Salvatore A. Bontempo (August 14, 1909 – June 20, 1989) 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 A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as chairman of the

New Jersey Democratic State Committee The New Jersey Democratic State Committee (NJDSC) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New Jersey. LeRoy J. Jones Jr. is the chair and Peg Schaffer is the vice chair. Structure The NJDSC has a 13-member executive committe ...

Early life and education

Bontempo was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

and the John Marshall Law School (now Seton Hall University School of Law), he became active in Newark city government, serving as director of purchasing from 1933 to 1942.

Military service

He joined the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and eventually reached the rank of colonel in the Air Force Reserves.

Career

He was elected to the Newark City Commission in 1953. "Salvatore Bontempo, 79, a Leader In New Jersey Democratic Politics"
''

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 ...

'', June 22, 1989. Accessed June 9, 2008. From 1958 to 1961 he served as New Jersey's Commissioner of Conservation and Economic Development. In that position he led a drive for development of the

New Jersey Meadowlands New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeastern New Jersey in the United States, a few miles to the west of N ...

and also worked to preserve open space by acquiring land through the state's Green Acres program. In 1961 he briefly served in the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

as administrator of the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs, after which time he left to work in the private sector. In 1969 Bontempo was selected chairman of the

. In the 1972 Democratic presidential primaries, he supported

Hubert H. Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

, who lost New Jersey by a huge margin to

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...

. He left the party chairmanship in 1973. From 1975 to 1977 he served as chairman of the New Jersey Highway Authority, overseeing the Garden State Parkway and the Garden State Arts Center (now

PNC Bank Arts Center The PNC Bank Arts Center (originally the Garden State Arts Center) is an amphitheatre in Holmdel, New Jersey. About 17,500 people can occupy the venue; there are 7,000 seats and the grass area can hold about 10,500 people. Concerts are from May t ...

). Bontempo died of cancer in 1989 at the age of 79 at his home in Florham Park, New Jersey.

References

External links

Biographical information for Salvatore A. Bontempo
from

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bontempo, Salvatore A. 1909 births 1989 deaths People from Florham Park, New Jersey Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Military personnel from New Jersey University of Notre Dame alumni Seton Hall University School of Law alumni Chairmen of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee United States Army Air Forces officers United States Air Force reservists United States Air Force colonels