Bret Schundler
Encyclopedia
Bret D. Schundler
Bret D. Schundler (born January 14, 1959 in Colonia, New Jersey
) is an American
politician
from New Jersey
. He served in the Cabinet
of Governor Chris Christie as New Jersey Commissioner of Education
until he was dismissed on August 27, 2010.
Schundler was the mayor
of Jersey City
from 1992 until 2001. Schundler was the city's first Republican
mayor since 1917. Earlier in his life, Schundler was a Democrat
and was the State Coordinator in New Jersey for Gary Hart's 1984 campaign for President. He was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Governor of New Jersey
in 2001, and tried again for the same post in 2005, but failed to secure the Republican nomination. He then served as the chief operating officer
of The King's College, a Christian
liberal arts
college in New York City
.
and Westfield, New Jersey
as the youngest of nine children. At Westfield High School
, he was an All-State football
player. He was recruited by Harvard University
, where, to help pay for his tuition, he washed dishes, cleaned bathrooms, and worked as a security guard. He graduated with honors in 1981. Schundler's ethnic heritage is German
and Barbadian
.
Following his graduation from college, Schundler worked for Democratic Congressman
Roy Dyson
of Maryland
. He later worked for Gary Hart
's 1984 presidential
campaign. After Hart lost the primary, Schundler began his career in finance in the sales department of Salomon Brothers
. While he had no experience in the field, his interviewer thought that anyone who could sell Hart in western Iowa
had a future in finance. In 1987, he moved to a different firm, C. J. Lawrence, which has since been absorbed into Deutsche Bank
, where he did very well financially. He retired in 1990, and after traveling around the world for a year, changed his registration to Republican. He later said that he felt the Democrats had been taken captive by special interests.
in 1991, where despite the partisan nature of the election and the overwhelmingly Democratic composition of the district (only 6% of voters were registered Republicans), Schundler lost to incumbent Edward T. O'Connor, Jr.
by only a 55.1% to 44.9% margin. The next year, Gerald McCann
was removed as mayor of Jersey City because of a criminal conviction unrelated to his public duties, and Schundler entered the special election to finish the remaining eight months of McCann's term. He won the election with 17 percent of the vote in a crowded field of 19 candidates. Jersey City holds nonpartisan elections for municipal offices, and Schundler never billed himself as a Republican on his campaign literature or ads. However, Schundler was known to be a Republican based on his run for the State Senate a year earlier, and he is thus reckoned as the first Republican to hold the post since 1917. Contributing to his victory was the fact that two African American candidates split the Black vote, and two siblings (Lou and Allen Manzo), also split a large number of votes.
Once in office, Schundler developed a reputation as a politician who could not be "bought off." This strongly resonated in a city with a long legacy of corruption dating to the Frank Hague
era. He subsequently won a full term in 1993 with 69% of the vote—the largest margin of victory since Jersey City returned to the Mayor-Council
form of government in 1961, and according to some sources, in the city's entire history. He won a second full term in 1997, winning a run-off election by a substantial margin.
During his tenure as mayor, Schundler reduced crime, lowered property taxes, increased the city's tax collection rate and property values, instituted medical savings account
s for city employees and privatized the management of the city's water utility.
He also led the fight to pass New Jersey's charter school
legislation. Moreover, according to a Harvard University study, during his tenure Jersey City led the 100 largest cities in America in job growth and poverty reduction
.
Schundler attracted considerable national attention because he was the Republican mayor of an overwhelmingly Democratic city. During his tenure, Jersey City remained a Democratic stronghold, as it has been for over a century. Indeed, on the same night as Schundler's special election win, Bill Clinton
carried Hudson County
(which includes Jersey City) by an overwhelming margin, which was enough to swing New Jersey into the Democratic column for the first time since 1964. Clinton carried Hudson County by an even larger margin in 1996. Additionally, no Republican has represented a significant portion of Jersey City in Congress in over a century, and Schundler was succeeded by a Democrat, Glenn Cunningham
, in 2001.
, who was favored by the party establishment. Franks entered the race in April, two months before the primary, after Governor Donald DiFrancesco
dropped out of the race because of an unending series of newspaper stories highlighting ethics concerns. Franks was backed by Governor DiFrancesco's political organization, which gave him the endorsement of every county Republican committee except Schundler's in Hudson County and the Republican committee in Monmouth County led by William F. Dowd.
