Editing Richard Codey (section)

== Governor of New Jersey ==

=== 2002 ===
Following Governor [[Christine Todd Whitman]]'s resignation in 2001 to become head of the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]], Codey was one of three different senate presidents (along with [[Donald DiFrancesco]] and [[John O. Bennett]], as well as Attorney General [[John Farmer Jr.|John Farmer]]) to serve as acting governor within the one-year period between Whitman's resignation and [[Jim McGreevey]]'s inauguration in January 2002. DiFrancesco served as acting governor for all but the last week of this period, until his term as senate president ended. As attorney general, Farmer then served as acting governor for ninety minutes, until the election of Bennett and Codey as co-presidents of the senate. The latter two then divided the last week of the term between them, with Codey serving for three days, from January 12, 2002, to January 15, 2002, leading to a situation in which the state had five different people serving as governor during a period of eight days (DiFrancesco, Farmer, Bennett, Codey, and McGreevey).<ref>Staff. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AC&p_theme=ac&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F74D0C3B5B93351&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "N.J.'S LINE OF SUCCESSION / A SIMPLE FIX"], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', November 11, 2002. accessed June 22, 2012. "Thanks to an unusual set of circumstances and a flaw in the state constitution, New Jersey had five different governors over eight days at the beginning of the year. Even for New Jersey, this was pretty bizarre."</ref>

=== 2004 to 2006 ===
Codey became acting governor again with the resignation of [[Jim McGreevey]] on November 15, 2004.<ref name=codeypromotion>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/16/nyregion/16governor.html|title=Transition Ends: A Quiet Goodbye for McGreevey|author=Mansnerus, Laura|author2=Beston, Josh|date=November 16, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528051650/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/16/nyregion/16governor.html|archive-date=May 28, 2015|work=The New York Times}}</ref> According to the [[New Jersey State Constitution]] at the time, in the event of a vacancy in the governor's office, the President of the State Senate took on the additional position of acting governor until the next gubernatorial election.

On June 6, 2005, Codey announced revised nutrition guidelines for all state funded public and private schools, eliminating soda, candy, and other products with sugar as the leading ingredient from cafeteria offerings. The law became effective on September 1, 2007.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Holl |first=John |date=7 June 2005 |title=School Policy in New Jersey to Take Junk Off Lunch Tray |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/07/nyregion/school-policy-in-new-jersey-to-take-junk-off-lunch-tray.html |access-date=11 November 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

With the passage on November 8, 2005, of a [[constitutional amendment]] creating the position of [[Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey|lieutenant governor]] to take effect with the 2009 election, Codey became the last person to serve simultaneously as governor and senate president.<ref>{{cite news |last=Benson |first=Josh |date=October 25, 2005 |title=New Jersey, Used to Having Governors Leave Early, Considers Need for a Lieutenant |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/25/nyregion/metrocampaigns/new-jersey-used-to-having-governors-leave-early.html |work=The New York Times |accessdate=February 8, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Neill |first1=James M. |last2=Stile |first2=Charles |date=August 14, 2023 |title=Sen. Richard Codey, NJ's longest-serving legislator and a former governor, is retiring |url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/politics/2023/08/14/richard-codey-nj-longest-serving-legislator-retiring-former-governor/70588871007/ |work=[[NorthJersey.com]] |accessdate=February 8, 2024}}</ref>
 
On January 9, 2006, Codey became governor (no longer [[acting governor]]) as a result of his signing legislation that provided that a person who serves as acting governor for a continuous period of at least 180 days will be "Governor of the State of New Jersey" for official and historical purposes. This law was made retroactive to 2001, covering both Codey's service after McGreevey's resignation and the service of [[Donald DiFrancesco]] following the resignation of Governor [[Christine Todd Whitman]] in 2001. This made DiFrancesco New Jersey's 51st governor and Codey the 53rd.<ref>Jones, Richard Lezin. [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/22/nyregion/worth-noting-how-many-governors-does-it-take.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/22/nyregion/worth-noting-how-many-governors-does-it-take.html"Worth Noting; How Many Governors Does It Take?"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 22, 2006. Accessed January 24, 2022.</ref>

