Thomas J. Duch (born September 3, 1956) is an American public servant and

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 from

Bergen County, New Jersey Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,7 ...

to Thomas and Helen O. Duch. His brother John Gregory Duch (1960–2017) would follow Thomas in serving in Garfield city government. He graduated from Garfield High School, received 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 government from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...

in 1978, and a J.D. from

Seton Hall University School of Law Seton Hall University School of Law is the law school of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law is the only private law school in New Jersey, and, according to the ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranking ...

in 1981; he was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

that same year. He practices law at a firm in

Elmwood Park, New Jersey Elmwood Park is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, and is a bedroom community, bedroom suburb located from New York City. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's ...

. In 1980, at the age of 23, Duch was elected mayor of Garfield; he was reelected in 1984. In 1987, Duch and running mate Passaic Council President

Louis J. Gill Louis John Gill (January 19, 1940 – April 2, 2020) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served on the Passaic, New Jersey city council and in the New Jersey General Assembly. Early life and educat ...

defeated

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 ...

candidates Frank B. Calandriello and Andrew E. Bertone for two seats 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 ...

from the 36th district after the two incumbent Republicans chose not to run for reelection. The two were reelected in 1989. In 1990, Duch cast one of the final votes in favor of 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 ...

's unpopular income tax increases. In the 1991 elections, following a redistricting which moved Garfield into the 38th district, Duch and his new running mate Frank Biasco were defeated by incumbent Republican Assembly members Patrick J. Roma and

Rose Marie Heck Rose Marie Heck (born August 4, 1932) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, from 1988 to 1995 and again from 2008 to 2015. Career Heck has served on the South West Community Development Committee ...

. Duch would later move to Wyckoff. In 2003, he was hired as the

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...

for Garfield. In 2017, he was the Democratic nominee for 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, ...

from the 40th district. However, he was defeated in the general election by appointed Republican incumbent

Kristin Corrado Kristin M. Corrado (born June 24, 1965) is an American Republican Party politician who represents the 40th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate. She was sworn into office on October 5, 2017. Before her appointment to the New Jersey S ...

. A park along the Dundee Dam in Garfield, land which began to be acquired by the city during Duch's mayoralty, was renamed for Duch in 2016. Duch took the position as Bergen County Administrator in June 2021, succeeding Julien X. Neals who had been appointed as a federal judge.Sobko, Katie
"Bergen County replaces outgoing administrator Julien Neals with Garfield official"
''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * ''The Record'' (album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Records, an English power pop band * '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record'', a 2001 greatest-hits album by the pop-music group Bee Ge ...

'', June 9, 2021. Accessed June 26, 2022. "Less than a day after the current Bergen County administrator was appointed to a federal judge role, a successor was named and will be ready to step in when the office is vacated. Thomas Duch, of Wyckoff, will replace outgoing administrator Julien Neals."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duch, Thomas J. 1956 births Living people Garfield High School (New Jersey) alumni New Jersey lawyers Lehigh University alumni Seton Hall University School of Law alumni Mayors of places in New Jersey Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly People from Garfield, New Jersey People from Wyckoff, New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey Politicians from Passaic, New Jersey 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American legislators 20th-century mayors of places in New Jersey 21st-century American politicians