John J. Degnan | |
---|---|
Chair of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey | |
In office July 23, 2014 [1] –August 3, 2017 [2] | |
Governor | Chris Christie |
Preceded by | David Samson |
Succeeded by | Kevin J. O'Toole |
Attorney General of New Jersey | |
In office January 17,1978 –March 5,1981 | |
Governor | Brendan Byrne |
Preceded by | William F. Hyland |
Succeeded by | James R. Zazzali |
Personal details | |
Born | West Orange,New Jersey,U.S. | October 6,1944
Spouse | Mary Degnan |
Alma mater | Saint Vincent College (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
John J. Degnan (born October 6,1944) was the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1978 until 1981. He was vice chairman and chief operating officer of The Chubb Corporation until 2010,and Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) from 2014 to 2017.
Degnan attended Our Lady of Lourdes Grammar School in West Orange. He graduated with a B.A. from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe,Pennsylvania in 1966 and then attended Harvard Law School,receiving his J.D. degree in 1969. [3] He resides with his wife Mary in Chester Township,New Jersey.
From 1969 to 1971,Degnan served as law secretary to John J. Francis,associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. He then joined the Newark law firm of Clapp &Eisenberg from 1971 to 1974. [3]
Degnan was selected by New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne as assistant counsel in November 1974. He later served as Governor Byrne's executive secretary from March 1976 to March 1977,when he became special counsel to the Governor. After Byrne was elected to a second term,he announced Degnan's appointment as Attorney General. His nomination was confirmed in January 1978,and at 33 he was among the youngest ever to serve as Attorney General. [3]
In 1981,Degnan resigned his position as Attorney General to run in the Democratic primary for Governor. The crowded field of 13 Democratic candidates included U.S. Representative James Florio,Newark Mayor Kenneth A. Gibson,New Jersey Senate President Joseph P. Merlino,U.S. Representative Robert A. Roe,and Jersey City Mayor Thomas F. X. Smith. Degnan was seen as Byrne's hand-picked successor and received the Governor's endorsement. But in the primary election Degnan received only 11 percent of the vote,finishing in fifth place behind Florio (26 percent),Roe (16 percent),Gibson (16 percent),and Merlino (11 percent). [4]
After the election Degnan joined the firm of Shanley &Fisher as a senior partner. In 1990,he joined Chubb &Son,a subsidiary of Chubb Corp.,as senior vice president and general counsel. He was elected president of Chubb Corp. in 1996 and also became president of Chubb &Son in 1998. In 2002,he became vice chairman and chief administrative officer of Chubb Corp. He added the titles of chief ethics and legal compliance officer in 2005. In June 2008,was promoted to vice chairman and chief operating officer of Chubb Corp [5] before retiring in 2010. [6]
Governor Chris Christie nominated Degnan on April 29,2014,to succeed embattled David Samson as Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Procedurally,the New Jersey Senate would vote to place him on the PA Board of Commissioners,and then the Board itself would approve him as Chairman. [6] He was confirmed by full Senate on July 10,2014. [7]
At Senate hearings in July 2014,Degnan,in regard to the Fort Lee George Washington Bridge lane closures of September 2013 said "If the lanes were closed as an act of political retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee or any other individual and not part of a legitimate traffic study,and that seems to be validated by some of the evidence,it's an outrageous misuse of office." During his tenure as chairman he opposed dissolving the PANYNJ in its entirety,believing any changes made to the mission of agency should involve state legislatures and governors in both states.
He supported 2011 toll hikes based on PANYNJ capital improvement plan but acknowledged the process to enact them as "terrible" and commissioners' non-attendance at public hearings "an insult to the public." He stated intentions to improve the agency response to sunshine laws and whistleblower laws. As one of his first tasks he toured the outdated and over capacity Port Authority Bus Terminal to plan improvements for the facility that handles 225,000 passenger-trips per day,mostly New Jerseyeans. [8] However,the bus terminal plans remain in limbo as of August 2017 among disagreements on how to move forward.
