Jim Saxton | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew Jersey | |
| In office November 6, 1984 – January 3, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Edwin B. Forsythe |
| Succeeded by | John Adler |
| Constituency | 13th district (1984–1993) 3rd district (1993–2009) |
| Member of theNew Jersey Senate from the8th district | |
| In office January 12, 1982 – November 6, 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Barry T. Parker |
| Succeeded by | C. William Haines |
| Member of theNew Jersey General Assembly from the8th district | |
| In office January 13, 1976 – January 12, 1982 Serving with Clifford W. Snedeker | |
| Preceded by | John A. Sweeney |
| Succeeded by | C. William Haines Robert J. Meyer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hugh James Saxton (1943-01-22)January 22, 1943 (age 82) Nicholson, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | East Stroudsburg University (BA) Temple University |
Hugh James Saxton (born January 22, 1943) is an American politician fromNew Jersey. A member of theRepublican Party, he represented parts ofBurlington,Ocean, andCamden counties in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1984 to 2009. Before entering Congress, he served in theNew Jersey Senate and theNew Jersey General Assembly.
Saxton is a director emeritus on the board of New Jersey–based energy equipment and systems companyHoltec International.[1]
Born inNicholson, Pennsylvania, on January 22, 1943, he attended East Stroudsburg State College (nowEast Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania) andTemple University.[2] He then pursued a career as an elementary public school teacher andsmall business owner. Saxton served in theNew Jersey General Assembly (the lower chamber of theNew Jersey Legislature) from 1976 to 1981 and in theNew Jersey Senate from 1982 to 1984.[2]
Saxton had been a resident of theVincentown section ofSouthampton Township, New Jersey.[3][4]
In 1984, 13th District CongressmanEdwin B. Forsythe died with nine months left in his seventh full term. Saxton was elected as his successor. He ran in two elections which took place on the same day—a special election for the balance of Forsythe's term, and a regular election for a full two-year term. This gave him greater seniority than other freshmen congressmen elected in 1984. He was reelected 11 times without serious difficulty, always winning at least 58 percent of the vote. His district was renumbered as the 3rd District after New Jersey lost a seat in the 1990 census.
He was a high-ranking member of theArmed Services Committee and theResources Committee and Ranking Republican Member and Chairman[5] of theJoint Economic Committee made up of members of the Senate and House of Representatives.
In 2000, Saxton was challenged by then Cherry Hill Mayor Susan Bass Levin,giving Saxton a spirited challenge for the first time in years though Saxton ultimately prevailed.
In theUnited States House elections, 2006, Saxton was challenged byDemocratRich Sexton, a lawyer andU.S. Navy veteran fromMount Laurel. Saxton won reelection by a 58%–41% margin.
Saxton was widely praised acrossSouth Jersey for his efforts to removeFort Dix fromthe Pentagon'sbase realignment and closure lists in 1989 and 1991,McGuire Air Force Base from the list in 1993, andLakehurst Naval Air Station from the list in 1995. From 1993 to 2005, he worked to foster joint military facilities at the three installations. Saxon's efforts were rewarded when Congress passed and President Bush signed into law theBase Realignment and Closure, 2005. In addition to saving the bases' 17,000 jobs, the legislation merged the three bases, creating a "megabase" (the first of its kind in the United States). Furthermore, 1,500 jobs and additional aircraft were directed to the new joint base. Saxton also saved theNew Jersey National Guard's108th Air Refueling Wing from oblivion by working to provide it with a squadron of newer planes.
His other accomplishments include abeach erosion repair project on popular tourist destinationLong Beach Island (which saw a 2006 groundbreaking) and a hospital Medicare funding initiative that brought $80 million to New Jersey hospitals in 2005 and 2006.
On May 26, 2006, Saxton reported hearing a loud gunfire-type noise in theRayburn House Office Building that led to the building being shut down for several hours.[6] It was later determined that the noise was a construction worker discharging a pneumatic hammer in an elevator shaft near the garage.[7] Capitol police officers who subsequently asked the workers to recreate the noise agreed it sounded like gunfire.[citation needed]
On November 9, 2007, Saxton announced that he would not seek reelection in 2008, citing prostate cancer.[8] He was succeeded by Democratic state senatorJohn Adler, who had been Saxton's Democratic opponent in 1990.
Saxton has been a resident ofMount Holly, New Jersey.[9]
Saxton has been classified as amoderate Republican. TheAmerican Conservative Union counts his lifetime score[10] as similar to that of conservative Mississippi DemocratGene Taylor.[11] In 2006, the nonpartisanNational Journal listed him as one of the Congress's centrists. He supported taking action to ensure the long-term solvency ofSocial Security.
He argued against the estate tax in the Joint Economic Committee Study of 1998. This analysis examined the arguments for and against the federal estate tax and concluded that the estate tax generates costs to taxpayers, the economy and the environment which far exceeds any potential benefit that it might arguably produce.[12]
He is conservative on abortion issues, which earned him a 100% rating by theChristian Coalition from 2003 to 2005.[13] He has voted against bills that would authorizepartial birth abortion, taxpayer-funded humanembryo experimentation, andhuman cloning.
However, he supported liberal issues, such asgun control (Brady Bill and a ban onsemi-automatic firearms). Saxton is supportive of environmentalism, which led him to be one of the few Republicans that theSierra Club endorsed in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006.[14] He has received generally favorable ratings by other environmental groups.[15] He was endorsed by theLeague of Conservation Voters,Ocean Champions and theNew Jersey Environmental Federation in his 2006 reelection bid. TheAudubon Society, theNational Wildlife Federation, and theNature Conservancy have regularly given him high marks and various awards for his work on conservation issues. Saxton also co-founded the bi-partisanCongressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus. Saxton was also supportive of somegay rights measures, including theEmployment Non-Discrimination Act and hate crimes bills.[16][17]
Saxton is a member of both theRepublican Main Street Partnership andRepublicans for Environmental Protection.
He supportedbipartisan issues, such as federalcampaign finance reform (Shays-Meehan andMcCain-Feingold). He voted againstNAFTA, but voted forCAFTA as a means to help reverse abject poverty and hunger, and ease potential political unrest in impoverished Latin America.[18]
As a former public school teacher, he did not supportschool vouchers.
He endorsed his good friendDuncan Hunter in the 2008 Republican Presidential Primary.[19]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew Jersey's 13th congressional district 1984–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew Jersey's 3rd congressional district 1993–2009 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
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