John A. Waddington
| John A. Waddington | |
|---|---|
| New Jersey State Senator | |
|
In office January 1956 – January 1968 |
|
| Preceded by | John M. Summerill, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | John L. White |
| Senate Minority Leader | |
|
In office January 1958 – January 1959 |
|
| Succeeded by | Joseph W. Cowgill |
| Senate Minority Leader | |
|
In office January 1965 – January 1966 |
|
| Senate Majority Leader | |
|
In office January 1967 – January 1968 |
|
| Preceded by | Sido L. Ridolfi |
| Succeeded by | Frank X. McDermott |
| New Jersey Assemblyman | |
|
In office January 1954 – January 1956 |
|
| Preceded by | Peter B. Hoff |
| Succeeded by | John W. Davis |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John A. Waddington May 10, 1911 Salem, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | June 4, 1981 (aged 70) Salem, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Kathryn Mulhern Waddington |
| Alma mater | University of Delaware |
John A. Waddington (May 10, 1911 – June 4, 1981) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as Majority Leader of the New Jersey State Senate.
He was a graduate of the University of Delaware. He was a teacher at Salem High School, and later worked as a personnel director for the du Pont corporation of Delaware As a Quaker, Waddington claimed a religious exemption during World War II. After the war, he did relief and rehabilitation work in Italy with the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers).
He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1953. He defeated Republican Peter B. Hoff, who had served as an Assemblyman since 1944.
Waddington was elected to the New Jersey State Senate in 1955, representing Salem County. He defeated incumbent Republican Senator John M. Summerill by 1,138 votes, 9,836 (53.05%) to 8,698 (46.92%). He was re-elected in 1959, defeating former Assemblyman Peter B. Hoff (whom Waddington unseated in the 1953 Assembly race) by 4,043 votes, 12,215 (59.92%) to 8,172 (40.08%). He won a third term in 1963, defeating Republican Joseph Narrow by 5,253 votes, 13,665 (61.86%) to 8,412 (38.08%).
He had to run again in 1965 after the U.S. Supreme Court, in Reynolds v. Sims (more commonly known as One Man, One Vote), required redistricting by state legislatures for congressional districts to keep represented populations equal, as well as requiring both houses of state legislatures to have districts drawn that contained roughly equal populations, and to perform redistricting when needed. Because of its population, Salem and Cumberland counties were merged into one district with one Senator. Cumberland County was represented by Senator Robert H Weber, a Democrat from Greenwich. Since both Salem and Cumberland Counties were being merged, only one Democratic Senator could represent the party. In order to avoid a primary election fight between Waddington and Weber, the Democratic party bosses got together in a meeting and decided that Waddington would be the candidate. Weber was made Waddington's campaign manager. The Democrats, thinking that they had avoided a primary fight, were met with yet another surprise. Another Quaker who attended the Salem Friends Meeting with John Waddington, threw his hat in the ring in the Democratic Primary. He was Kenneth R. Jones of Greenwich. He was a school teacher from Bridgeton and had previously taught in Salem. He declared himself as an "Independent Democrat." Mr. Jones carried a lot of support amongst the school teachers in both counties. However, Waddington beat Jones soundly in the June primary with Jones getting just under 1000 votes as compared to Waddington getting over 3000 votes. In the General Election, John A. Waddington defeated Cumberland County Republican Chairman John J. Spoltore, a former Mayor of Bridgeton, by 7,902 votes, 32,292 (56.92%) to 24,390 (42.99%). He won Salem County by a 2-1 margin, and carried Cumberland by a narrow 577 vote margin. Waddington served as Senate Minority Leader in 1958 and 1966, and as the Senate Majority Leader in 1967.
...
Wikipedia