Codey appointed Mary Jane Cooper to be New Jersey's first-ever Inspector General, a position created to root out waste and mismanagement in government. Codey added $7 million in new funding to agencies devoted to public accountability, per the recommendations that resulted from an audit of state ethics codes that he commissioned. In March 2005, Codey cracked down on [[pay to play]] when he signed a law banning campaign contributions by businesses holding state contracts in several circumstances.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Codey Signs Pay-To-Play Ban into Law|publisher=Office of the [[Governor of New Jersey]]|date=March 22, 2005|url=http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/governor/njnewsline/view_article.pl?id=2427}}</ref>

As governor, Codey championed a bill to ban smoking from indoor spaces in the state, more money for stem cell research, increased funding for mental health, and sports.  Codey created a task force to recommend ways to end steroid abuse in high school and college sports in the state. The task force established drug testing for high school athletes on teams that play in the championships, with the state paying for the drug testing program.<ref>Editorial. [http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/87635027_Fighting_steroid_abuse.html "The Record: Fighting steroid abuse"], ''[[The Record (Bergen County)|The Record]]'', March 15, 2010. Accessed June 22, 2012. "Codey's bill would require the state Department of Education and the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association to randomly test athletes taking part in championship tournaments."</ref> He also successfully negotiated for [[MetLife Stadium]], which was constructed jointly by the [[New York Giants]] and [[New York Jets]].<ref>Belson, Ken. [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/sports/football/11taxes.html "In East Rutherford, N.J., New Football Stadium, but at Whose Cost?"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 10, 2009. Accessed June 24, 2012. "That deal was brokered by Richard J. Codey, the president of the State Senate, who was then acting governor. The agreement broke a logjam among critics on the authority's board who thought the teams were getting a sweetheart deal."</ref>

In December 2005, Codey announced he was not accepting a new state slogan recommended by the State Commerce Department, following a study by a marketing consultant, which was paid for by the state.  He said he felt the slogan "We'll win you over" made the state seem desperate.<ref>[[Mike Kelly (journalist)|Kelly, Mike]]. [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyNjMmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY4MDY0MzEmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk5 "A sitcom: Slogan's zeroes"]. ''[[The Record (Bergen County)|The Record]]'', November 1, 2005, accessed April 15, 2007, "Acting Governor Codey could barely contain his disappointment with the proposed "We'll win you over" slogan. Too negative, he complained as he ordered a rewrite. It seems the line caused Codey to recall a desperate moment from his bachelor days, when he asked a hard-to-get woman for a date. She said no, but Codey pleaded for just one date so he could win her over."</ref> Governor Codey openly solicited slogan suggestions from citizens and then choose five finalists, which he opened to a vote from the public. Days prior to leaving the governor's office, Codey announced the winner: "New Jersey: Come See for Yourself".<ref>[http://www.nj.gov/cgi-bin/governor/njnewsline/view_article.pl?id=2886 Codey Announces Winning State Tourism Slogan], press release dated January 12, 2006, accessed April 15, 2007. "Governor Richard J. Codey today revealed the people's choice for the state's new tourism slogan: 'New Jersey: Come See for Yourself'."</ref>

Shortly before leaving the governor's office, Codey signed the first legislative moratorium on capital punishment enacted by any state in the nation.<ref>via [[Reuters]]. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=x3BPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YQQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3762,2340038&dq=moratorium+on+capital+punishment+codey+new-jersey&hl=en "New Jersey lawmakers approved moratorium on capital punishment"], ''[[Toledo Blade]]'', January 10, 2006. Accessed June 24, 2012.</ref> The moratorium ended with the permanent ban of capital punishment by Codey's successor, Jon Corzine.