Schundler ran on a conservative platform, which was somewhat unusual since most New Jersey Republicans tended to be moderate-to-liberal by national standards. He employed a more grassroots style of campaigning, visiting many local GOP organizations and forming close relationships with the Young Republicans
and the College Republicans
, as well as with conservative groups, including those active in homeschooling
issues. This grassroots campaign enabled him to win the nomination by a robust 14% margin.
After winning the primary, Schundler tried to reunite the party by reaching out to the figures who had endorsed Franks. This included having a unity lunch with Franks which was hosted by former governor Tom Kean, and retaining State Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos
as state party chairman. Kyrillos had been appointed by DiFrancesco as state party chairman six weeks before the primary, and he had supported Franks in the primary. However, the party remained split. The Democratic candidate, Woodbridge Township Mayor Jim McGreevey
(the unsuccessful Democratic candidate in 1997), exploited this division by painting Schundler as too conservative for New Jersey. In the November election, Schundler was badly defeated, gaining 42% of the vote to McGreevey's 56%. Schundler even lost Hudson County by 50,000 votes.
Schundler did not run for office again until the 2005 gubernatorial campaign, but remained as one of the most visible spokesmen for conservative Republicans in New Jersey.
focused on the issue of property taxes. He proposed a series of state constitutional amendments to control state and local spending in New Jersey, with the savings dedicated to property tax reduction statewide.
As in 2001, Schundler focused mostly on grassroots campaigning. However, he also targeted Republican County Conventions to spread his message and won several county endorsements. Besides his base in Hudson County, he also won the endorsement of the Republican organizations in Monmouth
, Hunterdon
, and Somerset
counties.
In the week before the primary election, Schundler's campaign was criticized for using a photograph on its website that showed Schundler apparently standing with a crowd of enthusiastic young supporters. The photograph, which appeared for only a few days on a web page advertising campaign t-shirts and mugs, had actually been taken at a Howard Dean
rally in 2004, with Dean's image digitally replaced by Schundler's and with campaign signs, hats, and shirts modified as well. Schundler's campaign responded that the photograph had been prepared by the campaign's website contractor (which had done work for the Dean campaign), and that the campaign had had the picture taken down when it learned of the miscue.
Schundler lost the primary to Doug Forrester
, who had been New Jersey's Republican nominee for United States Senate in 2002. Forrester's considerable wealth enabled him to outspend Schundler during the campaign by about 6-1. The results were:
Schundler carried Union
, Hudson, Hunterdon and Somerset counties. He had the county line in Somerset and Hudson and shared it with Forrester in Hunterdon. Forrester held the county line in Union County, which was the only county where he had the line but still lost in the primary.
. Schundler stated that his formal announcement would happen after the 2008 presidential election
. He would have faced Mayor Jerramiah Healy
, former Assemblyman Louis Manzo
and community activist Dan Levin for the mayor's office. State Sen. Sandra Bolden Cunningham
, the widow of Schundler's successor as mayor, was considering a race for mayor. Councilman Steven Fulop
announced that he would not run for mayor in 2009. On January 12, 2009, Bret Schundler dropped his bid for mayor citing financial difficulties due in part to the ongoing financial meltdown on Wall Street.
. On March 11, the New Jersey Senate
approved his nomination by a vote of 35-2. On August 27, 2010, he was dismissed by Governor Christie after an error on a $400 million Race to the Top
education grant may have contributed to New Jersey narrowly missing out on the government funding.
Until recently, Schundler was also Managing Partner of People Power America, LLC, which licenses TeamVolunteer, an online utility that helps political campaigns and non-profit organizations coordinate phone banks.
Schundler and his wife, Lynn, have two children, a daughter named Shaylin and a son named Hans Otto III. They live in Jersey City.
Bret D. Schundler (born January 14, 1959 in Colonia, New Jersey
Colonia, New Jersey
Colonia Colonia Colonia (is a census-designated place and unincorporated area within Woodbridge Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 17,811....
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. He served in the Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
of Governor Chris Christie as New Jersey Commissioner of Education
New Jersey Department of Education
The New Jersey Department of Education administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered in Trenton.The Department is responsible for ensuring that...
until he was dismissed on August 27, 2010.
