Former N.J. acting governor Richard Codey, the state’s longest-serving legislator, has died at 79
Codey served in the Legislature for 50 years, including eight as the Senate president.
Richard Codey, a former New Jersey acting governor and longtime state senator, has died at 79, his family announced Sunday.
The Democrat represented an Essex County-based district in the Assembly from 1974 to 1982 and the Senate from 1982 to 2024, the longest combined service in state history. His family said he died peacefully at home Sunday after a brief illness.
He was the New Jersey Senate president from 2002 to 2010.
After Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004, Mr. Codey served as acting governor for the remaining 14 months of McGreevey’s term, until Jon Corzine was elected and succeeded him. Under a state constitutional provision in effect at the time, Mr. Codey concurrently served as governor and Senate president.
In a statement on Facebook, Mr. Codey’s family said he served with humility and compassion. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners,” the family’s statement said.
Legislators who served alongside Mr. Codey reacted to his death on social media.
Current Senate President Nicholas Scutari said he had lost a trusted colleague and good friend.
“New Jersey has lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives in meaningful ways of everyone who knew him,” Scutari said in a statement on Facebook.
State Sen. John McKeon served the same district as Mr. Codey in the Assembly for 22 years before succeeding him in the Senate.
“Observing firsthand his empathy, humility, and advocacy for those who could not speak for themselves have had a profound and enduring influence on my professional life,” McKeon said on Facebook.
Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Mr. Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.
As acting governor, Mr. Codey passed and signed a state law that limited public contracts for vendors who make campaign contributions.
Mr. Codey operated his family’s funeral home before entering politics.
Mr. Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.
Mr. Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.
After leaving the governor’s office, Mr. Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.
His wife told the Associated Press that Mr. Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.
“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”
The Codey family said it would share information about his funeral in the coming days.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.