Richard Codey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Richard Codey
Codey in 2011
53rd Governor of New Jersey
In office November 15, 2004 – January 17, 2006
Preceded by	Jim McGreevey
Succeeded by	Jon Corzine
Acting January 12, 2002 – January 15, 2002
Preceded by	John O. Bennett (acting)
Succeeded by	Jim McGreevey
Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 27th district
In office January 10, 1982 – January 9, 2024
Preceded by	Carmen A. Orechio
Succeeded by	John F. McKeon
111th and 113th President of the New Jersey Senate
In office January 8, 2008 – January 12, 2010
Preceded by	Bernard Kenny
Succeeded by	Stephen Sweeney
In office January 8, 2002 – January 7, 2008 Co-Presidency with John Bennett until January 13, 2004
Preceded by	Donald DiFrancesco
Succeeded by	Bernard Kenny
Minority Leader of the New Jersey Senate
In office January 13, 1998 – January 8, 2002
Preceded by	John A. Lynch Jr.
Succeeded by	Leonard Lance (2004)
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 26th district
In office January 8, 1974 – January 12, 1982
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	Leanna Brown Dean Gallo
Personal details
Born	Richard James Codey (1946-11-27) November 27, 1946 (age 78) Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mary Rolli ​ (m. 1981)​
Alma mater	Fairleigh Dickinson University
Website	Legislative Website

Richard James Codey (born November 27, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of New Jersey from 2004 to 2006. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the New Jersey Senate from 1982 to 2024 and as the President of the Senate from 2002 to 2010. He represented the 27th Legislative District, which covered the western portions of Essex County and the southeastern portion of Morris County.

Codey is the longest-serving state legislator in New Jersey history, having served in the New Jersey Legislature continuously from January 8, 1974 to January 9, 2024.

Early life

Codey's wife and former New Jersey First Lady, Mary Jo Codey

Codey grew up in his family's funeral home in Orange. He attended Our Lady of the Valley High School and transferred to Orange High School, neither of them successfully, before switching to Oratory Preparatory School in Summit, from which he graduated. He went on to take over his father's job as a licensed funeral director. When his father, Donald, became the county coroner, Richard was drafted to help with death scene pickups. Codey remembered, "I was 14, taking bodies out of train wrecks. You grow up quick." Codey has described himself as "100% Irish".

New Jersey Assembly

Codey left the funeral trade to try his hand in politics in 1973 when he was first elected to the State Assembly, with Eldridge Hawkins as his running mate. He served in the Assembly from 1974 to 1982. In 1981 he earned a bachelor's degree in education from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

New Jersey Senate

Codey was elected to the State Senate that same year and has since risen through the ranks to become Senate President. He first ascended to that post in 2002 to 2010. He serves in the Senate on the Legislative Services Commission. He also has a hockey arena named in his honor, also known as South Mountain Arena in West Orange, New Jersey.

Return to Senate service

Codey in October 2008

Instead of running for a full term as governor, Codey was re-elected to the New Jersey Senate in 2007. Codey represents the 27th Legislative District together with Assemblyman John F. McKeon, who was coincidentally also the mayor of West Orange, a town in Essex County, New Jersey, where Senator Codey's family was raised. Codey and his family lived in West Orange until 2009, when they moved to neighboring Roseland. The other Assembly seat is occupied by Mila Jasey, who was elected to fill the seat in November 2007 after the resignation of Mims Hackett on September 8, 2007.

In September, 2006, during Menendez's re-election campaign for his U.S. Senate seat, it was revealed that Menendez was the subject of an ongoing federal criminal investigation. The situation closely resembled the situation faced by Robert Torricelli in his 2002 re-election campaign, where ethical problems and declining poll numbers led to Torricelli exiting the race, to be replaced as the Democratic candidate by former senator Frank Lautenberg. Political observers speculated that Codey could be tapped to fill the candidate's slot should Menendez decide to withdraw from the race. However, on November 7, 2006, Menendez was elected to a full term.

Codey briefly resigned as President of the Senate for one day in January 2008 in order to let retiring Sen. Bernard Kenny of Hoboken serve as Senate President on his last day in office. Senator Kenny had served as Senate Majority Leader under Codey. Kenny served as Senate President from January 7 to January 8, when Senator Codey was reelected to the Senate Presidency for the next legislative session.

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Committee assignments

Committee assignments for the current session are:

• Legislative Oversight, as Chair
• Environment and Energy
• Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens

District 27

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The representatives from the 27th District for the 2022—23 Legislative Session are:

• Senator Richard Codey (D)
• Assemblyman John F. McKeon (D)
• Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D)

Governor of New Jersey

2002

Following Governor Christine Todd Whitman's resignation in 2001 to become head of the EPA, Codey was one of three different senate presidents (along with Donald DiFrancesco and John O. Bennett, as well as Attorney General John Farmer) to serve as acting governor within the one-year period between Whitman's resignation and Jim McGreevey's inauguration in January 2002. DiFrancesco served as acting governor for all but the last week of this period, until his term as senate president ended. As attorney general, Farmer then served as acting governor for ninety minutes, until the election of Bennett and Codey as co-presidents of the senate. The latter two then divided the last week of the term between them, with Codey serving for three days, from January 12, 2002, to January 15, 2002, leading to a situation in which the state had five different people serving as governor during a period of eight days (DiFrancesco, Farmer, Bennett, Codey, and McGreevey).