Schundler was the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Jersey City
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
from 1992 until 2001. Schundler was the city's first Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
mayor since 1917. Earlier in his life, Schundler was a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and was the State Coordinator in New Jersey for Gary Hart's 1984 campaign for President. He was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Governor of New Jersey
Governor of New Jersey
The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
in 2001, and tried again for the same post in 2005, but failed to secure the Republican nomination. He then served as the chief operating officer
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
of The King's College, a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
college in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Early life
Schundler grew up in Woodbridge TownshipWoodbridge Township, New Jersey
-Communities:Many distinct communities exist within Woodbridge Township. Several of these communities have their own ZIP codes, and many are listed by the United States Census Bureau as census-designated places, but they are all unincorporated areas and neighborhoods within the Township that,...
and Westfield, New Jersey
Westfield, New Jersey
Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 30,316. The old village area, now the downtown district, was settled in 1720 as part of the Elizabethtown Tract....
as the youngest of nine children. At Westfield High School
Westfield High School (New Jersey)
Westfield Senior High School, or simply, Westfield High School is the only public high school located in Westfield, in Union County, New Jersey, operating as part of the Westfield Public Schools. It was established in the early 1900s at its original location on Elm Street until 1951 when it was...
, he was an All-State football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He was recruited by Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where, to help pay for his tuition, he washed dishes, cleaned bathrooms, and worked as a security guard. He graduated with honors in 1981. Schundler's ethnic heritage is German
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
and Barbadian
Barbadian American
Barbadian Americans are Americans of Barbadian heritage or Barbadian-born people who live in the United States of America. The 2000 Census recorded 53,785 US residents born on the Caribbean island 52,170 of whom were born to non-American parents, and 54,509 people who described their ethnicity as...
.
Following his graduation from college, Schundler worked for Democratic Congressman
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Roy Dyson
Roy Dyson
Royden Patrick Dyson born is an American politician. He is a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland....
of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. He later worked for Gary Hart
Gary Hart
Gary Hart is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado , and ran in the U.S...
's 1984 presidential
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
campaign. After Hart lost the primary, Schundler began his career in finance in the sales department of Salomon Brothers
Salomon Brothers
Salomon Brothers was a bulge bracket, Wall Street investment bank. Founded in 1910 by three brothers along with a clerk named Ben Levy, it remained a partnership until the early 1980s, when it was acquired by the commodity trading firm Phibro Corporation and then became Salomon Inc. Eventually...
. While he had no experience in the field, his interviewer thought that anyone who could sell Hart in western Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
had a future in finance. In 1987, he moved to a different firm, C. J. Lawrence, which has since been absorbed into Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
, where he did very well financially. He retired in 1990, and after traveling around the world for a year, changed his registration to Republican. He later said that he felt the Democrats had been taken captive by special interests.
Mayor of Jersey City
His first run for elective office was an unsuccessful campaign for the New Jersey SenateNew Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
in 1991, where despite the partisan nature of the election and the overwhelmingly Democratic composition of the district (only 6% of voters were registered Republicans), Schundler lost to incumbent Edward T. O'Connor, Jr.
Edward T. O'Connor, Jr.
Edward T. O'Connor, Jr. is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1982 to 2002, where he represented the 31st legislative district.-Biography:...
by only a 55.1% to 44.9% margin. The next year, Gerald McCann
Gerald McCann
Gerald McCann is an American Democratic Party politician who served two non-consecutive terms as mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey before being convicted of fraud in a savings and loan scam. When he was elected in 1981 he was the second youngest mayor in the city's history.-Biography:He was born in...
was removed as mayor of Jersey City because of a criminal conviction unrelated to his public duties, and Schundler entered the special election to finish the remaining eight months of McCann's term. He won the election with 17 percent of the vote in a crowded field of 19 candidates. Jersey City holds nonpartisan elections for municipal offices, and Schundler never billed himself as a Republican on his campaign literature or ads. However, Schundler was known to be a Republican based on his run for the State Senate a year earlier, and he is thus reckoned as the first Republican to hold the post since 1917. Contributing to his victory was the fact that two African American candidates split the Black vote, and two siblings (Lou and Allen Manzo), also split a large number of votes.
