Ronald S. Dancer (original) (raw)

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American politician (1949–2022)

Ronald Stanley Dancer (May 31, 1949 – July 23, 2022) was an American Republican Party politician. He spent nearly 20 years in the New Jersey General Assembly, initially representing the 30th legislative district between 2002 and 2012. He later redistricted to the 12th legislative district in 2012, serving until his death in 2022.

Dancer was born on May 31, 1949, to Rachel Young and Stanley Dancer, the latter of whom was a professional harness racer.[2][3] He attended the Peddie School, Wesley College (majoring in Business Administration) and the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.[4] He also served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971.[4]In 1970 Ronald became the youngest driver ever to compete in harness racing’s Hambletonian.[5]

Dancer's first elected office was serving on the Plumsted Township committee. He was chosen as mayor in 1990 and continued to be selected for one-year terms until 2011 when he retired from the committee.[4] He has served on the Ocean County Board of Social Services since 1997 (as Chair), the Ocean County Natural Lands and Farmland Preservation Advisory Committee since 1998 and the Ocean County Senior Services Advisory Council since 2002. He was on the New Jersey Horse Racing Commission from 1999 to 2002. After retiring as mayor, he served as the business administrator for Plumsted Township.[6] For a period of time, he held two elected positions—Plumsted Township committeeperson and Assemblyman. This dual position, often called double dipping, was allowed under a grandfather clause in the state law enacted by the New Jersey Legislature and signed into law by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine in September 2007 that prevented dual-office-holding but allows those who had held both positions as of February 1, 2008, to retain both posts.[7]

New Jersey Assembly

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In November 2002, Republican County Committee representatives from the 30th Legislative District (which at the time was made up of portions of Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties) chose Dancer to fill the vacancy created by Melvin Cottrell's death; Dancer defeated Howell Township Councilmember Joseph DiBella by a 106–72 margin.[8] He had been re-elected to two year terms four times from the 30th District before winning twice from the 12th District.

• Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Military and Veterans' Affairs
• Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations
• Tourism, Gaming and the Arts

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.[9] The representatives from the 12th District for the 2022—23 Legislative Session are:[10]

• Senator Samuel D. Thompson (R)
• Assemblyman Robert D. Clifton (R)
• Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer (R)

Personal life and death

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Dancer and his wife, Brenda, had two children, and lived in New Egypt, New Jersey. He died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on July 23, 2022, at the age of 73.[11][12][13]

Assembly District 12

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Assembly District 30

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1. ^ "GENERAL ASSEMBLY". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
2. ^ Litsky, Frank (September 9, 2005). "Stanley Dancer, Harness Racing Champion, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
3. ^ "Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer – New Jersey Assembly Republicans". New Jersey Assembly Republicans. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
4. ^ a b c Assemblyman Dancer's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 27, 2022.
5. ^ Hoof Beats Magazine - November 1971 Issue
6. ^ "Plumsted Township Municipal Directory". Plumsted Township. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
7. ^ via Associated Press. "N.J. Lawmakers keep double dipping", WPVI-TV, March 4, 2008. Accessed June 4, 2009.
8. ^ Baratta, Kathy. "Dancer tapped to replace Cottrell in N.J. Assembly" Archived July 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Tri-Town News, November 21, 2002. Accessed May 31, 2010.
9. ^ Article IV, New Jersey State Constitution (1947).
10. ^ Legislative Roster for District 12, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 11, 2022.
11. ^ Wildstein, David (July 23, 2022). "Ronald Dancer, longtime assemblyman, dies at 73". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
12. ^ Liu, Olivia (July 23, 2022). "Assemblyman Ronald Dancer dies at 73, spent two decades in legislature". The Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
13. ^ "Ronald S. Dancer". Tilghman Funeral Home. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
14. ^ "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/02/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
15. ^ "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For PRIMARY ELECTION 06/04/2019 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
16. ^ "2017-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
17. ^ "2015-official-ge-results-nj-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
18. ^ "2013-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
19. ^ "2011-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-results-121411.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
20. ^ "2009-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-tallies-120109.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
21. ^ "2007-official-general-election-tallies(ga)-12.12.07.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
22. ^ "05831236.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
23. ^ "2003g_a_candidate_tally.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.

• Assemblyman Dancer's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature
• New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms
  • 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
• Assembly Member Ronald S. Dancer[_permanent dead link_], Project Vote Smart
• USTrotting.com article on Assemblyman Dancer