Governor of New Jersey
The
Governor of New Jersey is the
chief executive of the
U.S. state of
New Jersey. The governor is directly elected by the voters to become the political and ceremonial head of the
sovereign state. The governor performs the
executive functions of the state, and is not directly subordinate to the federal authorities. The governor assumes additional roles, such as being the
Commander-in-Chief of the
New Jersey National Guard forces (when they are not federalized).
The Governor of New Jersey is considered one of the most powerful governorships in the nation
[Corzine for Governor - A Prouder New Jersey, accessed March 13, 2006], as it is currently the only state-wide (non-federal) elected office in the state. Thus, unlike many other states that have elections for some
Cabinet-level positions, under the
New Jersey State Constitution the governor appoints all of them.
The Executive Mansion and ceremonial residence of the governor is
Drumthwacket, located in
Princeton, New Jersey. Some governors have chosen to either live in the mansion part-time or in their own homes.
The current Governor is
Jon Corzine. His term began on
January 17,
2006 and continues until
January 19,
2010.
On Election Day,
November 8,
2005, the voters passed an amendment to the
New Jersey State Constitution that creates the position of
Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey, effective with the 2009 elections. The amendment also provides that in the event of a permanent vacancy in the office of Governor before the first Lieutenant Governor takes office in 2010, the President of the
New Jersey Senate would become Governor and would vacate his or her Senate seat. Should the offices of Governor and President of the Senate be simultaneously vacant (or should the President of the Senate decline to become Governor), the Speaker of the
New Jersey General Assembly, would become Governor following a similar procedure.
Before this amendment was passed, an acting governor was even more powerful than an elected governor, as he simultaneously served as
president of the New Jersey Senate, thus having a major hand in one half of the
legislative process and
being the executive process. With the passage of the amendment, Governor
Richard Codey became the last Acting Governor to have such power.
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List of Governors of New Jersey