Codey served the remainder of McGreevey's unexpired term, remaining governor until January 17, 2006.<ref name="auto"/>

=== Cabinet ===
* [[Virginia Bauer]], Secretary of Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism
* George Hayman, Acting Commissioner of Corrections (as of January 3, 2006)
* [[Donald Bryan]], Acting Commissioner of Banking and Insurance
* Peter Cammarano, Chief of staff to the governor
* [[Bradley Campbell]], Commissioner of Environmental Protection
* Thomas Carver, Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development (until October 2005)
* [[James Davy]], Commissioner of Human Services
* [[Lucille Davy]], Acting Commissioner of Education (from September 2005)
* Paul Fader, Chief Counsel to the governor
* [[Jeanne Fox]], President of the Board of Public Utilities
* Col. Joseph Fuentes, Superintendent of the [[New Jersey State Police|State Police]]
* [[Peter C. Harvey]], State Attorney General
* Dr. Fred Jacobs, Commissioner of Health and Senior Services
* Charles Kuperus, Secretary of Agriculture
* John Lettiere, Commissioner of Transportation
* [[Susan Bass Levin]], Commissioner of Community Affairs (until June 2005)
* William Librera, Commissioner of Education (until September 2005)
* [[John McCormac]], State Treasurer
* [[Charles Richman (commissioner)|Charles Richman]], Acting Commissioner of Community Affairs (from June 2005)
* Major Gen. [[Glenn K. Rieth]], [[Adjutant General]]
* [[A.J. Sabath]], Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development (from October 2005)
* Seema Singh, Ratepayer Advocate
* [[Regena Thomas]], [[Secretary of State of New Jersey]]
* Rolando Torres, Commissioner of Personnel

=== 2007 ===
On April 12, 2007, Codey became Acting Governor of New Jersey when Corzine was incapacitated due to serious injuries suffered in a car accident that day. Codey became acting governor since New Jersey did not have the position of [[Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey|lieutenant governor]] until after the 2009 election.<ref>David Kocieniewski and David W. Chen, [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/nyregion/13corzine.html "New Jersey Governor Is Injured in Car Crash"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 13, 2007.</ref> Corzine resumed his duties as governor on May 7, 2007.

=== Public opinion summary ===
As Codey prepared to leave the governor's office, a January 2006 study showed that 48% of voters said the state was "on the wrong track", while 34% said it was headed in the right direction. However, though voters had a negative view of the direction of state, their view of Gov. Codey was strongly positive. In that same study, 68% of voters who recognized Gov. Codey had a favorable opinion of him and the pollsters noted that the outgoing governor had "an impressive 5:1 ratio of favorable to unfavorable opinion".<ref>Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind, (January 12, 2006).[http://publicmind.fdu.edu/060112/index.html Corzine Has Tough Acts to Follow] (press release)</ref>

The [[Obama administration]] approached Codey in 2009 to consider running for governor in Corzine's place if the incumbent withdrew from his reelection bid, citing polls showing that Codey led Republican [[Chris Christie]]. Corzine remained in the race and [[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2009|lost to Christie]].<ref name="margolin20091104">Margolin, Joshua. "[http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/11/democratic_leaders_nearly_aban.html Gov. Corzine's N.J. re-election bid nearly abandoned as White House concerns grew]" ''The Star-Ledger'', November 4, 2009.</ref>

Even after being out of the governor's office for over five years, Codey continued to make headlines as a prospective candidate for that office. In a FDU PublicMind Poll released September 27, 2011, voters were asked "If you could pick a Democrat to run against [[Chris Christie]] for governor, who would you prefer?" Richard Codey came up as the most adequate candidate at 18% among other well-known Democrats like [[Cory Booker]] and [[Frank Pallone]].<ref>Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind, (September 27, 2011). [http://publicmind.fdu.edu/2011/bounceback/ Christie Approvals Bounce Back] (press release)</ref>