1. Stephen M Sweeney was born on June 11,1959 and is an American politician and labor leader who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2022, representing the 3rd legislative district.
33 Facts About Stephen Sweeney
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Stephen Sweeney was born in Camden, New Jersey, and graduated from Pennsauken High School in 1977.
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Stephen Sweeney joined Ironworkers Local 399 and gained journeyman status on January 1,1980.
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Stephen Sweeney serves as general vice president of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers.
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Stephen Sweeney served on the Gloucester County Board of County Commissioners, a post he held since 1997, and served as the Director of the board from January 6,2006, until he left office in 2010.
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Stephen Sweeney sponsored a 2002 law allowing municipalities and other public entities beginning a construction project to enter into a Project Labor Agreement, an agreement that establishes the terms and conditions of employment and prohibits the use of strikes and lockouts, which can save money by reducing cost overruns and work stoppages, and contribute to decreased labor unrest.
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Stephen Sweeney sponsored legislation to allow security guards at nuclear plants to carry assault weapons and high-powered ammunition.
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Stephen Sweeney co-sponsored the law providing health benefits to New Jersey National Guard members who serve for 30 days or more on state active duty.
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Stephen Sweeney sponsored "Maggie's Law", which establishes driving while seriously fatigued as a form of driver recklessness.
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Stephen Sweeney first pursued the legislation when he was contacted by the mother of Maggie McDonnell, a Washington Township resident who was killed in a car accident by a driver who had been up for over 30 hours without sleeping.
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Stephen Sweeney urged that workers affected by the state shutdown in July 2006 should not collect pay for the time they were furloughed, stating that he would have voted to reject the state budget if he had known that state workers would receive pay for a period when they were not working.
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Stephen Sweeney was selected by the Senate Democratic Caucus to serve as Majority Leader on November 8,2007.
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In December 2016, Stephen Sweeney was one of several Catholic elected officials who supported legislation legalizing assisted suicide, saying that state residents should be able to make their own decisions on a topic in which "the church takes positions that are not necessarily mainstream".
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In January 2010, Stephen Sweeney abstained when the New Jersey Senate voted on the question of allowing same-sex couples to marry.
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Stephen Sweeney later called his abstention a mistake and said that the issue was a civil rights issue, not a religious issue.
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In 2012, Stephen Sweeney was one of the prime sponsors of legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage.
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In 2010, Stephen Sweeney helped design and pass thirty bills, known collectively as "Back to Work NJ," that aimed to help create jobs and economic growth in New Jersey.
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In 2011, Stephen Sweeney proposed sweeping reforms to the public employee pension and health benefits systems that he estimates would save taxpayers over $120 billion over a 30-year period.
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Stephen Sweeney helped craft the state's two-percent property tax cap in order to control rising property taxes.
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Stephen Sweeney was named as a "Politician Who's Ahead of the Curve" by Philadelphia Magazine in 2011 for his continued support of shared services between local government units.
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In January 2013, two months after Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey, Stephen Sweeney suggested that Governor Christie "got lucky" because the hurricane had distracted voters from New Jersey's slow economic recovery, an issue that many political observers believed was a potential point of weakness for Christie.
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Stephen Sweeney was heavily criticized for his remark, and a spokesman for Christie called it "politics at its worst".
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In December 2018, Stephen Sweeney led efforts to change the New Jersey constitution so that it entrenched the gerrymandering of New Jersey districts.
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Stephen Sweeney was frequently cited as the most powerful elected Democrat in New Jersey.
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Stephen Sweeney's awards include the Outstanding State Legislator Award from the NJ Veterans of Foreign Wars and the "Legislator of the Year" Award from the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce.
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On December 11,2023, Stephen Sweeney launched his campaign to succeed term-limited Governor Phil Murphy in the 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial election.
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Stephen Sweeney was previously considered a contender for governor in the 2013 and 2017 elections, ultimately deciding against running on both occasions.
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In 2021, Stephen Sweeney was defeated in a massive upset by Edward Durr, a Republican truck driver who had never held elected office.
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Durr spent less than $2,300 on his campaign, while Stephen Sweeney spent approximately $305,000.
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Stephen Sweeney was widely viewed as a top contender for the 2017 gubernatorial election to succeed Governor Chris Christie.
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On October 6,2016 Stephen Sweeney announced that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2017.
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Stephen Sweeney won re-election to a sixth term in 2017, defeating Salem County Republican Chairman Fran Grenier in the largest electoral victory of his career.
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The race was the most expensive legislative race in New Jersey history at the time, totaling $2.4 million, with Stephen Sweeney spending an individual record $1.8 million to triple Zane's spending of $624,000.