Once in office, Schundler developed a reputation as a politician who could not be "bought off." This strongly resonated in a city with a long legacy of corruption dating to the Frank Hague
Frank Hague
Frank Hague was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey from 1917 to 1947, Democratic National Committeeman from New Jersey from 1922 until 1949, and Vice-Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1924 until 1949.Hague has a widely-known...
era. He subsequently won a full term in 1993 with 69% of the vote—the largest margin of victory since Jersey City returned to the Mayor-Council
Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council)
The Faulkner Act, or Optional Municipal Charter Law, provides for New Jersey municipalities to adopt a Mayor-Council government.This form of government provides for election of a mayor and five, seven, or nine council members...
form of government in 1961, and according to some sources, in the city's entire history. He won a second full term in 1997, winning a run-off election by a substantial margin.
During his tenure as mayor, Schundler reduced crime, lowered property taxes, increased the city's tax collection rate and property values, instituted medical savings account
Medical savings account
Medical savings account refers to an account in which tax-deferred deposits can be made for medical expenses.-In Singapore:Medisave was introduced in April 1984 as a national medical savings system for Singaporeans...
s for city employees and privatized the management of the city's water utility.
He also led the fight to pass New Jersey's charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
legislation. Moreover, according to a Harvard University study, during his tenure Jersey City led the 100 largest cities in America in job growth and poverty reduction
Poverty reduction
Poverty is the state of human beings who are poor. That is, they have little or no material means of surviving—little or no food, shelter, clothes, healthcare, education, and other physical means of living and improving one's life....
.
Schundler attracted considerable national attention because he was the Republican mayor of an overwhelmingly Democratic city. During his tenure, Jersey City remained a Democratic stronghold, as it has been for over a century. Indeed, on the same night as Schundler's special election win, Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
carried Hudson County
Hudson County, New Jersey
Hudson County is the smallest county in New Jersey and one of the most densely populated in United States. It takes its name from the Hudson River, which creates part of its eastern border. Part of the New York metropolitan area, its county seat and largest city is Jersey City.- Municipalities...
(which includes Jersey City) by an overwhelming margin, which was enough to swing New Jersey into the Democratic column for the first time since 1964. Clinton carried Hudson County by an even larger margin in 1996. Additionally, no Republican has represented a significant portion of Jersey City in Congress in over a century, and Schundler was succeeded by a Democrat, Glenn Cunningham
Glenn Cunningham (New Jersey)
Glenn Dale Cunningham was an American Democratic Party politician, who was the first African American Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, the state's second-largest city. Cunningham also served in the New Jersey Senate. After Cunningham's death, L. Harvey Smith became the acting mayor of Jersey City...
, in 2001.
2001 gubernatorial campaign
Towards the end of his tenure as mayor, Schundler served as chairman of the Hudson County Republican Committee, and in 2001, Schundler ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, facing former Congressman Bob FranksBob Franks
Robert Douglas "Bob" Franks was a Republican politician. He was a former U.S. Representative from New Jersey.-Biography:...
, who was favored by the party establishment. Franks entered the race in April, two months before the primary, after Governor Donald DiFrancesco
Donald DiFrancesco
Donald Thomas DiFrancesco was the 51st Governor of New Jersey from 2001 to 2002 by virtue of his status as President of the New Jersey Senate, the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature....
dropped out of the race because of an unending series of newspaper stories highlighting ethics concerns. Franks was backed by Governor DiFrancesco's political organization, which gave him the endorsement of every county Republican committee except Schundler's in Hudson County and the Republican committee in Monmouth County led by William F. Dowd.
Schundler ran on a conservative platform, which was somewhat unusual since most New Jersey Republicans tended to be moderate-to-liberal by national standards. He employed a more grassroots style of campaigning, visiting many local GOP organizations and forming close relationships with the Young Republicans
Young Republicans
The Young Republicans is an organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization and chapters in individual states....
and the College Republicans
College Republicans
The College Republican National Committee is a national organization for college and university students who support the Republican Party of the United States...
, as well as with conservative groups, including those active in homeschooling
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
issues. This grassroots campaign enabled him to win the nomination by a robust 14% margin.
