Richard A. Merkt (born July 30, 1949) is an American

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public official, attorney, and businessman who served from 1998 to 2010 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 ...

, where he represented the 25th legislative district. In his sixth term as a legislator, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Governor of New Jersey in 2009 rather than running for re-election to the Assembly. Noted for his interest in and knowledge of constitutional issues, Merkt served as the Assembly's Parliamentarian from 2006 to 2010. He served in the Assembly on the Appropriations Committee, the Higher Education Committee, the Judiciary Committee, the Transportation Committee, the Banking and Insurance Committee and the Intergovernmental Relations Commission.Assemblyman Merkt'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 April 15, 2008. Merkt was appointed New Jersey Deputy Attorney General and served from 1983 until 1986. He was chief administrative officer of the NJ Division of (Casino) Gaming Enforcement during the same period. Merkt was born in

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and resides with his wife in Westmoreland, New Hampshire. He graduated with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in history in 1971 from

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, was awarded a J.D. in 1975 from the

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test take ...

and received an M.G.A. in 1986 from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in Governmental Administration. He is a certified public manager, founded the Certified Public Manager Society of New Jersey, and received a certificate in public leadership from the Darden School of the University of Virginia in 1998. From 1986 until 2014, Merkt served as general counsel and officer for three New Jersey corporations, including two high technology manufacturing firms in Morris and Somerset counties. In March 2011, Merkt was chosen to fill a vacancy on the Mendham Township Committee. Merkt served as deputy mayor of Mendham Township in 2012 and as mayor in 2013. On September 15, 2014, he was appointed Borough Administrator of Mendham, New Jersey and resigned from the Mendham Township Committee. He served as Borough Administrator from November 1, 2014, through September 30, 2017. After moving to New Hampshire following his retirement, Merkt was elected in 2018 and again in 2020 to the New Hampshire State Republican Committee. In 2019, he became vice chair of the Cheshire County (NH) Republican Committee. In January 2021, Merkt was elected Chair of the Cheshire County Republican party. In December 2019, Merkt announced that he would seek a seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 2020. He lost the election in November 2020. In January, 2021, Merkt joined the founding Board of the Monadnock Freedom to Learn Coalition, the sponsoring organization for Lionheart Classical Academy, a tuition-free public school chartered by the NH State Board of Education in November 2021 and scheduled to open in Peterborough, NH, in September 2022. He currently serves as Secretary of the Coalition and has also been appointed to the Board of Trustees for the new academy.

2009 gubernatorial campaign

On October 22, 2008, Rick Merkt declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination for

Governor of New Jersey 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 ...

. However, he was unable to meet the fundraising thresholds necessary to appear in the state-sponsored televised debates before the primary. Thus the primary was in effect a contest between former

United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey is the chief federal law enforcement officer in New Jersey. On December 16, 2021, Philip R. Sellinger was sworn in as U.S. Attorney. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has jurisd ...

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 former Bogota Mayor

Steve Lonegan Steven Mark Lonegan (born April 27, 1956) is an American businessman and politician. He served as mayor of Bogota, New Jersey, from 1995 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party, Lonegan was named the New Jersey State Chairman for the Ted Cruz ...

. Merkt did appear along with his two rivals in two privately sponsored radio debates before the primary, however. While Merkt received about 3% of the vote in the primary, Christie received the gubernatorial nomination. Merkt retired from the Assembly in January 2010 when his sixth term expired.

References

External links

Assemblyman Merkt's legislative web page

* ''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms'' *
2007200620052004

Assembly Member Richard A. 'Rick' Merkt

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 ...

New Jersey Voter Information Website 2003

Rick Merkt for Governor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merkt, Richard A. 1949 births Living people Fordham University School of Law alumni New Hampshire Republicans New Jersey city council members Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly People from Mendham Township, New Jersey Politicians from Morris County, New Jersey University of Pennsylvania alumni Yale University alumni 21st-century American politicians