Frank X. Graves, Jr.
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Frank Xavier Graves Jr. (November 4, 1923 – March 4, 1990) was an American Democratic Party politician who is best known for serving two separate terms as
Mayor of Paterson, New Jersey Mayors of Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Passaic County Passaic County ( or ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county,
Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the ...
and in the
New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is 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 232,225 (2020 figure ...
in his long career.


Early days

Graves was born in Paterson and lived there for most of his life. His father, Frank Sr., worked as a reporter for the ''Paterson Evening News'' and also ran a successful vending machine company. Following his graduation from Eastside High School he enrolled at the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
, but left shortly thereafter to enlist in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, serving with the
50th Armored Division The 50th Armored Division was a division of the Army National Guard from July 1946 until 1993. History On 13 October 1945 the War Department published a postwar policy statement for the entire Army, calling for a 27-division Army National G ...
. He was injured while serving in Europe and met his wife, Ethel, convalescing from shrapnel wounds. They were married when they returned to the United States.


Early political career

When Frank and Ethel Graves returned from the war, he enrolled in Paterson State College and ran for the
Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Passaic County Passaic County ( or ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county,
Board of Chosen Freeholder and served for five years. In 1961, Graves won his first term as
Mayor of Paterson, New Jersey Mayors of Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.1964 Democratic National Convention The 1964 Democratic National Convention of the Democratic Party, took place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, from August 24 to 27, 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for a full term. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Mi ...
that nominated
Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...
and Hubert H. Humphrey for president and vice president.


Return to office

After several years, Graves returned to elective office and was elected to the City Council. He served as its president from 1974 to 1978. During this time Graves decided to run for state office and in November 1977, he won election to the State Senate from the relatively new 35th Legislative District. He stood for reelection three times in the next ten years, as per state rules, and won all three times, the final time in 1987. Four months after taking office for his second term as a state Senator, Graves decided to run for mayor of Paterson again. He won elected to a four-year term in May 1982 and was reelected in May 1986; Paterson changed its election laws in the years following Graves' first stint as mayor to lengthen the terms of sitting mayors from three years to four.


Methods

During his time in office Graves was known as a law-and-order and hands-on mayor who was never afraid to take action when something needed to be done in Paterson or in the state legislature. He often accompanied the police on its rounds, leading raids, and would always carry a series of two-way radios and telephones with him as he went about his day. Graves was noted for driving through every Paterson neighborhood seven days a week inspecting the areas and calling the proper authorities when he saw something that he determined to be wrong (litter, graffiti, etc.). He also often pursued people for owing taxes to the city, going as far as to call the property owners himself and threatening to arrest those who did not pay. In 1966 he ordered the arrest of poet
Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...
, a Paterson native, after he said at a reading that he had smoked marijuana at Paterson's Great Falls. While serving in the State Senate, Graves pushed for stiff penalties for criminal offenses, and in 1981 wrote a law concerning gun-related offenses. The Graves Act, as it was called, mandated a minimum three-year sentence for anyone who used a firearm in commission of a crime. (A recent expansion of the law, which was also made a part of 2008 anti-gang legislation, specifies that a three- to five-year sentence is prescribed for these offenses).


Death

As 1990 began Graves was making plans to run for a third consecutive term as mayor of Paterson, as the same law changes that lengthened a mayor's term of office also removed the limits on how many consecutive terms a mayor could serve. It would not come to pass, however. On the morning of March 4, 1990, at his home in Paterson's Lakeview section, Graves was stricken with a massive heart attack. He was rushed to nearby St. Joseph's Hospital, but doctors could not revive him and he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. He was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Totowa, New Jersey. Graves' Senate seat was filled by State Assemblyman
John Girgenti John A. Girgenti (born August 8, 1947) is an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1990 to 2012, representing the 35th Legislative District. Girgenti was the Senate Majority Whip from 2004 to 2007. He is ...
, who was appointed to the seat and confirmed in April 1990. The vacant mayoral seat was contested between Girgenti's Assembly colleague
Bill Pascrell William James Pascrell Jr. (January 25, 1937 – August 21, 2024) was an American politician who was a U.S. representative from New Jersey from 1997 until his death in 2024. Pascrell was a member of the Democratic Party and a native of Paterson ...
, City Council President Rev. Albert Rowe, Freeholder Michael Adamo, and Councilman At-Large Roy Griffin. Pascrell, who served as a
United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
from New Jersey's 9th Congressional District until his own death in 2024, won the seat and served as mayor until he resigned from both of his elected positions to take his seat in Congress.


Popular culture

Graves was fictionalized as Don Bottman and portrayed by
Alan North Alan North (December 23, 1920 – January 19, 2000) was an American actor. Early life North was born in Bronx, New York, and joined the United States Navy during the Second World War. Career After the war, he became a stage manager and made ...
in the 1989 film '' Lean on Me''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Francis X. Jr. 1923 births 1990 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in New Jersey United States Army personnel of World War II County commissioners in New Jersey Democratic Party New Jersey state senators Eastside High School (Paterson, New Jersey) alumni Mayors of Paterson, New Jersey United States Army soldiers University of Virginia alumni William Paterson University alumni Burials at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery (Totowa, New Jersey) 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature