When Gov. Chris Christie saw the number on his cell phone of his longtime mentor, W. Cary Edwards, he immediately answered. Edwards, the chairman of the State Commission of Investigation, got straight the point with a question about one his responsibilities. "He said, ‘Listen, kid,’" the governor recounted. "’Is this assignment b.s.? If it’s politics, just tell me… I’ve...
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When Gov. Chris Christie saw the number on his cell phone of his longtime mentor, W. Cary Edwards, he immediately answered.
Edwards, the chairman of the State Commission of Investigation, got straight the point with a question about one his responsibilities.
"He said, ‘Listen, kid,’" the governor recounted. "’Is this assignment b.s.? If it’s politics, just tell me… I’ve got a lot do to before I go.’"
Edwards was losing his fight to cancer, and it would be the last time the two would speak. Today, admirers from both sides of the political aisle, including Christie and former Gov. Tom Kean, paid final respects to Edwards, a political player who served for decades at the highest levels of New Jersey government and ran twice unsuccessfully for governor. Edwards died last week of cancer at the age of 66 at his Bergen County home.
The hundreds of mourners who packed the St. Mary’s Parish church in Pompton Lakes described Edwards as a man willing to work with everybody to improve government — as a man who balanced strategic public policy with the concerns of single individuals.
"He’ll be sorely missed in the state," said Todd Caliguire, a former Bergen County freeholder who worked for Edwards in the administration of Gov. Tom Kean. "Oftentimes you hear about people coming to a funeral for political reasons. I don’t think that’s the case with Cary."
Edwards’ role in New Jersey changed over decades, as he assumed the roles of state assemblyman, chief counsel to former Gov. Kean, and state attorney general. At the time of his death he was chairman of the State Commission of Investigation – a role he assumed in 2004, and held until his death. The son of a single mother, he signed the family’s mortgage when he was 19 – and then earned undergraduate and law degrees from Seton Hall University.
His interest in government began early in his career, according to those who knew him best. Robert Gallo was Edwards’ law partner for nine years before his colleague made the professional move to Trenton. Public service was his passion from the beginning – and he garnered respect for the years he gave to it, he said.
"He was a great man – he touched a lot of lives, both Republicans and Democrats," Gallo said at the funeral. "If he saw a problem, he was going to work until it was solved."
Christie eulogized his mentor – the same man who he helped in two unsuccessful primary campaigns for governor in 1989 and 1993. Christie said Edwards and he had a disagreement about the future of the State Commission of Investigation early this year; Christie wanted to cut it from the state budget, Edwards testified publicly about saving it. In the end, they agreed to disagree.
"His life was about fighting the ‘good fight,’" Christie said.
Wayne Hasenbalg, now a deputy chief of staff for Christie, was Edwards’ chief of staff for more than 15 years, through the statesmen’s stints as assemblyman, chief counsel and attorney general. Hasenbalg said Edwards was a true "second father" to him who knew what people wanted - and who kept on working, right up until his death.
"He’s able to look you in the eye and see what you need," Hasenbalg recalled. "He truly cared – his affection for people was genuine."