38 Facts About Matthew Feldman

Matthew Feldman served as the president of the New Jersey Senate.

Matthew Feldman had an older brother, Norman, and a younger brother, Melvin.

Matthew Feldman excelled in basketball and boxing, and joined the boxing team at the University of North Carolina.

Matthew Feldman used his physical prowess to "bust up" pro-Nazi German American Bund rallies held in North Bergen in the late 1930s, acting as a "heckler, protester, and street fighter".

Matthew Feldman served as a US Air Force Captain during World War II, and later served as New Jersey State Commander of the Jewish War Veterans.

Matthew Feldman stopped the car, called some veteran friends and staged the forerunner of a "flash" protest.

Matthew Feldman moved to Teaneck in 1947 after marrying Muriel Gunsberg.

Matthew Feldman joined the Federal Wine and Liquor Company, a liquor distribution business started by his father and uncle.

In September 1964, Matthew Feldman was interviewed on WJRZ radio following threats of boycotting the opening day of school and of violence.

Matthew Feldman ran second of the four, and out polled the leading Republican vote getter by more than 11,000 votes.

In 1967, Matthew Feldman was a candidate for re-election to a second term in the Senate.

Matthew Feldman ran seventh, finishing more than 53,000 votes behind the fifth place Republican.

Matthew Feldman ran again for the Senate, with incumbent Assemblymen Albert Burstein and Byron Baer running with him.

Matthew Feldman announced in April 1977 that he would seek re-election to the Senate.

Matthew Feldman touted an endorsement from a former Republican senator, Fairleigh Dickinson Jr.

Matthew Feldman won by 10,222 votes, 31,945 to 21,723, winning re-election by an even higher percentage than in the Democratic landslide of 1973.

Matthew Feldman faced a tough Republican challenger, 35-year-old Todd Caliguire, who had served as Assistant Counsel to Governor Thomas Kean.

Matthew Feldman survived, narrowly, beating Caliguire by just 3,264 votes, 24,309 to 21,045.

Matthew Feldman led the fight to establish the Department of Higher Education and for increases in state education funding at all levels.

Matthew Feldman sponsored legislation that created the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Development Commission.

The incumbent Senate President, Frank J Dodd, had hoped to keep the post, but Feldman received the support of a majority of Democratic senators and Dodd withdrew as a candidate for the leadership post.

Matthew Feldman ran with the support of Byrne, who was forced to back off a plan to allow crossover votes in primaries.

At times when Byrne was out of state, Matthew Feldman served as acting governor.

Matthew Feldman was the Senate President Pro-Tempore from 1978 to 1982.

Matthew Feldman served as chairman of the Senate Education Committee from 1978 to 1992.

Matthew Feldman served in the majority for all but the final two years of his Senate career.

In 1990, Matthew Feldman helped steer through the Senate Jim Florio's transformation of state aid and teacher pensions after he arranged for Bergen County school districts to receive special transportation aid that districts in no other county were eligible for.

Matthew Feldman was serving as acting governor on the date of his court appearance, as Governor Byrne was traveling in Japan.

Federal prosecutors alleged Matthew Feldman had paid $6,400 in cash to Schwartz in order to win about $240,000 in liquor business.

Matthew Feldman did not deny that he had paid Schwartz but sought to have his indictment dismissed, claiming his prosecution by US Attorney Jonathan Goldstein, a Republican appointed by Richard Nixon, was politically motivated and that such payments were common practice in the liquor distribution business.

On November 26,1976, Matthew Feldman changed his plea to guilty.

Matthew Feldman faced no opposition in the Democratic primary after his only rival, Freeholder Doris Mahalick, dropped out due to lack of organizational support and fundraising resources.

Matthew Feldman criticized McDowell's management skills, citing a state audit that criticized fire-safety measures and medical procedures at the county jail run by McDowell.

McDowell said Matthew Feldman had falsely claimed in campaign literature that he authored a 1966 Senate bill creating Bergen County Community College, noting that the college had been founded the year before Matthew Feldman was elected to the Senate.

On February 17,1993, Matthew Feldman announced that he would not seek re-election to an eighth term in the Senate.

Matthew Feldman continued to battle health issues after leaving the Senate in January, 1994, and he died on April 11,1994, at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, aged 75, four months after leaving the Senate.

Matthew Feldman deployed a shrewd, conciliatory style, relying more on persuasion than partisan attacks or campaign cash.

Matthew Feldman was more inclined to grab a colleague with a warm bear hug than twist their arm.