After winning the primary, Schundler tried to reunite the party by reaching out to the figures who had endorsed Franks. This included having a unity lunch with Franks which was hosted by former governor Tom Kean, and retaining State Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos
Joseph M. Kyrillos
Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr. is an American Republican Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 1992, where he represents the 13th Legislative District. Before entering the Senate, Kyrillos served in the General Assembly, the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature,...
as state party chairman. Kyrillos had been appointed by DiFrancesco as state party chairman six weeks before the primary, and he had supported Franks in the primary. However, the party remained split. The Democratic candidate, Woodbridge Township Mayor Jim McGreevey
Jim McGreevey
James Edward "Jim" McGreevey is an American Democratic politician. He served as the 52nd Governor of New Jersey from January 15, 2002, until he resigned from office at 11:59 pm on November 15, 2004. His term was set to expire on January 17, 2006...
(the unsuccessful Democratic candidate in 1997), exploited this division by painting Schundler as too conservative for New Jersey. In the November election, Schundler was badly defeated, gaining 42% of the vote to McGreevey's 56%. Schundler even lost Hudson County by 50,000 votes.
Schundler did not run for office again until the 2005 gubernatorial campaign, but remained as one of the most visible spokesmen for conservative Republicans in New Jersey.
2005 gubernatorial campaign
Schundler's 2005 gubernatorial campaignNew Jersey gubernatorial election, 2005
The New Jersey gubernatorial election of 2005 was a race for the Governor of New Jersey. It was held on November 8, 2005. Incumbent Democratic Governor Richard Codey, who replaced Governor Jim McGreevey in 2004 after his resignation, did not run for election for a full term of office.The primary...
focused on the issue of property taxes. He proposed a series of state constitutional amendments to control state and local spending in New Jersey, with the savings dedicated to property tax reduction statewide.
As in 2001, Schundler focused mostly on grassroots campaigning. However, he also targeted Republican County Conventions to spread his message and won several county endorsements. Besides his base in Hudson County, he also won the endorsement of the Republican organizations in Monmouth
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...
, Hunterdon
Hunterdon County, New Jersey
Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 128,349. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Flemington....
, and Somerset
Somerset County, New Jersey
Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 2010, the population was 323,444. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville....
counties.
In the week before the primary election, Schundler's campaign was criticized for using a photograph on its website that showed Schundler apparently standing with a crowd of enthusiastic young supporters. The photograph, which appeared for only a few days on a web page advertising campaign t-shirts and mugs, had actually been taken at a Howard Dean
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
rally in 2004, with Dean's image digitally replaced by Schundler's and with campaign signs, hats, and shirts modified as well. Schundler's campaign responded that the photograph had been prepared by the campaign's website contractor (which had done work for the Dean campaign), and that the campaign had had the picture taken down when it learned of the miscue.
Schundler lost the primary to Doug Forrester
Doug Forrester
Douglas Forrester is an American businessman in New Jersey. He was the 2002 Republican nominee for New Jersey U.S. Senator and the 2005 Republican nominee for Governor of New Jersey. Forrester was defeated by his two Democratic opponents, Frank Lautenberg and then-U.S. Senator Jon Corzine,...
, who had been New Jersey's Republican nominee for United States Senate in 2002. Forrester's considerable wealth enabled him to outspend Schundler during the campaign by about 6-1. The results were:
- Forrester: 35%
- Schundler: 31%
- Morris CountyMorris County, New JerseyMorris County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about west of New York City. According to the United States 2010 Census, the population was 492,276. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Morristown....
FreeholderBoard of Chosen FreeholdersIn New Jersey, the Boards of Chosen Freeholders are the county legislatures in each of that state's 21 counties.- Origin :New Jersey's system of naming county legislators "freeholders" is unique in the United States...
John J. MurphyJohn J. MurphyJohn J. Murphy is an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey., he is currently in his third term on the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders. He served two terms as Freeholder Director and is currently liaison to the Department of Administration and Finance and the Department of...
: 11% - BogotaBogota, New JerseyAs of the 2010 Census, Bogota had a population of 8,187. The median age was 38.6. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 61.0% White, 9.4% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 9.8% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, 14.8% some other race and 4.1% reporting...
Mayor Steve LoneganSteve LoneganSteven M. Lonegan was mayor of Bogota, New Jersey from 1995–2007 and a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of New Jersey in 2005 and 2009. He is the Director of the New Jersey chapter of Americans for Prosperity....
