Byrne, Brendan T., 1924-2018

Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American attorney and Democratic Party politician who served as the 47th Governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982. Byrne began his career as a private attorney in Newark and East Orange. In 1959, Governor Robert B. Meyner appointed Byrne to serve as Essex County Prosecutor; he served in that role until 1968. In the late 1960s, an FBI wiretap recorded local mobsters calling Byrne "the man who couldn't be bought" in reference to his high ethical standards. The publication of the comment propelled Byrne to popularity in an era when corruption was a major concern in state and national politics. He left his office as prosecutor to serve as President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities from 1968 to 1970, then as a Superior Court judge. In 1973, using "the man who couldn't be bought" as a campaign slogan, Byrne ran for governor of New Jersey. He won the Democratic primary with support from the powerful Hudson County political machine and carried the general election. His landslide victory, until then the largest in the state's history, was seen as a reaction against a bribery scandal in state government and the Watergate scandal. During his first term, Byrne signed the state's first income tax, which broke a campaign promise and was initially highly unpopular across party lines. In 1977, he faced several prominent challengers for the party nomination but won the Democratic primary with a small plurality of the vote. Despite expectations he would lose the general election to Raymond Bateman, Byrne came from behind to win a second term. During his time as governor, Byrne oversaw the opening of the first gambling casinos in Atlantic City and established the New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate. He also preserved a large majority of woodlands and wildlife areas in the state by restricting development.