James Wallwork

James Harold Wallwork (September 17, 1930 – October 23, 2024) was an American Republican Party politician who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature and twice sought the Republican nomination for Governor.

Early life and military career Wallwork was born September 17, 1930, in East Orange, New Jersey, or Belleville, He was 13th in his class of 525. He attended the General Staff War College, where he finished first in his class of 400, and the Army Engineering School. In 1965, he lost his bid for re-election to a second term, the casualty of Democratic Governor Richard J. Hughes's landslide re-election.

State Senate Wallwork ran for the New Jersey Senate in 1967. He won a hotly contested primary on a Reform Republican slate, finishing first in a field of thirteen candidates for six Senate seats elected at-Large in Essex County. The General Election turned out to be a strong environment for Republicans; it was the mid-term election of Governor Richard J. Hughes's second term. Republicans won all six Senate seats, with Wallwork running fourth. The four Democratic Senators elected in 1965 -- Nicholas Fernicola, John J. Giblin, Maclyn Goldman and Hutchins Inge—were all defeated.

With Republicans taking control of the Legislature in 1967, Wallwork was initially slated to serve as the new Majority Leader. But the Essex County Republican Chairman, William Yeomans, refused to support him, a move that essentially blackballed Wallwork from the leadership post. Instead, Frank X. McDermott. a freshman Senator from Union County, became Majority Leader.

1967 Republican State Senate primary results Winner Votes Loser Votes James Wallwork 21,156 Frederic Remington 19,087 Gerardo Del Tufo 19,889 Jack J. Soriano 18,668 Alexander Matturri 19,723 Irwin I. Kimmelman 18,525 David W. Dowd 19,324 Frank L. Bate 18,225 Michael Giuliano 19,245 J. Harry Smith 17,659 Milton Waldor 19,243 Thomas E. Boyle 35,517 C. Marion Scipio 712

1967 Essex County state senate general election results

Winner Party Votes Loser Party Votes Michael Giuliano Republican 122,354 Nicholas Fernicola Democrat 91,812 Gerado Del Tufo Republican 119,956 John J. Giblin Democrat 89,297 Alexander Matturri Republican 119,152 Maclyn Goldman Democrat 88,796 James Wallwork Republican 118,834David Mandelbaum Democrat 85,131 Milton Waldor Republican 117,280 Victor Addonizio Democrat 83,587 David W. Dowd Republican 115,568 Hutchins Inge Democrat 83,543

In 1971, redistricting reduced the number of Essex County Senate seats from six to five, all elected At-Large countywide. Wallwork finished third in the General Election, a race where Democrats won three of the five Senate seats. He finished more than 6,000 votes ahead of Democrat Martin Greenberg.

1971 Essex County state senate general election results

Winner Party Votes Loser Party Votes Michael Giuliano Republican 92,166 Milton Waldor Republican84,736 Ralph DeRose Democrat 91,380 Martin L. Greenberg Democrat 82,291 James Wallwork Republican 88,632 Matthew G. Carter Republican 77,418 Frank J. Dodd Democrat 86,041Henry W. Smolen Democrat 76,190 Wynona Lipman Democrat 85,644 Frederic Remington Republican 73,663 John J. Giblin Essex Bi-Partisan21,688 John F. Monica Essex Bi-Partisan21,072 Sylvester L. Casta Essex Bi-Partisan19,015 Joseph J. Bradley Essex Bi-Partisan16,348 Richard P. Weitzman Essex Bi-Partisan15,733 Joseph A. Santiago Unity-Victory-Progress5,483

Another round of redistricting came in 1973 when the 25th Legislative District was created. For the first time, the state was divided into 40 legislative districts, each with one Senator and two Assemblymen. His running mate was Assemblyman, later Governor, Thomas Kean. In a Democratic landslide year, Wallwork defeated Roseland Councilman Joel Wasserman by 4,774 votes, 30,552 (54.24%) to 25,778 (45.76%).

He was re-elected in 1977 against Democrat Lewis J. Paper, a former U.S. Senate aide and White House intern. Wallwork won by 12,421 votes, 35,517 (60.60%) to 23,096 (39.40%).

Wallwork served as the Senate Minority Whip in 1978 and 1979, and as the Assistant Minority Leader in 1980 and 1981.

Candidate for Governor of New Jersey Wallwork sought the Republican nomination for Governor of New Jersey in 1981, but finished fourth in the Republican primary with 16% of the vote. He lost to Kean, who won the general election. During the campaign, Wallwork was reported to be the subject of an attempted assassination at a Veterans Administration hospital by a gunman disguised as a surgeon. The incident was determined by the FBI to be a hoax. In an unrelated indictment, federal prosecutors stated that the hospital chief of security had staged the attempt.

Results of the 1981 Republican primary for Governor of New Jersey

Thomas Kean Former Assembly Speaker 122,512 31% Pat Kramer Former Mayor of Paterson 83,565 21% Bo Sullivan Businessman 67,651 17% James Wallwork State Senator 61,816 16% Barry T. Parker State Senator 26,040 7% Anthony Imperiale State Assemblyman 18,452 5% John K. Rafferty Mayor of Hamilton 12,837 3% Richard McGlynn Former Superior Court Judge 5,486 1%Source:

On March 2, 1993, Wallwork made a late and surprising entrance into the 1993 Republican gubernatorial primary. The two leading candidates, both moderates, former New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Christine Todd Whitman and former New Jersey Attorney General W. Cary Edwards, were being hammered after admitting that they had hired undocumented aliens as domestic workers in their homes. his was an issue in early 1993, after President Clinton's first two nominees for U.S. Attorney General, Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood, were forced to withdraw their nominations after admitting that they hired undocumented aliens as nannies. Wallwork billed himself as a conservative businessman, and pledged to "repeal every dime" of Governor Jim Florio's $2.8 billion tax increase.

Wallwork was hampered by his late start. He admitted at his announcement that his campaign had just two staffers and that he had not yet raised enough to air his first television commercial. "He's just not that well known. He's deficient in name recognition, political base, support among county leadership, and I honestly don't know whether he can become a major candidate," Cliff Zukin, a professor of political science at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University told The New York Times.

Results of the 1993 Republican primary for Governor of New Jersey

Christine Todd Whitman Former President of the Board of Public Utilities 159,765 40% W. Cary Edwards Former Attorney General 131,587 33% James Wallwork Former State Senator 96,034 24% Charles Hoffman Former State Senator 6,695 2% J. Patrick Gilligan Former State Senator 5,733 1%Source:

Waterfront Commissioner Governor Christine Todd Whitman appointed Wallwork to serve as the Commissioner for New Jersey on the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor.

Personal life and death In 1965, Wallwork married Lark Lataner of Orange, New Jersey. They had one daughter, Lyric Wallwork Winik, a book and magazine writer. His son-in-law is historian Jay Winik, the author of the New York Times #1 bestseller April 1865 (2001). Following his retirement from his business, he lived in Far Hills, New Jersey before relocating to Bethesda, Maryland.

Wallwork died in Bethesda on October 23, 2024, at the age of 94.

Electoral history Office Year Republican Votes Democrat Votes State Assembly 1963 James H. Wallwork 109,278 John J. Miller, Jr. 107,093 State Assembly 1965 James H. Wallwork 114,709 David Mandelbaum 140,712 State Senate 1967 James H. Wallwork 118,834 David Mandelbaum 85,131 State Senate 1971 James H. Wallwork 88,632 Martin L. Greenberg 82,291 State Senate 1973 James H. Wallwork 30,552 Joel Wasserman 25,778 State Senate 1977 James H. Wallwork 35,517 Lewis J. Paper 23,096