Talk:James J. Kennedy

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Biography: Politics and Government

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James Kennedy (the former Rahway mayor) of Rahway, New Jersey. An American politician and member of the Democratic Party. James J. Kennedy b. Feb 9 1953, served as Mayor of Rahway from 1991 through 2010, when he declined to seek a sixth term.

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Kennedy won his first nomination in the 1990 Democratic primary election, when he contested the re-election for Daniel Martin, who at the time had been mayor for 20 years.

Kennedy owns a local store, Kennedy Jewelers, that was adversely affected by the decline of the city's downtown area , and he was president of the Rahway Chamber of Commerce. While serving on the board of trustees for the Rahway YMCA, Kennedy befriended Jim McGreevey, a lawyer then residing in neighboring Woodbridge who would ultimately become New Jersey's governor.

McGreevey encouraged Kennedy to challenge Martin in 1990, the year before he took on Joseph Demarino to become mayor of Woodbridge.

As mayor, Kennedy set out to transform the central business district, which he did by refurbishing the train station, eliminating unsightly older buildings and creating an open plaza, attracting private investment from developers who built hundreds of units of new housing. Rahway committed millions of dollars in public funds to the development of a new public library and municipal recreation center on property adjacent to City Hall. The marquis of Kennedy's redevelopment scheme was the 16-story Carriage City Plaza, a 16-story hotel and condo project that went into foreclosure in 2010, after the housing market crash left developer Carlos Silva unable to sell more than 62 of the 222 units at Sky View at Carriage City Plaza, and leaving 72 units leased, another 88 unoccupied. [1]

Kennedy's success in revitalizing the downtown won accolades and support from Republicans and Democrats. [2]

In 2006, Kennedy persuaded the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders to invest $6.2 million in the renovation of the Union County Performing Arts Center, an historic 1300-seat vaudeville venue that opened in 1928 as the Rahway Theater. The building fell into disrepair as a movie house in the 1970s, but after being reopened by local nonprofit preservation group in 1984, it has become a cornerstone of the Rahway Arts District and part of the ongoing $100 million redevelopment of downtown Rahway. [3]

As executive director of the Rahway Arts District, Kennedy continues to seek advance his vision to make Rahway an arts destination. [4]

For most of his tenure, Kennedy made tax stability a key priority. Rahway not only enjoys one of the lowest tax bills in the area, but it was cited in 2008 by the Star-Ledger as having the second-most stable tax bill in the entire county since 2000. [5]

Kennedy and his wife, Lori, a kindergarten teacher who retired in June 2011, have one son, Sean, who operates the jewelry store on a day to day basis. The couple previously had another child, who died when he was two years old.

POV tag removed

When you insert a POV tag, you must explain what issues are in dispute or they cannot be resolved. There is no discussion on the talk page to indicate that the neutrality of this article is disputed. Please do not tag imaginary problems, because we have enough real ones to contend with. 68.46.70.19 (talk) 14:18, 21 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Political Career

This is not neutral, one-sided and looks like something that would be read about him as an intro for a paid speaking event.--WatchingContent (talk) 18:37, 18 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]