2004 to 2006

Codey became acting governor again with the resignation of Jim McGreevey on November 15, 2004. According to the New Jersey State Constitution at the time, in the event of a vacancy in the governor's office, the President of the State Senate takes on the additional position of acting governor until the next gubernatorial election. After taking over in 2004 Codey became popular with many New Jersey residents and reportedly considered a run for a full four-year term. However, U.S. Senator Jon Corzine's large number of endorsements as well as his large campaign war chest, funded primarily by his great personal wealth, convinced Codey to announce officially on January 31, 2005, that he would step aside. Codey served as governor until Corzine was sworn in on January 17, 2006, following Corzine's victory in the November 8, 2005 elections. Some had speculated that Codey could be a possible candidate for Corzine's vacant seat in the United States Senate, with Corzine appointing his own successor once he was sworn in as governor. However, Codey announced on November 23, 2005, that he was not interested in the Senate seat.

With the passage on November 8, 2005, of a constitutional amendment creating the position of lieutenant governor to take effect with the 2009 election, Codey became the last person to serve simultaneously as governor and senate president.

On January 9, 2006, Codey became governor (no longer acting governor) as a result of his signing legislation that provided that a person who serves as acting governor for a continuous period of at least 180 days will be "Governor of the State of New Jersey" for official and historical purposes. This law was made retroactive to 2001, covering both Codey's service after McGreevey's resignation and the service of Donald DiFrancesco following the resignation of Governor Christine Todd Whitman in 2001. This made DiFrancesco New Jersey's 51st governor and Codey the 53rd.

Codey is an advocate of mental health awareness and strongly favors including mental health funding in employee medical benefit packages and Medicare. Both Codey and his wife, Mary Jo, have spoken candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression. In early 2005, Codey responded in person to New Jersey 101.5 talk radio host Craig Carton, who jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air. Some argue that Codey's comments were a physical threat against the radio personality. The Governor himself admits to telling Carton during the altercation that he wished he could "take [Carton] outside", while in the presence of the six New Jersey State Policemen who were serving as his personal bodyguards. There was some speculation that this incident helped Codey decide not to run for a full term as governor. In July 2005, Codey also defended actress Brooke Shields after she faced criticism for discussing her postpartum depression. In December 2005, Codey appeared on Carton's radio program to help put the incident behind both of them.

Codey appointed Mary Jane Cooper to be New Jersey's first-ever Inspector General, a position created to root out waste and mismanagement in government. Codey added $7 million in new funding to agencies devoted to public accountability, per the recommendations that resulted from an audit of state ethics codes that he commissioned. In March 2005, Codey cracked down on pay to play when he signed a law banning campaign contributions by businesses holding state contracts in several circumstances.

As governor, Codey championed a bill to ban smoking from indoor spaces in the state, more money for stem cell research, increased funding for mental health, and sports. Codey created a task force to recommend ways to end steroid abuse in high school and college sports in the state. The task force established drug testing for high school athletes on teams that play in the championships, with the state paying for the drug testing program. He also successfully negotiated for MetLife Stadium, which was constructed jointly by the New York Giants and New York Jets.

In December 2005, Codey announced he was not accepting a new state slogan recommended by the State Commerce Department, following a study by a marketing consultant, which was paid for by the state. He said he felt the slogan "We'll win you over" made the state seem desperate. Governor Codey openly solicited slogan suggestions from citizens and then choose five finalists, which he opened to a vote from the public. Days prior to leaving the governor's office, Codey announced the winner: "New Jersey: Come See for Yourself".

Shortly before leaving office, Codey signed the first legislative moratorium on capital punishment enacted by any state in the nation. The moratorium ended with the permanent ban of capital punishment by Codey's successor, Jon Corzine.

As Corzine attended the swearing in of Bob Menendez as a U.S. Senator on January 18, 2006, in Washington, D.C., Codey spent part of his first day as former governor as the acting governor of the state.