In 2017,Kevin J. O'Toole replaced Degnan as Chair of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. [9] [10]
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey,established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized by the United States Congress. The Port Authority oversees much of the regional transportation infrastructure,including bridges,tunnels,airports,and seaports,within the geographical jurisdiction of the Port of New York and New Jersey. This 1,500-square-mile (3,900 km2) port district is generally encompassed within a 25-mile (40 km) radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. The Port Authority is headquartered at 4 World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan.
Robert M. "Bob" Gordon is an American politician serving as a commissioner of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Prior to being commissioner,Gordon was a Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from January 8,2008 to April 4,2018 representing the 38th Legislative District. He also served in the General Assembly from 2004 to 2008.
Kevin J. O'Toole is an American Republican Party politician,who served in the New Jersey Senate. O'Toole represented the 40th legislative district,which included parts of Bergen,Essex,Morris,and Passaic counties from 2008 to 2017.
William E. Baroni Jr. is an American Republican Party politician and law professor. He represented the 14th legislative district in the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly. In 2010,New Jersey Governor Chris Christie named Baroni to serve as the Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Matthew Feldman was an American Democratic Party politician who served as a New Jersey State Senator and Mayor of Teaneck,New Jersey.
James Patrick Fox was an American politician and political strategist. He twice served as New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation and also worked for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).
William "Pat" Schuber is an American Republican Party politician who served as Mayor of Bogota,represented the 38th legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly and served 12 years as the Bergen County Executive
David Samson is an American lawyer who served as New Jersey Attorney General under Democratic Governor Jim McGreevey from 2002 to 2003. He served as the Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) from 2011 until his resignation on March 28,2014 in the aftermath of the Fort Lee lane closure scandal. Samson is a partner and founding member of the law firm Wolff &Samson from which he resigned in April 2015,and had been an ally of Governor Chris Christie.
Donald Paul Lan Sr. was an American Democratic Party politician who served as Secretary of State of New Jersey from 1977 to 1982. He was appointed to the post by Governor Brendan Byrne. Lan has been the Union County Democratic Chairman.
Joseph P. Merlino was an American Democratic Party politician who served as President of the New Jersey Senate from 1978 to 1981.
Frank J. "Pat" Dodd was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as President of the New Jersey Senate from 1974 to 1975.
Paula T. Dow is an American lawyer and judge. She served as the 58th Attorney General of New Jersey,appointed by incoming Governor Chris Christie. Her nomination to a full term was confirmed by the New Jersey Senate in February 2010. She is the first African-American woman to be attorney general in state history.
Chris Christie took office as the 55th Governor of New Jersey on January 19,2010,began his second term on January 21,2014,and left office on January 16,2018.
The Fort Lee lane closure scandal,better known as Bridgegate,was a political scandal in the U.S. state of New Jersey in 2013 and 2014. It involved a staff member and political appointees of then-governor Chris Christie colluding to create traffic jams in Fort Lee,New Jersey by closing lanes at the main toll plaza for the upper level of the George Washington Bridge.
Philip Kwon is deputy counsel for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a previous nominee for the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Martin L. Greenberg was an American Democratic Party politician and jurist who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1974 to 1979.
The 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held November 3,1981. Republican Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly Thomas Kean narrowly defeated Democratic U.S. Representative James Florio,49.46%-49.38,following a recount. Kean's margin of victory was 1,797 votes out of more than two million votes cast. As of 2024,the 1981 gubernatorial election remains the closest gubernatorial contest in New Jersey history.
Christopher S. Porrino is an American trial lawyer who served as the Attorney General of New Jersey from 2016 to 2018. Porrino is currently a partner of Lowenstein Sandler,and chair of the firm's Litigation Department.
John Patrick Sheridan Jr. was a lawyer from the U.S. state of New Jersey. During the 1970s and 1980s he served in state government under Republican governors William T. Cahill and Thomas Kean. As the state's Transportation Commissioner during the latter governor's administration,he oversaw the transfer of commuter rail service in the state from Conrail to New Jersey Transit. At the time of his death,he was president and chief executive officer of Cooper Health System,which has since named one of its buildings after him.