Maureen Ogden
Encyclopedia
Maureen B. Ogden is an American Republican Party politician who served seven terms in the New Jersey General Assembly
, from 1982 to 1996. She represented the 22nd Legislative District
for five terms until 1992 and then was shifted to the 21st Legislative District
in redistricting following the 1990 United States Census where she served two terms of office.
in 1950 and earned a Master of Arts from Columbia University
in Public Law and Government in 1963. Ogden served as deputy mayor of Millburn, New Jersey
from 1976 to 1979 and was its mayor from 1979 to 1981.
Ogden was elected to the General Assembly to represent the 22nd District in 1981 with running mate Bob Franks
and the two were re-elected to four terms of office together in 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1989. She was redistricted to the 21st District following the results of the 1990 Census, and was elected to two terms there with running mate Monroe Jay Lustbader
. She served in the Assembly as Assistant Minority Whip from 1982 to 1985. During her tenure in the Assembly, she served as Chair of the Committee on Conservation, Energy and Natural Resources, Chair of the Committee on Arts, Tourism, and Cultural Affairs, as Vice Chair of the Financial Institutions Committee and the Drug Abuse Committee, and as a member of the Health Committee, the Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and on the State Government Committee.
In 1992, Ogden co-sponsored a bill with Robert C. Shinn, Jr. that would make New Jersey the first state in the nation to require its entire fleet of motor vehicles to use remanufactured or retread
tires, which Ogden cited as a way to keep tires out of the waste stream.
Legislation supported by Ogden in 1994 created a $350 million fund that would be used to preserve open space, with the money going to acquire open space and for farmland and historic preservation. That same year, Ogden was chief sponsor of a bill in the General Assembly that would give adoptees the opportunity to get access to their original birth certificates. Ogden's original opinion had been to limit such access out of fear that adoptive parents would lose their children if they found out that they had been adopted, but changed her mind after realizing "that the basic rights of the little babies were not being considered".
As chair of the Governor's Council on New Jersey Outdoors in 1998, Ogden targeted raising $1 billion over the subsequent decade to be used to preserve 1 million acres (4,046.9 km²) of farmland and open space.
New Jersey General Assembly
The 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...
, from 1982 to 1996. She represented the 22nd Legislative District
22nd Legislative District (New Jersey)
New Jersey's 22nd Legislative District is one of 40 in the state, covering the Middlesex County municipality of Dunellen Borough and Middlesex Borough, the Somerset County localities of Green Brook Township and North Plainfield Borough, and the Union County municipalities of Clark Township,...
for five terms until 1992 and then was shifted to the 21st Legislative District
21st Legislative District (New Jersey)
New Jersey's 21st Legislative District is one of 40 in the state, covering the Essex County municipality of Millburn Township, the Morris County communities of Chatham Township, Harding Township, Long Hill Township and Madison Borough, the Somerset County localities of Warren Township and Watchung...
in redistricting following the 1990 United States Census where she served two terms of office.
Biography
Born in 1928, Ogden graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith CollegeSmith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
in 1950 and earned a Master of Arts from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in Public Law and Government in 1963. Ogden served as deputy mayor of Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 20,149.Millburn Township was created as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 20, 1857, from portions of Springfield Township.Millburn also...
from 1976 to 1979 and was its mayor from 1979 to 1981.
Ogden was elected to the General Assembly to represent the 22nd District in 1981 with running mate Bob Franks
Bob Franks
Robert Douglas "Bob" Franks was a Republican politician. He was a former U.S. Representative from New Jersey.-Biography:...
and the two were re-elected to four terms of office together in 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1989. She was redistricted to the 21st District following the results of the 1990 Census, and was elected to two terms there with running mate Monroe Jay Lustbader
Monroe Jay Lustbader
Monroe Jay Lustbader was an American Republican Party politician who was elected to three terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, serving in office from 1992 until his death, where he represented the 21st Legislative District....
. She served in the Assembly as Assistant Minority Whip from 1982 to 1985. During her tenure in the Assembly, she served as Chair of the Committee on Conservation, Energy and Natural Resources, Chair of the Committee on Arts, Tourism, and Cultural Affairs, as Vice Chair of the Financial Institutions Committee and the Drug Abuse Committee, and as a member of the Health Committee, the Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and on the State Government Committee.
In 1992, Ogden co-sponsored a bill with Robert C. Shinn, Jr. that would make New Jersey the first state in the nation to require its entire fleet of motor vehicles to use remanufactured or retread
Retread
A retread, or "recap," is a previously worn tire which has gone through a remanufacturing process designed to extend its useful service life.Retreading starts with a safety inspection of the tire. The old tread is then buffed away, and a new rubber tread is applied to the bare "casing" using...
tires, which Ogden cited as a way to keep tires out of the waste stream.
Legislation supported by Ogden in 1994 created a $350 million fund that would be used to preserve open space, with the money going to acquire open space and for farmland and historic preservation. That same year, Ogden was chief sponsor of a bill in the General Assembly that would give adoptees the opportunity to get access to their original birth certificates. Ogden's original opinion had been to limit such access out of fear that adoptive parents would lose their children if they found out that they had been adopted, but changed her mind after realizing "that the basic rights of the little babies were not being considered".
As chair of the Governor's Council on New Jersey Outdoors in 1998, Ogden targeted raising $1 billion over the subsequent decade to be used to preserve 1 million acres (4,046.9 km²) of farmland and open space.