Eugene J. Bedell

Eugene "Gene" J. Bedell (May 13, 1928 – January 4, 2016) was an American union organizer and Democratic Party politician who represented parts of Monmouth County, New Jersey in the New Jersey legislature from 1972 to 1982. In the legislature, he was a sponsor of state workers' compensation legislation and regulations on lobbying and campaign finance.

He served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1972 to 1974 from District 5B and in the New Jersey Senate from the 12th district from 1974 to 1982.

Early life and education Eugene J. Bedell was born on May 13, 1928 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. His parents were Eugene and Margaret Bedell.

Bedell moved to Keansburg, New Jersey as a teenager. He served in the United States Army Medical Corps during World War II. He graduated in 1946 from Leonardo High School and attended Monmouth University (then Monmouth College) on the G.I. Bill. As a young man, Bedell play semiprofessional American football for the Leonardo Field Club and the Asbury Park Yellow Jackets. During his term in office, Monmouth completed the initial phases of Brookdale Community College and the construction of the eastern branch of the Monmouth County Library. He was the first Democratic candidate to defeat an incumbent Republican assemblyman in fifty years. As an assemblyman, Bedell led opposition to proposals for a state income tax.

New Jersey Senate In 1973, Bedell was elected to the New Jersey Senate as part of the Democratic wave in the wake of the Watergate scandal. He unseated incumbent senator Joseph Azzolina in the 12th district, which included Monroe, Old Bridge, and Middletown. He was re-elected in 1977 by a record margin. He served as the chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Industry, and Professions, where he was an architect of the state's workers' compensation legislation.

In 1975, Bedell led hearings into state hiring practices which subpoenaed state employees who claimed that they had been bypassed for promotion.

In 1980, Bedell supported Ted Kennedy over incumbent Jimmy Carter in the New Jersey presidential primary.

In 1981, Bedell proposed a legislative investigation into the Beachview Rest Home fire, which killed at least 20 persons after the New Jersey Department of Health waived standard sprinkler requirements, although Bedell suggested sprinklers would not have been "that useful in a situation like this," since "most of the victims usually die from smoke."

In 1981, Bedell sponsored laws to require lobbyists to file annual financial reports with the Election Law Enforcement Commission, while continuing to require lobbyists to register and file quarterly reports with the office of the Attorney General. The laws also clarified that lobbyists' expenses would be reportable even if not used "expressly for" lobbying.

Following redistricting which removed Monroe Township from his district, Bedell was defeated for re-election in 1981 by Republican investment banker and former Highway Authority director John P. Gallagher.

Later career In 1989, he was appointed to fill a Democratic vacancy on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders. He later served as borough manager of Keansburg and city administrator of Long Branch and Seaside Park in Ocean County.

He died on January 4, 2016, at age 87 in his home in Keansburg.