Lester H. Clee | |
|---|---|
| Member of theNew Jersey Senate fromEssex County | |
| In office 1936–1939 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph G. Wolber |
| Succeeded by | Homer C. Zink |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 1, 1888 Thompsonville, Connecticut |
| Died | March 15, 1962(1962-03-15) (aged 73) Princeton, New Jersey |
| Political party | Republican |
Lester Harrison Clee (July 1, 1888 – March 15, 1962) was anAmerican clergyman and politician who served in both houses of theNew Jersey Legislature and was theRepublican nominee forGovernor of New Jersey in 1937.
Clee was born in 1888 inThompsonville, Connecticut, to Frederick and Margaret (Kelley) Clee.[1] At a young age he was forced by his father's illness to go toWorcester, Massachusetts, to work in a steel mill. He started a boys' club among his fellow mill workers and in 1908 began working for theYoung Men's Christian Association inQuincy, Massachusetts.[2] Clee married Katherine Steele on August 9, 1911.[1]
Clee educated himself for the ministry while serving as assistant to the pastor of West End Presbyterian Church inNew York City from 1918 to 1921. His first pastorate was at the Rutherford Baptist Church inBergen County, New Jersey, from 1921 to 1926, after which time he became pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church inNewark, New Jersey.[1] He served as pastor at the Newark church for nearly 25 years before retiring in 1950.[2]
Clee was elected to theNew Jersey General Assembly in 1934 on theEssex County Clean Government ticket. The following year he briefly served as Speaker of the Assembly before being elected to theNew Jersey Senate.
In 1937 he became the Republican nominee forGovernor of New Jersey against theDemocratic candidateA. Harry Moore. Clee carried 15 of the state's 21 counties, but Moore won the election thanks to an overwhelming plurality of more than 45,000 votes in his home county ofHudson. The Hudson returns were widely suspected to be fraudulent, the result of political bossFrank Hague's tight control on the county's electoral process.[3]
Clee later served as chairman of the State Mediation Board under GovernorAlfred E. Driscoll, and was also president of the State Civil Service Commission and a member of the State Parole Board. He moved toChester Borough in 1950 and served as Borough Councilman and later asMayor of Chester Borough, New Jersey. He moved toPrinceton in 1954.[2] His wife died in January 1954, and the following year he married Madeleine Dreier.[2]
Clee successfully petitioned for continuance of Bloomfield College and Seminary (nowBloomfield College) before the General Assembly of thePresbyterian Church, with which it is affiliated. He served as a trustee and acting president ofBloomfield College from 1959 to 1960. A dormitory, Clee Hall, was erected in his honor in 1961.
Clee died in 1962 inPrinceton, New Jersey, at the age of 73.[2]
The Rev. Dr. Lester H. Clee, retired pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Newark, and former Republican State Senator from Essex County, died of cancer today in Princeton Hospital. He was 73 years old and resided at 61 Little Brook Road.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Speaker of theNew Jersey General Assembly 1935 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican Nominee forGovernor of New Jersey 1937 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
