John H. Ewing

John H. Ewing
President pro temporeof theNew Jersey Senate
In office January 14, 1992 – January 11, 1994
Preceded by	John F. Russo
Succeeded by	Joseph A. Palaia
Member of theNew Jersey Senate from the16thdistrict
In office January 10, 1978 – January 13, 1998
Preceded by	Raymond Bateman
Succeeded by	Walter J. Kavanaugh
Member of theNew Jersey General Assembly from the16thdistrict
In office January 8, 1974 – January 10, 1978 Serving withVictor A. RizzoloandWalter J. Kavanaugh
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	Elliott F. Smith
Member of theNew Jersey General Assembly from the8thdistrict
In office January 9, 1968 – January 8, 1974
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	District abolished
Personal details
Born	(1918-10-16)October 16, 1918 New York City,New York
Died	May 31, 2012(2012-05-31)(aged 93) Northfield, Vermont
Political party	Republican

John H. Ewing(October 16, 1918 – May 31, 2012) was an AmericanRepublican Partypolitician who served in both houses of theNew Jersey Legislature:in theGeneral Assemblyfrom 1968 to 1977 and in theState Senatefrom 1978 to 1998, representing the16th Legislative District.

Biography

Ewing attendedTrinity College,but dropped out after two years.He served in theUnited States Armyfrom 1940 to 1946 and again from 1951 to 1952, attaining the rank of first lieutenant and earning theBronze Star Medalfor his World War II service in New Guinea and the Philippines.He went into state politics after retiring as chairman of the board ofAbercrombie & Fitchin 1967.

He served on theSomerset CountyBoard of Chosen Freeholdersin 1966 and 1967. He was active in the New Jersey Republican Party, serving as a delegate to the1964 Republican National Convention,as a member of the Republican State Executive Committee from 1964 to 1968, and two terms as chair of the Republican State Finance Committee from 1965 to 1969 and from 1975 to 1978.

Ewing was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1967, and served there until 1978, when he was elected to fill the seat that had been occupied byRaymond Bateman,who ran that year, and lost, in a bid forGovernor of New Jersey.He served in the Senate as Assistant Minority Whip in 1980 and as President Pro Tempore in 1992 and 1993. He was a longtime chair of the Education Committee, Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Schools, and a member of the Women's Issues, Children and Family Services Committee, the Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Joint Budget Oversight Committee.

As chair of the Senate's Education Committee, Ewing played a major role in shaping the state's education system, where he supportedcharter schools,prison education and the 1994 disestablishment of the New Jersey Department of Higher Education. He also supported state takeovers of mismanaged school districts, pushing for a seizure of theNewark Public Schoolsin 1995. Ewing opposed state funding for economically disadvantaged schools and felt that there was no reason that richer districts could not be better supported than poorer ones, noting that "Some people drive a Mercedes; some drive a Ford Taurus, like me", but "[w]e can't pay for everyone to drive a Mercedes".

In 1996 his wife, Allison Ewing then age 76, was involved in what was determined the accidental death of a friend, Peggy Pulleyn, age 85. Pulleyn was walking down a road in Bedminster. Ewing had driven past Pulleyn and stopped, backing up the vehicle to speak with her. In the process, she backed over Pulleyn, resulting in her death.

Ewing chose not to run for re-election in 1997 after 30 years in the legislature. He was replaced in the Senate byWalter J. Kavanaugh,withPeter J. Biondielected to Kavanaugh's former seat in the Assembly. Ewing remarked that "Dear Walter [Kavanaugh] has been waiting and waiting to take my place... he keeps threatening to push me in front of a bus".

Ewing had been a resident ofBedminster, New Jersey.He died at the age of 93 on May 31, 2012, inNorthfield, Vermont.