William J. Maguire (June 12, 1916 – October 2, 1997) was an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1976 to 1982.
Early life and education
editBorn in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, Maguire attended Barringer High School and Rutgers University.[1]
Political career
editHe served as Mayor of Clark, New Jersey from 1960 to 1968 and as a member of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders from 1970 to 1976.[2] Maguire was elected to the State Assembly in 1975, running with future Governor Donald DiFrancesco; they defeated incumbent Democrat Betty Wilson and her running mate, William A. Wolf, the Rahway Democratic Municipal Chairman.[3] He was re-elected in 1977. Following the resignation of State Senator Peter J. McDonough in 1979, Maguire ran for the State Senate, but lost a vote of a Republican convention to DiFrancesco.[4] He was re-elected to the Assembly, with future Congressman Bob Franks as his running mate.[5] Maguire's political career came to an end in 1981, when redistricting traded Democratic towns in Union County for solid Republican towns in Essex County. DiFrancesco was facing a primary challenge from an Essex County Republican; to secure the Essex organization line in a district where Republican primary election voters were evenly split between Essex and Union, DiFrancesco agreed to put an Essex Republican on his ticket. John Renna, the Essex Republican Chairman, preferred that Franks (who had worked on Renna's 1977 bid for County Chairman), get the second Assembly seat. Maguire, replaced by Millburn Mayor Maureen Ogden, did not run for re-election.[6]
References
edit- ^ Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 1981, p. 248. Accessed December 3, 2022. "William J. Maguire, Rep., Clark - Assemblyman Maguire was born in North Attleboro, Mass., on June 12, 1916. He attended Barringer Evening High School, Newark, and took courses in economics and government at Rutgers University."
- ^ "William J. Maguire, Former Clark Mayor", Home News Tribune, October 4, 1997. Accessed December 3, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "He was born in Massachusetts and lived in Roselle before moving to Clark 48 years ago.... Mr. Maguire served three Assembly terms, from 1977 to 1982. He was a freeholder from 1970 to 1976, and was mayor from 1960 to 1968."
- ^ "Results of the General Election" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ Edge, Wally (11 April 2010). "The Bob Franks Story". PolitickerNJ.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Our Campaigns". ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ Edge, Wally (11 April 2010). "The Bob Franks Story". PolitickerNJ.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.