John O. Bennett
| John O. Bennett III | |
|---|---|
|
Governor of New Jersey Acting |
|
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In office January 8, 2002 – January 12, 2002 |
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| Preceded by |
John Farmer Jr. as Acting Governor |
| Succeeded by |
Richard Codey as Acting Governor |
| Member of the New Jersey Senate | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 6, 1948 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Peg Bennett |
John O. Bennett III (born August 6, 1948) is a former New Jersey Republican politician who served as State Senator, President of the State Senate, and Acting Governor of New Jersey during the course of his career.
Bennett attended Dickinson College from 1966 to 1968, graduated from West Virginia University with a B.A. in 1970, and earned a J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1974.
Bennett served as Acting Governor for three and a half days in January 2002. Following Governor Christine Todd Whitman's resignation the previous year to become head of the EPA, Bennett was one of three different senate presidents (along with Donald DiFrancesco and Richard Codey, along with Attorney General John Farmer) to serve as acting governor for the one-year period between Whitman's resignation and Jim McGreevey's inauguration. DiFrancesco served as acting governor for all but the last week of this period, until his term as senate president ended. Farmer, Bennett and Codey then divided the last week of the term among them, with Bennett serving for three days, from January 8, 2002, to January 12, 2002, leading to a situation in which the state had five different people serving as governor during a period of eight days.
During his service as acting governor, Bennett signed legislation into law, appointed judges, granted a pardon, created a nursing advisory council, and hosted several parties at Drumthwacket. The nursing advisory council was a tribute to his wife, Peg, a nurse. Peg Bennett was active during her tenure as First Lady of New Jersey.
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