Frank J. "Pat" Dodd, a force in New Jersey politics decades ago and mentor to future Essex County political heavyweights, was remembered today as a tireless, blunt-spoken lawmaker and a dashing longtime bachelor. The former Senate president died on Friday at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune of an undisclosed illness, friends said. The Manasquan resident was 72...
Frank "Pat" Dodd on his wedding day in Sept. 2009
Frank J. "Pat" Dodd, a force in New Jersey politics decades ago and mentor to future Essex County political heavyweights, was remembered today as a tireless, blunt-spoken lawmaker and a dashing longtime bachelor.
The former Senate president died on Friday at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune of an undisclosed illness, friends said. The Manasquan resident was 72 years old.
Dodd had represented Essex County in the state Assembly from 1966-1970 before serving in the Senate from 1972-1982.
He was Senate president from 1974-1975, and served brief stints as acting governor during that time.
Today, State Sen. Richard Codey credited Dodd with teaching him how to generate ideas for a bill, craft it and get it passed.
Codey, who had served as an aid to Dodd in the early 70s, recalled countless political brainstorming sessions held in the basement of Dodd’s nightclub in Orange, where a rock band usually thumped loudly upstairs.
"He always told me to come up with ideas," Codey said today. "That’s why I read six newspapers in a day now. You spot something and say, hey, that’s a good idea for a bill."
Dodd was the first Senate president who John Russo, himself a former Senate president, served under.
As a newcomer to the Senate in 1973, Russo resolved to answer every single letter he received from his constituents.
When he was only allotted 3,000 stamps, Russo said he carried an overflowing box of mail into Dodd’s office and left it sitting on his desk. Shortly after, Russo had all the stamps he needed.
"We laughed about that," Russo recalled. "I was the first Democrat elected in 96 years in Ocean County. He knew I had to work hard to keep that, so he did everything he could to help me."
After an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1981, Dodd became chairman of the New Jersey Hazardous Waste Facilities Sitting Commission.
He later served a five-year term on the state’s Casino Control Commission, and at the time of his death was working as a consultant specializing in gaming and government related issues.
Codey said he was always "in awe of Pat Dodd," who was "young, single, wealthy and good-looking."
Dodd was tall and dark-haired, with striking movie star looks, friends said. He was known to wear spotless white turtlenecks under sharp blue blazers, and flash a ready smile.
He finally married last year, before falling ill on his honeymoon, said Codey, who was saddened to hear the news from Dodd’s nephew.
"It’s so incredibly ironic that he finally decided to get married. To do it at that age, and then to pass away so quickly," Codey said today.
Dodd is survived by his wife, Lizbeth Reich Dodd and his sister, Bunny Monteverdi of Roseland.
A wake will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on Monday and from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday at the O’Brien Funeral Home in Wall. A funeral will be held on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Sea Girt.