Thomas J. Deverin (July 7, 1921 – December 23, 2010) 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 11 terms 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 f ...

, from 1970 to 1992, where he represented District 7C to 1974, the 21st Legislative District until 1982, and then the 20th Legislative District when redistricting following the 1980 United States census relocated him there. At the time of his departure from the Assembly, Deverin's 22 years in office made him the most senior member in the Assembly.

Biography

Born in

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...

in 1921, Deverin attended St. Mary's High School there and served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. A longtime Mayor of

Carteret, New Jersey Carteret is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 25,326. History Carteret was originally created as the borough of Roosevelt on April 11, 1906, from porti ...

, Deverin lived a few blocks away from a young

Jim McGreevey James Edward McGreevey (born August 6, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 following the revelation of his extramarital affair w ...

and served as an early political mentor to the future

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 re ...

. In 1977, the Assembly considered a bill introduced by Deverin that would require teachers in all of the state's public schools to begin the day with a "brief period of silent meditation" by all students. The legislation indicated that this meditative period "is not intended to be, and shall not be conducted as a religious service or exercise". The meditation bill was modeled after similar legislation passed in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

that had been challenged as unconstitutional by the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...

and had been upheld in 1976 by a

United States district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district c ...

. Deverin insisted that there was "no forced religious connotation" to his proposal, though both opponents and supporters cited by ''

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 ...

'' viewed it as a back-door means of re-instituting

school prayer School prayer, in the context of religious liberty, is state-sanctioned or mandatory prayer by students in public schools. Depending on the country and the type of school, state-sponsored prayer may be required, permitted, or prohibited. Countries ...

. After five terms in the 20th District, Deverin was relocated to the 19th District in 1991, with redistricting following the 1990 Census tending to favor Republicans. A spot opened on the Democratic ticket in the 19th District when freshman

chose to run for mayor of Woodbridge Township. The 19th District was described by ''

'' as a "blue-collar and traditionally rock-solid Democratic district", but Republican efforts in the district targeted Deverin and the 19th's incumbent State Senator Laurence S. Weiss, including a full-page advertisement that read "For Two Years,

Florio The Florio family is a prominent entrepreneurial Italian family who started many lucrative activities in Sicily involving above all the exportation of Sicilian products (such as Marsala wine) in the nineteenth century, in some ways redeeming Si ...

, Weiss & Deverin Have Been Laughing All The Way To The Bank. On Nov. 5th You Can Wipe The Smile Off Their Faces."Gray, Jerry
"Tax Increase Turns a Once-Confident New Jersey Senator Nervous"
''

'', November 1, 1991. Accessed July 15, 2010. Deverin and running mate Jay Ziznewski were swept aside by Stephen A. Mikulak and

Ernest L. Oros Ernest L. Oros (died August 21, 2012) was an American Republican Party politician who served two terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, from 1992 to 1996, where he represented the 19th Legislative District, which covers portions of Middlesex ...

in the Republican landslide following voter disfavor with Florio's $2.8 billion tax hike. In his 22 years in office, Deverin said that he had seen political shifts before in the Legislature "but not quite to this extent". Deverin called the

lame duck session A lame-duck session of Congress in the United States occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the successor's term begins. The expression is now used not only for a special session called after a sine die adjo ...

following his election loss, much of which focused on repealing the tax increase that led to his defeat, one of the most strenuous of his time in the Assembly, saying "I never thought I'd say it, but I'll be glad to see Tuesday come around" when he would be leaving office.Gray, Jerry
"The Region; Democrats Fail to Kill the Tax Rise That Doomed Them"
''

'', January 12, 1992. Accessed July 15, 2010. Deverin died at the age of 89 on December 23, 2010.Malwitz, Rick
"Longtime Carteret political figure Deverin dies at age 89"
''

The Daily Journal (New Jersey) ''The Daily Journal'' is a newspaper printed in Vineland, New Jersey from Monday to Saturday. It is distributed throughout most of Cumberland County in Southern New Jersey. Its main competitors are ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', the '' Courier P ...

'', December 27, 2010. Accessed February 28, 2011. "State Assemblyman Thomas Deverin of Carteret (right) takes the oath of office in 1979, administered by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Hughes. Deverin, who was also a former mayor of the borough, died Dec. 23 at the age of 89."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deverin, Thomas J. 1921 births 2010 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Mayors of places in New Jersey Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly People from Carteret, New Jersey Politicians from Perth Amboy, New Jersey