Frank Herbert | |
|---|---|
| Member of theNew Jersey Senate from the39th district | |
| In office January 10, 1978 – January 12, 1982 | |
| Preceded by | Raymond Garramone |
| Succeeded by | Gerald Cardinale |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Francis Xavier Herbert (1931-01-11)January 11, 1931 |
| Died | September 25, 2018(2018-09-25) (aged 87) |
| Party | Democratic |
Francis Xavier Herbert (January 11, 1931 – September 25, 2018) was an American school teacher andDemocratic Party politician who served a single term in theNew Jersey Senate where he represented the39th Legislative District. He is the only candidate in New Jersey history to win a Federal primary election as awrite-in candidate.
Herbert was born on January 11, 1931, inGreenville, Jersey City,New Jersey to a working class,Irish Catholic family. Herbert received his bachelor's degree fromFordham University in 1956 and his master's degree in education fromMontclair State University. He taught English at theWilliam L. Dickinson High School in Jersey City from September 1956 at least through June 1960.[1][2][3]
Herbert lost his first race for office running for the Borough Council inWaldwick, but ran again the next year and won.[4] In the wake of anti-Republican sentiment againstRichard Nixon, Herbert won a seat on theBergen CountyBoard of Chosen Freeholders in 1973, but lost the seat when he ran for re-election in 1976.[4]
WithBrendan Byrne at the top of the ticket winning the race forGovernor of New Jersey, Herbert won the 1977 race for Senate in the 39th District, standing together with his running mates in support of the establishment of astate income tax to defeat RepublicanJohn Markert.[5] Herbert was the sponsor of the bill that createdNJ Transit, the statewide public transit agency, in July 1979.[6][7]
Gerald Cardinale defeated the incumbent Herbert in 1981. Herbert fell short again running against Cardinale in 1983, losing by about 1,000 votes.[4]
In 1994, Democratic Party officials asked Herbert, then a resident ofSparta Township, to run in the primary against John Kucek inNew Jersey's 11th congressional district.[4] Kucek proclaimed himself as a "Christian populist" was aHolocaust denier and a public admirer ofKKK Grand WizardDavid Duke. New Jersey Democratic chairman Tom Byrne was elated by the success of the write-in campaign for Herbert that was organized in conjunction with Jewish organizations in the district, saying that "the first thing we had to do was convince people not to vote for the Nazi" before convincing voters to cast a write-in ballot for Herbert.[8] In the general election, Herbert lost resoundingly to RepublicanRodney Frelinghuysen by a margin of 71.2%-28.0%.[9]
By then a resident ofRockaway Township, Herbert won the Democratic primary for the party's state senate nomination in the25th Legislative District in 2007. Campaigning on a platform that included a proposal to use a portion of revenue from the state's toll roads to fund lower fares onNew Jersey Transit and opposing Bucco's vote against state funding forstem cell research, Herbert lost to incumbentAnthony Bucco by 61.5%-38.5%.[4]
He was married to the former Eleanor Gillen and has three adult children. He died at the age of 87 on September 25, 2018.[3]