Diane Allen

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Diane Allen bigraphy, stories - Member of the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly

Diane Allen : biography

March 8, 1948 –

Diane B. Allen (born March 8, 1948 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American Republican Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 1998, where she represents the 7th Legislative District. She served as the Deputy Republican Conference Leader from 2002 to 2003 and as the Majority Whip from 1998 to 2001. She was a member of the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature, the New Jersey General Assembly, from 1996 to 1998., New Jersey Legislature. Retrieved February 23, 2008.

District 7

Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 7th Legislative District for the 2012-2013 Legislative Session are:, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 26, 2012.

  • Assemblyman Herb Conaway, and
  • Assemblyman Troy Singleton

Election history

Biography

Allen grew up in Moorestown Township, New Jersey and first ran for elective office in the 1970s when she ran for the Board of Education of the Moorestown Township Public Schools.

In the 1995 general election, Allen and Republican running mate Carmine DeSopo were elected, defeating Democratic incumbent Steven M. Petrillo and his running mate, newcomer Joseph P. Dugan., OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved June 22, 2010. The $1.1 million spent in the 1995 Assembly race made it the first in New Jersey to cross the $1 million spending mark, as reported in the results of a study conducted by the Center for the Analysis of Public Issues of Princeton, New Jersey that analyzed campaign finance reports from candidates for all 80 Assembly seats.Pristin, Terry. , The New York Times, March 13, 1996. Retrieved June 22, 2010.Staff. ] did not run for re-election in 1997, and in the Senate race that year Allen defeated the Democratic nominee Robert P. BroderickPetersen, Melody. , The New York Times, November 5, 1997. Retrieved June 20, 2010.

Senator Allen has served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1996 and 2000. She has served on the Martin Luther King Commission since 1998 and the New Jersey Human Relations Council since 2003. She has been the Senate’s Deputy Minority Leader since 2006, and serves in the Senate on the Education Committee and the Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.

She was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in 2002, with businessman Doug Forrester winning the party’s nomination.Mercurio, John. , CNN, June 5, 2002. Accessed May 267, 2010. "In New Jersey, Doug Forrester, a wealthy businessman, spent $3.1 million of his own money to defeat fellow Republicans Diane Allen and John Matheussen — both state senators — in the race to challenge Democratic Sen. Bob Torricelli , who faced charges of ethical violations during his first six-year term." Forrester won the primary with 44.6% of the vote, Allen came in second with 36.9%, ahead of third-place finisher John J. Matheussen who garnered 18.6% of the vote, OurCampaigns.com, last updated January 16, 2007. Accessed May 26, 2010.

Allen was a television anchor and reporter for KYW-TV from 1976 to 1978, and again from 1982 to 1988, KYW-TV. Retrieved July 6, 2006. and at WCAU-TV from 1989 to 1994, both in Philadelphia., WCAU. Retrieved July 6, 2006. She also worked at WLS-TV in Chicago from 1979 to 1982.

Allen received a B.A. from Bucknell University in Philosophy. She is the President of VidComm, Inc. She is currently a resident of Edgewater Park Township., Project Vote Smart. Retrieved September 15, 2007.

In 2007, Allen won re-election. She was unopposed in the Republican primary and defeated Democratic challenger Rich Dennison of Florence in the November general election.Reitmeyer, John. , Burlington County Times, April 10, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2007. , Burlington County, New Jersey. Retrieved June 19, 2007., The Star Ledger, November 6, 2007

Allen was considered a potential candidate for the New Jersey’s 3rd congressional district seat being vacated by fellow Republican Jim Saxton in the 2008 election., The Star Ledger, November, 2007 However, she announced on November 29, 2007, that she would not run for the seat, citing factionalism in the Burlington County Republican Party in her statement., Burlington County Times, November 29, 2007

On November 9, 2009, Allen announced that she has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.Hester, Sr., Tom. , NewJerseyNewsroom.com, November 9, 2009. Accessed January 26, 2012. Allen had been informed in November 2009 that she had oral cancer. Though doctors had initially thought that treatment would require removal of her tongue and that she would be unable to speak normally, the surgery performed in 2010 did not impair her speech, and she has since undergone radiation and laser treatments.Staff. , The Star-Ledger, August 17, 2010. Accessed January 26, 2012. "When state Sen. Diane Allen found out last November that she had late-stage oral cancer, doctors at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital told her they probably would have to remove a large portion of her tongue, leaving her unable to use her voice normally ever again."

The Broadcat Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted Allen into their Hall of Fame in 2005.