Kim Guadagno
Encyclopedia
Kim Guadagno is the first Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey
Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey
The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is a position that has existed since January 2010, following conjoint election with the Governor of New Jersey. The position was created as the result of a Constitutional amendment to the New Jersey State Constitution passed by the voters on November 8, 2005...

, having won the 2009 election
New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2009
The New Jersey gubernatorial election of 2009 took place on November 3, 2009. Democratic Governor Jon Corzine was running for a second term and was being challenged by Republican Chris Christie, Independent Christopher Daggett and nine others, in addition to several write-in candidates...

 as the running mate of Governor Chris Christie. She is also concurrently the Secretary of State of New Jersey
Secretary of State of New Jersey
The Secretary of State of New Jersey is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as well as volunteerism and community service projects within the state....

.

Early life

Born as Kimberly McFadden in Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population decreased by 0.5% to 68,406. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two...

. she earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree from Ursinus College
Ursinus College
Ursinus College is a liberal arts college in Collegeville, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.-History:1867Members of the German Reformed Church begin plans to establish a college where "young men could be liberally educated under the benign influence of Christianity." These founders were hoping to...

 in 1980 She was awarded her degree in law in 1983 from the American University's Washington College of Law
Washington College of Law
American University Washington College of Law is the law school of American University. It is located on Massachusetts Avenue in the Spring Valley neighborhood of northwest Washington. WCL is ranked 50th among law schools by US News and World Report...

.

Career

Kim Guadagno is a former Assistant United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...

 for the Eastern District of New York and the District of New Jersey. She was also Assistant New Jersey Attorney General
New Jersey Attorney General
The Attorney General of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state. The office is appointed by the Governor of New Jersey and term limited...

. Serving as deputy chief of the U.S. Attorney's office's corruption unit from 1994-98, Guadagno was responsible for the corruption prosecutions of former Essex County
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...

 Executive Thomas D'Alessio (a Democrat) and of Somerset County
Somerset County, New Jersey
Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 2010, the population was 323,444. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville....

 Prosecutor Nicholas Bissell (a Republican). In a case involving an executive of lottery contractor GTECH Corporation
GTECH Corporation
GTECH Corporation, a company based in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Lottomatica, S.p.A., on August 29, 2006.-Holdings:...

, the U.S. Attorney's Office was criticized by the judge overseeing the case for the disclosure of grand jury testimony in a sentencing report; the issue was never referred for further ethical or legal investigation.

She served as deputy director from 1998 to 2001 in the Division of Criminal Justice, where she supervised prosecutions of a $40 million financial fraud and of David L. Smith, creator of the "Melissa
Melissa (computer worm)
The Melissa virus, also known as "Mailissa", "Simpsons", "Kwyjibo", or "Kwejeebo", is a mass-mailing macro virus. As it is not a standalone program, it is not a worm.-History:...

" computer worm
Computer worm
A computer worm is a self-replicating malware computer program, which uses a computer network to send copies of itself to other nodes and it may do so without any user intervention. This is due to security shortcomings on the target computer. Unlike a computer virus, it does not need to attach...

. She taught legal research and writing
Legal writing
Legal writing is a type of technical writing used by lawyers, judges, legislators, and others in law to express legal analysis and legal rights and duties.- Authority :...

 at Rutgers School of Law—Newark
Rutgers School of Law—Newark
Rutgers School of Law–Newark is the oldest of three law schools in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located at the S.I. Newhouse Center for Law and Justice, at 123 Washington Street, in downtown Newark...

 from 2003 until Nov. 2009 and in 2005 she was elected to Monmouth Beach's governing body as one of its three Walsh Act
Walsh Act (New Jersey)
The Walsh Act is legislation in the U.S. state of New Jersey that permits municipalities to adopt a non-partisan commission form of government. The legislation was signed by Governor of New Jersey Woodrow Wilson on April 25, 1911. The commissions in Walsh Act municipalities are composed of either...

 commissioners.

