James Beach

James "Jim" Beach (born October 28, 1946) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in the New Jersey Senate since 2009, where he represents the 6th legislative district. He serves in the Senate on the Environment and Labor Committees.[1]

For the music manager, see Jim Beach.
James Beach
Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 6th District
Assumed office
January 3, 2009
Preceded byJohn Adler
Chair of the New Jersey Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee
Assumed office
August 22, 2017
Preceded byJim Whelan
Chair of the New Jersey Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee
In office
January 10, 2012 – January 9, 2018
Succeeded byVin Gopal
Camden County Clerk
In office
January 1, 1996 – January 3, 2009
Preceded byMichael Keating
Succeeded byJoseph Ripa
Member of the Camden County Board of Chosen Freeholders
In office
January 1, 1991 – January 1, 1996
Personal details
Born (1946-10-28) October 28, 1946
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Linda Beach
ResidenceVoorhees Township, New Jersey
Alma materB.A. Midwestern College (Psychology and Physical Education)
M.A. Rowan University (Personnel Services)
ProfessionProperty Damage Specialist, All Risk
WebsiteLegislative website

Early life

Beach has earned a B.S. degree in psychology from Midwestern College and a M.A. degree in personnel services from Rowan University.[1] A resident of Voorhees Township,[2] Beach first entered Camden County politics after responding to a 1990 recruitment ad that county Democrats had posted seeking prospective candidates to burnish the party's image and help retain the Democrats' control on county government. Beach showed up at his interview with his tax bill complaining about his taxes, and was described by Freeholder Jeffrey L. Nash as just what the party was seeking in a candidate, "regular people complaining about their taxes".[3] He was elected to the Camden County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1991, and was named as freeholder director in 1993. Beach was elected as Camden County Clerk in 1995.[3]

New Jersey Senate

He served as county clerk until 2009 until he was appointed to the Senate seat formerly held by John Adler, who had won a seat in the United States House of Representatives.[3] With the endorsement of George Norcross, Beach ran unopposed in the convention.[4] Beach won a November 2009 special election in order to remain in the Senate through the end of Adler's four-year term. Beach saw his salary drop from $153,437 annually as county clerk to $49,000 as state senator, and indicated after his selection to fill the Senate seat that he would seek additional employment to supplement his salary, ensuring that there was no conflict with his position as senator.[3] Beach was soon hired by Camden County College for a part-time job as an advisor, allowing him to collect an annual salary of $10,400 and remain in New Jersey's Public Employee Retirement System, for which county clerks but not state senators are eligible.[5] After critical editorials in The Star-Ledger and the Courier-Post accused Beach of abusing the public pension system, Beach left the Camden County College job.[6] He has served as Assistant Majority Leader since 2014.

Committees
  • Environment [7]
  • Labor
  • Military and Veterans Affairs
  • Joint Committee on Schools
  • Commerce
  • Education
  • State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation

Personal life

Beach had worked as an educator and football coach at schools including both St. Joseph High School (Camden, New Jersey) and Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden and Highland Regional High School in Blackwood, and had been director of vocational education at the Black Horse Pike Regional School District.[3]

District 6

Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 6th District for the 218th New Jersey Legislature are:

Election history

Senate

[8]

New Jersey general election, 2017
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic James Beach 41,376 69.4 6.0
Republican Robert Shapiro 18,249 30.6 6.0
Total votes '59,625' '100.0'
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2013[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James Beach (incumbent) 34,847 63.4
Republican Sudhir Deshmukh 20,080 36.6
Democratic hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James Beach (incumbent) 25,297 62.1
Republican Phil Mitsch 15,415 37.9
Democratic hold
New Jersey State Senate Special elections, 2009[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James Beach (incumbent) 36,582 58.2
Republican Joseph A. Adolf 26,280 41.8
Democratic hold

References
  1. Senator Beach's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed March 16, 2009.
  2. Staff. "Democrats maintain grip on N.J. Assembly", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 4, 2009. Accessed March 17, 2011. "In the Senate, Democrat James Beach - a Voorhees resident who served as Camden County clerk and freeholder - bested Republican Joseph Adolf..."
  3. Burton, Cynthia. "Camden County clerk to fill John Adler's term", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 2, 2008. Accessed March 16, 2009.
  4. Staff. "Norcross picks Beach for Adler Senate seat", Politicker NJ, November 27, 2008. Accessed January 7, 2012.
  5. Editorial. "Another example of the need for pension reform in New Jersey", The Star-Ledger, July 27, 2009. accessed January 7, 2011. "A lot of people talk about the huge deficit in New Jersey's pension fund. But state Sen. Jim Beach is doing something about it.He's making it worse."
  6. Ingle, Bob. "Less sunny now for this Beach", Asbury Park Press, July 31, 2009. Accessed January 7, 2011. "Now, reports the Courier-Post, Beach has resigned. "I think he realized what he was doing was politics as usual and it wouldn't pass the smell test for this election," said Joe Adolf, Beach's Republican foe in the race for the 6th District Senate seat. Maybe the public is finally getting tired of double-dippers, even in Camden County."
  7. "Senator James Beach (D)". njleg.state.nj. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  8. "2017-official-general-election-results-state-senate.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  9. "Official List Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/05/2015 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 4, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  10. Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2011 General Election, New Jersey Department of State, December 14, 2011. Accessed January 7, 2012.
  11. Archived 2011-08-26 at the Wayback Machine "New Jersey Senate, (retrieved on 12/12/11).
New Jersey Senate
Preceded by
John Adler		 Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 6th District
January 3, 2009–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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