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Essex County Records

 Collection
Identifier: MG Essex Co-(Fileroom)

Scope and Contents

These files created by the Office of County Executive under Peter Shapiro are organized in 27 Hollinger boxes and 2 Paige boxes :

Box #1. Documents dated from 1980 ;

Box #2. Files labeled as "Ethics Board (1979-81)," "Fleet Management (1979)," "Freeholders," "Essex Tercentenary (1983)," "Essex County College (1982)," "Police," "Grand Prix," "Jail Annex (1981)," "JINS (1981)," "Judiciary (1979)," "Juvenile Justice (1979-82)," "Jail (1982)," "Hospital Center," "Housing," "Infrastructure," and correspondence related to Peter Shapiro (1982) and press releases ;

Box #3. "Chronological Copies (1983)," and "Independent Authority minutes (1980-85)" ;

Box #4. Correspondence (1979-82) ;

Box #5. Press releases and Peter Shapiro's biographies (1978-80) ;

Box #6. Files labeled as "E.C. Administrative Code (1979-86)," "E.C. Administration and Finance Dept. (1978-79)", "E.C. Administrator (1979-82)," "E.C. Affirmative Action Office (1979-83)," and "E.C. Aging Division (1981-85)" ;

Box #7. Framed certificates (1984-85), Audio tapes labeled as "Discussion of Tax Proposal," "The Tercentennial Project," and "West Side Neighborhood Youth Cultural Awareness Project" ;

Box #8. Files labeled as "E.C. Archives," "E.C. CETA Program," "E.C. Clerk," "E.C. College," "E.C. Community Development," "Counsel's Office," "E.C. Courts," and "Economic Development" ;

Box #9. Press releases (1981-82) ;

Box #10. "Shapiro Testimonies (1980-84)" ;

Box #11. Press releases (1985-86) ;

Box #12. Press releases (1983-84) ;

Box #13. Files labeled as "Arts," "Black History," "Community Agencies," "Homeless," "Bonds," "Crime," "Election '84," "Emergencies," "Citizen Service Dept.," "Pabst," "Orange Reservoir Fishkill," "Nuclear Arms," "Newark Airport," "Newark," "MBT," "Meadowlands," "Medicaid," "Motion Picture," and "Supreme Court" ;

Box #14. Photographs (1979-84) ;

Box #15. Files labeled as "E.C. Government Budget (1979-86)" ;

Box #16. Files labeled as "E.C. Government (1979-85)" including Budget Messages, "Charter Changes," "Volunteer Awards," "History," "Historic Sites," "Improvement Authority," "Newsletters," "Pension Fund minutes," "Public Works," "Planning Board," "Purchasing Division," and "Transition Office" ;

Box #17. Files labeled as "Jobs," "Health Costs," "Women," "Gay Rights," and "Prisons," and newspaper clippings on elections ;

Box #18. Files labeled as "Sevin," "Peter Shapiro-1978 Inaugural," "E.C. Tercentenary," "Labor Unions," "Puerto Rico," "Seton Hall University," "Roseland," "General Revenue Sharing" ;

Box #19. Files labeled as "1986 Budget," "Election 1982," "Essex County Expo (1980)," "Historical Society," "Inaugural (1982)," "Concert Series," "Parks and Recreation," "Arts and Culture," "Roads and Bridges," "Engineering," "Birthdays," and "Tenant Resource Center" ;

Box #20. Files labeled as "Reagan Budget Cuts," "Proclamations," "National Association of Counties," "Livingston Township," "Pabst Co.," "Essex-Newark Legal Services," "E.C. Government-Manager of the Year," "Peter Shapiro-1983 Inauguration," "Labor Resources Center," "South Mountain Concert Series," "NJIT," "NJ Television," and "Annual Messages" ;

Box #21. Files labeled as "City of Newark," "Newark Museum," "North Ward Center," "Optional County Charter Law," "Peter Shapiro-Assemblyman," "White House-correspondence," "Editorials," "Press releases (1976-81)" ;

Box #22. Files labeled as "N.J. Association of Counties," "N.J. Democratic Convention (1983)", "N.J. Economic Outlook," "N.J. Family," "N.J. Motion Picture and Television Commission," "N.J. Port Authority," and "N.J. Dept. of Transportation" ;

Box #23. Files labeled as "E.C. Government Hilltop-Verona" ;

Box #24. Files labeled as E.C. Economic Development Corporation, E.C. Economic Growth, E.C. Economic Profile, and E.C. Environmental Health Program ;

Box #25. Files on Alcohol, Business Census, Democratic Convention-1980, Democratic Party, Eisenhower Parkway, Foreign Trade Zone, Grand Prix, Homeless, Inaugural Address, Ironbound, Kean Estate-Livingston (1982), Kip's Castle-Verona, and Legislation ;

Box #26. Files as "Roads and Bridges (1979-80)," "Planning and Economic Development," "Libraries," "Autographed letters (from Nils Asther to Leanora Wood)" ;

Box #27. Files labeled as "E.C. Parks and Zoo;

(Paige) Box #28. Files labeled as "Local Government," "E.C. Tenant Problems," "Recycling," "Solid Waste," "SOPs," "Youth Services Division," "Water Task Force," "Welfare Report," "Welfare Transportation," "Turtle Back Zoo," "Velodrome," "Voter Registration," "Tenant Resource Center," "Tax Rate (1984)," "Tax Bills (1985)," "Federal Budget + NACO Proposals (1985)," "Campaign Literature (1986)," "Campaign Literature-Assembly (1978)," and correspondence, news releases and newspaper clippings ;

(Paige) Box #29. Files labeled as "Inventory of Essex County Clerk's Vault (Aug. 1980)," "Preliminary Report of E.C. Parks (1979)," "Community Development Block Grant Funds (1976-81)," "Division on Aging (1978-80)," "County and Municipal Government Study Commission (1983 and prior)," "Resolution Results (1977)," "County Employee," "Testimony," "Resource Recovery Plant," "CECLS," etc.

Dates

  • 1976 - 1986

Creator

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers wishing to publish, reproduce, or reprint materials from this collection must obtain permission. Photocopying of materials is limited and no materials may be photocopied without permission from library staff.

Biographical / Historical

Peter Shapiro (b. 1952), a native of Newark, graduated from Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ and received his BA from Harvard University in 1974. Shortly after graduating from college, Shapiro joined the administration of Governor Brendan Byrne as an assistant to Alan Sagner, the State Commissioner of Transportation. In 1975 he was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly by a narrow margin. Shapiro, the youngest person ever elected to the New Jersey Legislature, served two terms from 1976-1979. In 1978 Shapiro won the Democratic nomination for a newly created position, that of Essex County Executive. Running on a platform promising open government, he was elected County Executive with 62 percent of the vote, and re-elected four years later.

Shapiro was the Democratic candidate for New Jersey governor in 1985 after defeating four others, including Newark Mayor Kenneth Gibson, in a hard-fought primary contest. In the general election he was defeated by incumbent Governor Thomas Kean in a landslide. Shapiro's political career ended in 1986, when he lost his re-election bid for a third term as Essex County Executive to Nicholas R. Amato.

Extent

13.3 Linear Feet (29 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Author
No finding aid, text from catalog and nap.rutgers.edu (Newark Archives Project).
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Center, Newark Public Library Repository

Contact:
3rd Floor
Newark Public Library
5 Washington St.
Newark NJ 07102 United States
973-733-7775