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 has been the assistant majority leader in the Senate since 2016. 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 of 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". With the endorsement of George Norcross, Beach ran unopposed in the convention. 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. 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. He has served as Assistant Majority Leader since 2014.

Committees Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are: State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation (as chair)

District 6 Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. Representatives from the 6th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are: Senator James Beach (D) Assemblyman Louis Greenwald (D) Assemblywoman Pamela Rosen Lampitt (D)

Personal life Beach had worked as an educator and football coach at schools including both St. Joseph's High School and Eastside 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.