: 8% - Washington Township Councilman Bob SchroederBob SchroederRobert 'Bob' Schroeder is an American Republican Party politician who was elected to serve in the New Jersey General Assembly in 2009. Schroeder, who has spent nearly two decades serving as a Washington Township Councilman, replaced retiring incumbent Assemblyman John E. Rooney, on January 12, 2010...
: 6% - AssemblymanNew Jersey General AssemblyThe New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...
Paul DiGaetanoPaul DiGaetanoPaul DiGaetano served in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 36th legislative district from 1992 – 2006 and from 1986 – 1987. DiGaetano also served as a member of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission, the Legislative Service Commission and the New Jersey Commission on...
: 6% - Former Bergen CountyBergen County, New JerseyBergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
Freeholder Todd CaliguireTodd CaliguireTodd Caliguire is an American Republican Party politician in New Jersey. He is a former county freeholder and candidate for Governor of New Jersey. Caliguire is married to Laurie Gayle Stephenson, a professional actress who has appeared in several Broadway productions including the lead role in...
: 3%
Schundler carried Union
Union County, New Jersey
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 536,499. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Elizabeth. Union County ranks 93rd among the highest-income counties in the United States. It also ranks 74th in...
, Hudson, Hunterdon and Somerset counties. He had the county line in Somerset and Hudson and shared it with Forrester in Hunterdon. Forrester held the county line in Union County, which was the only county where he had the line but still lost in the primary.
2009 Jersey City mayoral campaign
On August 14, 2008 Schundler confirmed in a news interview his intent to run for the office of Mayor of Jersey City in the 2009 electionJersey City mayoral election, 2009
The 2009 Jersey City mayoral election occurred on May 12, 2009. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Jerramiah Healy won re-election. Former Mayor Bret Schundler was going to run for the Republican Party, but dropped out in January 2009 for financial reasons. Healy needed a 51% vote to hold off a second round...
. Schundler stated that his formal announcement would happen after the 2008 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
. He would have faced Mayor Jerramiah Healy
Jerramiah Healy
Jerramiah T. Healy is the current mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey. He ran for the unexpired term of the late Glenn D. Cunningham and was elected in November 2004. In the special election, he defeated Acting Mayor L. Harvey Smith...
, former Assemblyman Louis Manzo
Louis Manzo
Louis Manzo is an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2004 to 2008, where he represented the 31st legislative district.-Biography:...
and community activist Dan Levin for the mayor's office. State Sen. Sandra Bolden Cunningham
Sandra Bolden Cunningham
Sandra Bolden Cunningham is an American Democratic Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 2007, where she represents the 31st Legislative District. She was sworn into office on November 8, 2007...
, the widow of Schundler's successor as mayor, was considering a race for mayor. Councilman Steven Fulop
Steven Fulop
Steven Fulop is the Ward E Councilman in Jersey City, New Jersey.-City Council Election:In May 2005, Fulop was an upset winner against an incumbent councilman in Jersey City, NJ....
announced that he would not run for mayor in 2009. On January 12, 2009, Bret Schundler dropped his bid for mayor citing financial difficulties due in part to the ongoing financial meltdown on Wall Street.
Commissioner of Education
On January 13, 2010, Governor-Elect Chris Christie announced that Schundler was his nominee to serve as New Jersey Commissioner of EducationNew Jersey Department of Education
The New Jersey Department of Education administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered in Trenton.The Department is responsible for ensuring that...
. On March 11, the New Jersey Senate
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
approved his nomination by a vote of 35-2. On August 27, 2010, he was dismissed by Governor Christie after an error on a $400 million Race to the Top
Race to the Top
Race to the Top, abbreviated R2T, RTTT or RTT, is a $4.35 billion United States Department of Education competition designed to spur innovation and reforms in state and local district K-12 education...
education grant may have contributed to New Jersey narrowly missing out on the government funding.
Other activities and family
Schundler was a Professor of Public Policy at The King's College, a Christian/ liberal arts college located in the Empire State Building. On January 20, 2009, he was named COO of the college. The King's College is accredited in New York, and by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.Until recently, Schundler was also Managing Partner of People Power America, LLC, which licenses TeamVolunteer, an online utility that helps political campaigns and non-profit organizations coordinate phone banks.
Schundler and his wife, Lynn, have two children, a daughter named Shaylin and a son named Hans Otto III. They live in Jersey City.