Cabinet

• Virginia Bauer, Secretary of Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism
• George Hayman, Acting Commissioner of Corrections (as of January 3, 2006)
• Donald Bryan, Acting Commissioner of Banking and Insurance
• Peter Cammarano, Chief of staff to the governor
• Bradley Campbell, Commissioner of Environmental Protection
• Thomas Carver, Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development (until October 2005)
• James Davy, Commissioner of Human Services
• Lucille Davy, Acting Commissioner of Education (from September 2005)
• Paul Fader, Chief Counsel to the governor
• Jeanne Fox, President of the Board of Public Utilities
• Col. Joseph Fuentes, Superintendent of the State Police
• Peter C. Harvey, State Attorney General
• Dr. Fred Jacobs, Commissioner of Health and Senior Services
• Charles Kuperus, Secretary of Agriculture
• John Lettiere, Commissioner of Transportation
• Susan Bass Levin, Commissioner of Community Affairs (until June 2005)
• William Librera, Commissioner of Education (until September 2005)
• John McCormac, State Treasurer
• Charles Richman, Acting Commissioner of Community Affairs (from June 2005)
• Major Gen. Glenn K. Rieth, Adjutant General
• A.J. Sabath, Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development (from October 2005)
• Seema Singh, Ratepayer Advocate
• Regena Thomas, Secretary of State of New Jersey
• Rolando Torres, Commissioner of Personnel

2007

On April 12, 2007, Codey became Acting Governor of New Jersey when Corzine was incapacitated due to serious injuries suffered in a car accident that day. Codey became acting governor since New Jersey did not have the position of lieutenant governor until after the 2009 election. Corzine resumed his duties as governor on May 7, 2007.

Potential gubernatorial candidacy in 2009

The Obama administration approached Codey in 2009 to consider running for governor in Corzine's place if the incumbent withdrew from his reelection bid, citing polls showing that Codey led Republican Chris Christie. Corzine remained in the race and lost to Christie.

Electoral history

New Jersey Senate

New Jersey general election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Codey (Incumbent)	43,066	69.7	10.4
	Republican	Pasquale Capozzoli	18,720	30.3	10.4
Total votes			61,786	100.0

New Jersey general election, 2013
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Codey (Incumbent)	34,291	59.3	2.5
	Republican	Lee S. Holtzman	23,581	40.7	2.5
Total votes			57,872	100.0

New Jersey general election, 2007
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Codey (Incumbent)	23,631	78.8	13.0
	Republican	Joseph A. Fischer	6,368	21.2	13.0
Total votes			29,999	100.0

New Jersey general election, 2003
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Codey (Incumbent)	17,220	65.8	1.1
	Republican	Bobbi Joan Bennett	8,958	34.2	1.4
Total votes			26,178	100.0

New Jersey general election, 1997
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Codey (Incumbent)	35,770	79.5	4.4
	Republican	Richard R. Klattenberg	9,250	20.5	4.4
Total votes			45,020	100.0

New Jersey general election, 1993
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Codey (Incumbent)	33,138	75.1	7.0
	Republican	Dr. Zal Velez	10,979	24.9	7.0
Total votes			44,117	100.0

New Jersey general election, 1987
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Codey (Incumbent)	17,064	76.4	1.2
	Republican	Felix Graziano	5,270	23.6	1.2
Total votes			22,334	100.0

New Jersey general election, 1983
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Codey (Incumbent)	18,943	75.2	1.3
	Republican	James J. Brown	6,255	24.8	1.3
Total votes			25,198	100.0

New Jersey Assembly

New Jersey general election, 1979
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Codey (Incumbent)	14,320	36.1	0.2
	Democratic	Mildred Barry Garvin (Incumbent)	12,910	32.5	0.7
	Republican	Leonard P. Messina Sr.	6,079	15.3	0.8
	Republican	Timothy A. Gaylord Jr.	5,143	13.0	0.4
	U.S. Labor	Janet C. Mandel	479	1.2	1.0
	Libertarian	Richard S. Roth	445	1.1	0.8
	U.S. Labor	Lynne Speed	320	0.8	0.6
Total votes			39,696	100.0

New Jersey general election, 1977
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Codey (Incumbent)	25,605	36.3	0.4
	Democratic	Mildred Barry Garvin	23,430	33.2	0.1
	Republican	Daniel Di Benedetto	11,322	16.1	1.7
	Republican	Jeffrey A. Gerson	9,484	13.4	0.2
	Libertarian	Katherine E. Florentine	242	0.3	1.4
	Libertarian	Richard S. Roth	204	0.3	N/A
	U.S. Labor	Lynne Speed	127	0.2	1.2
	U.S. Labor	Dennis Speed	117	0.2	N/A
Total votes			70,531	100.0

New Jersey general election, 1975
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Richard Codey (Incumbent)	22,618	35.9	0.2
	Democratic	Eldridge Hawkins (Incumbent)	20,830	33.1	0.0
	Republican	Conrad N. Koch	9,069	14.4	2.1
	Republican	Raymond Findley Jr.	8,563	13.6	1.1
	Libertarian	Kenneth R. Kaplan	1,069	1.7	N/A
	U.S. Labor	Kenneth Mandel	852	1.4	N/A
Total votes			63,001	100.0