 1985. Barnes lived in Edison. He and his wife, Katie, had three children. He served on the Edison, New Jersey Township Council from 1996 to 2007, and on the Township's Planning Board from 2001 to 2003. Barnes entered 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 ...

in 2007, when he succeeded his father

Peter J. Barnes Jr. Peter J. Barnes Jr. (September 12, 1928 – September 11, 2018) was an American Democratic Party politician, who had served as Chairman of the New Jersey State Parole Board from March 2007 to 2010. He previously served in New Jersey's General Asse ...

, who was nominated by 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 ...

to serve as chairman of the

New Jersey State Parole Board The New Jersey State Parole Board is a governmental body in the U.S. State of 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 ...

. On March 14, 2007, Barnes Jr. was confirmed by the

and Barnes III, was chosen to fill his father's vacant seat. On November 5, 2013, he was elected to the State Senate, succeeding

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

who was running for Governor. In one of the closest Senate races in the state, Barnes defeated Democrat-turned-

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 ...

East Brunswick East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York City metropolitan area and is located on the southern shore of the Raritan River, directly adjacent to the city ...

mayor David Stahl by a 4% margin. He was the only new Senator elected in the 2013 elections as incumbent Senators won in the other 39 districts.

Superior Court judge

In April 2016, Barnes was nominated by

New Jersey Governor 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 ...

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 ...

and the

voted 34–0 to give him approval to become a

judge sitting at Middlesex County Courthouse.

Death

Barnes died from cancer at

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital The Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) is an American 965-bed hospital with campuses in New Brunswick (Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick), and Somerville, New Jersey ( Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somer ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

on February 22, 2021, at age 64.

Tribute

On August 10, 2021, the Dismal Swamp, located in Middlesex County, New Jersey, was renamed as the Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve.Johnson, Brent
"Dismal Swamp no more! Middlesex County nature preserve named after late Edison lawmaker, judge"
August 10, 2021.

Election history

References

External links

Barnes's legislative web page

* ''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms'' *
2015201420132012201120102009200820072006Peter J. Barnes III

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Peter J. III 1956 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American judges 21st-century American politicians Deaths from cancer in New Jersey Fairleigh Dickinson University alumni Gettysburg College alumni J. P. Stevens High School alumni Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey city council members New Jersey state court judges Democratic Party New Jersey state senators People from Edison, New Jersey Politicians from Middlesex County, New Jersey Politicians from San Francisco Widener University School of Law alumni