On Wednesday, during the 93rd annual conference of the New Jersey League of Municipalities in Atlantic City, an older gentleman stepped around the corner and stopped in front of the Badge Company's display. I'm Brendan Byrne, he said.We've heard of you, we replied. You've been in the news from time to time.
We recognized him even before he introduced himself, but we were struck by the moment: It was not a surprise to see Byrne attending this conference, but it was a surprise to see him simply touring the exhibits without fanfare. The former governor was alone. We were surprised by how he could so easily walk the aisles and stop to talk. We would have expected Byrne to be unable to avoid interruptions and unable to shake hangers-on.
This is not to say that Byrne is no longer relevant. He was at the conference to participate on a panel of former New Jersey governors, a panel which discussed the performance of the current governor, Jon Corzine. The panel was comprised in a manner that gave Byrne some distinction, as he was the only member of the group to be elected and re-elected. Fellow Democrat Jim Florio sat alongside Bryne, but Florio served only one term after failing to win re-election. The Republicans were represented by John O. Bennett and Donald DiFrancesco, both of whom served as governor but neither of whom was elected to the position. Whether by design or by happenstance, no other former governors, not Republicans Tom Kean and Christie Whitman, nor Democrat Richard Codey, were on the panel. It is not likely that Jim McGreevey was considered for participation.
We spoke briefly with Byrne, answering his questions and telling him how we are regular readers of the column in the Star-Ledger where he and Kean debate current topics. He then thanked us and moved on. A surprisingly low-key encounter with a man whose influence on New Jersey was significant and lasting.