Elected the 75th sheriff of Monmouth County
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...

 in 2007, succeeding Joseph Oxley, she became the first woman to serve in the post. As sheriff, she was responsible for managing a staff of nearly 700 and a $65 million budget that included operation of a 1,328-bed maximum security prison. The department was one of 11 accepted nationwide into the federal program established under Immigration and Nationality Act Section 287(g)
Immigration and Nationality Act Section 287(g)
Immigration and Nationality Act Section 287, codified at , was added to the INA by section 133 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act...

 which allowed corrections officers to check the immigration status of prisoners before they were released.

On July 20, 2009, Republican gubernatorial nominee Christopher J. "Chris" Christie announced that Guadagno was his choice as running mate, in the first New Jersey election to include voting for a lieutenant governor. Guadagno was said to have been selected over a number of other Republican women, including State Senator
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...

 Diane Allen and Bergen County
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...

 Clerk Kathleen Donovan
Kathleen Donovan
Kathleen A. Donovan is an American Republican Party politician, who is currently serving her first term as County Executive of Bergen County, New Jersey. She previously served as County Clerk for four terms, one term in the New Jersey General Assembly...

. Guadagno was not a well known political figure statewide in October of 2009. According Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university founded as a junior college in 1942. It now has several campuses located in New Jersey, Canada, and the United Kingdom.-Description:...

's PublicMind Poll, Guadagno's name recognition in New Jersey was low with only 15% of voters reporting that they were aware of her. Out of the of New Jersey voters that knew of Guadagno, 4% reported having a "very favorable" or "somewhat favorable" opinion while 3% reported that they had a "very unfavorable" or "somewhat unfavorable" opinion of the prospective Lieutenant Governor . Christie and Guadagno defeated Jon Corzine
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and of MF Global, and a one time American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year U.S. Senate term representing New Jersey before being elected Governor...

 and Loretta Weinberg
Loretta Weinberg
Loretta Weinberg is an American Democratic Party politician, who has served as a member of the New Jersey Senate since 2005, where she represents the 37th Legislative District...

 on November 3, 2009.

Christie announced that as lieutenant governor, Guadagno would also serve as New Jersey's Secretary of State
Secretary of State of New Jersey
The Secretary of State of New Jersey is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as well as volunteerism and community service projects within the state....

, along with overseeing economic development efforts and the streamlining of government regulations. She was sworn in on January 19, 2010.

Most recently, Guadagno gave the commencement speech to the 2011 graduating class at her alma mater, Ursinus College. In addition to being a very successful member of the Ursinus family, she also proved to be a fairly comedic one. She wore a pink cap to give the graduates one more reason to remember the speech and she pointed out the differences between Ursinus in 1980 and Ursinus today; then, there were no co-ed dorms and they still employed the "one foot must be on the ground" rule.

Issues and positions

Guadagno supports a pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....

 position on abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

, but would like to see fewer women choose the option. However, Christie expressed a pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...

 stance on abortion during the primary campaign.

Personal life

Guadagno moved to New Jersey in 1991 and has been a resident of Monmouth Beach
Monmouth Beach, New Jersey
Monmouth Beach is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 3,279....

 since marrying husband Michael Guadagno in 1991. Her husband is a New Jersey Superior Court
New Jersey Superior Court
The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with state-wide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The Superior Court has three divisions: the Appellate Division is essentially an intermediate appellate court while the Law and Chancery Divisions function as trial courts...

 judge assigned to the Vicinage of Monmouth having been appointed in 2005 by then-Governor Richard Codey
Richard Codey
Richard James Codey is an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 53rd Governor of New Jersey from November 2004 to January 2006. He has served in the New Jersey Senate since 1981 and served as the President of the Senate from 2002 to January 2010. He represents the 27th Legislative...

. The Guadagnos have three children.

Sources


External links

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