Ronald S. Dancer
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 12th district
In office
January 10, 2012 – July 23, 2022
Serving with Robert D. Clifton
Preceded byCaroline Casagrande
Declan O'Scanlon
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 30th district
In office
November 18, 2002 – January 10, 2012
Serving with Joseph R. Malone
Preceded byMelvin Cottrell
Succeeded bySean T. Kean
Dave Rible
Deputy Minority Leader of the New Jersey General Assembly
In office
January 9, 2018 – July 23, 2022
LeaderJon Bramnick
Preceded byOffice Established[1]
Mayor of Plumsted Township, New Jersey
In office
January 1, 1990 – December 31, 2011
Succeeded byDave Leutwyler
Personal details
Born
Ronald Stanley Dancer

(1949-05-31)May 31, 1949
Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedJuly 23, 2022(2022-07-23) (aged 73)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseBrenda Dancer
Children2
Alma materWesley College (Business Administration)
Rutgers University
Websitewww.njleg.state.nj.us/legislative-roster/352/assemblyman-dancer

Ronald Stanley Dancer (May 31, 1949 – July 23, 2022) was an American Republican Party politician. He spent nearly 20 years in the New Jersey General Assembly, initially representing the 30th legislative district between 2002 and 2012. He later redistricted to the 12th legislative district in 2012, serving until his death in 2022.

Early life

Dancer was born on May 31, 1949, to Rachel Young and Stanley Dancer, the latter of whom was a professional harness racer.[2][3] He attended the Peddie School, Wesley College (majoring in Business Administration) and the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.[4] He also served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971.[4] In 1970 Ronald became the youngest driver ever to compete in harness racing’s Hambletonian.[5]

Mayor of Plumsted

Dancer's first elected office was serving on the Plumsted Township committee. He was chosen as mayor in 1990 and continued to be selected for one-year terms until 2011 when he retired from the committee.[4] He has served on the Ocean County Board of Social Services since 1997 (as Chair), the Ocean County Natural Lands and Farmland Preservation Advisory Committee since 1998 and the Ocean County Senior Services Advisory Council since 2002. He was on the New Jersey Horse Racing Commission from 1999 to 2002. After retiring as mayor, he served as the business administrator for Plumsted Township.[6] For a period of time, he held two elected positions—Plumsted Township committeeperson and Assemblyman. This dual position, often called double dipping, was allowed under a grandfather clause in the state law enacted by the New Jersey Legislature and signed into law by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine in September 2007 that prevented dual-office-holding but allows those who had held both positions as of February 1, 2008, to retain both posts.[7]

New Jersey Assembly

In November 2002, Republican County Committee representatives from the 30th Legislative District (which at the time was made up of portions of Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties) chose Dancer to fill the vacancy created by Melvin Cottrell's death; Dancer defeated Howell Township Councilmember Joseph DiBella by a 106–72 margin.[8] He had been re-elected to two year terms four times from the 30th District before winning twice from the 12th District.

Committees

  • Agriculture and Natural Resources
  • Military and Veterans' Affairs
  • Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations
  • Tourism, Gaming and the Arts

District 12

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.[9] The representatives from the 12th District for the 2022—23 Legislative Session are:[10]

Personal life and death

Dancer and his wife, Brenda, had two children, and lived in New Egypt, New Jersey. He died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on July 23, 2022, at the age of 73.[11][12][13]

Electoral history

Assembly District 12

30th Legislative District General Election, 2021[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Sean T. Kean (incumbent) 54,541 36.76%
Republican Ned Thomson (incumbent) 52,678 35.50%
Democratic Stephen Dobbins 20,800 14.02%
Democratic Matthew Filosa 20,366 13.73%
Total votes 148,385 100.0
Republican hold
30th Legislative District General Election, 2019[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Sean Kean (incumbent) 24,810 36.35%
Republican Ned Thomson (incumbent) 23,078 33.82%
Democratic Steven Farkas 9,781 14.33%
Democratic Jason Celik 9,391 13.76%
The Other Candidate Hank Schroeder 1,186 1.74%
Total votes 68,246 100%
Republican hold
New Jersey general election, 2017[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Ronald S. Dancer 30,348 29.3 Decrease 0.2
Republican Robert D. Clifton 29,610 28.5 Increase 0.5
Democratic Gene Davis 21,441 20.7 Increase 0.3
Democratic Nirav Patel 20,397 19.7 Decrease 0.6
Libertarian Anthony J. Storrow 1,016 1.0 N/A
Libertarian Daniel A. Krause 938 0.9 N/A
Total votes '103,750' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2015[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Ronald S. Dancer 15,164 29.5 Decrease 3.3
Republican Robert D. Clifton 14,433 28.0 Decrease 3.7
Democratic David W. Merwin 10,496 20.4 Increase 2.9
Democratic Robert P. Kurzydlowski 10,449 20.3 Increase 3.7
Green Stephen N. Zielinski Sr. 945 1.8 N/A
Total votes '51,487' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2013[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Ronald S. Dancer 32,188 32.8 Increase 2.5
Republican Robert D. Clifton 31,059 31.7 Increase 2.6
Democratic Lawrence J. Furman 17,119 17.5 Decrease 2.9
Democratic Nicholas Nellegar 16,312 16.6 Decrease 3.7
For the People Diane Bindler 1,354 1.4 N/A
Total votes '98,032' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2011[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ronald S. Dancer 22,345 30.3
Republican Robert D. Clifton 21,469 29.1
Democratic William "Bill" Spedding 15,077 20.4
Democratic Catherine Tinney Rome 14,969 20.3
Total votes 73,860 100.0

Assembly District 30

New Jersey general election, 2009[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Joseph R. Malone, III 47,325 36.6 Increase 5.0
Republican Ronald S. Dancer 45,901 35.5 Increase 4.8
Democratic John Kocubinski 18,400 14.2 Decrease 4.8
Democratic William "Bill" Spedding 17,836 13.8 Decrease 4.9
Write-In Personal choice 8 0.01 N/A
Total votes '129,470' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2007[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Joseph R. Malone III 23,120 31.6 Decrease 1.0
Republican Ronald S. Dancer 22,477 30.7 Decrease 1.4
Democratic Sharon Atkinson 13,906 19.0 Increase 1.7
Democratic Jeffrey Williamson 13,657 18.7 Increase 0.7
Total votes '73,160' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2005[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Joseph R. Malone III 36,286 32.6 Decrease 0.4
Republican Ronald S. Dancer 35,794 32.1 Increase 0.6
Democratic Jeffrey Williamson 20,053 18.0 Decrease 0.6
Democratic Marvin Krakower 19,235 17.3 Increase 0.4
Total votes '111,368' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2003[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Joseph R. Malone 25,497 33.0 Increase 2.4
Republican Ronald S. Dancer 24,355 31.5 Increase 1.9
Democratic Joseph D. Grisanti 14,347 18.6 Decrease 2.1
Democratic Mitchel Dolobowsky 13,031 16.9 Decrease 2.2
Total votes '77,230' '100.0'

References

  1. ↑ "GENERAL ASSEMBLY". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  2. ↑ Litsky, Frank (September 9, 2005). "Stanley Dancer, Harness Racing Champion, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer – New Jersey Assembly Republicans". New Jersey Assembly Republicans. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Assemblyman Dancer's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 27, 2022.
  5. ↑ Hoof Beats Magazine - November 1971 Issue
  6. ↑ "Plumsted Township Municipal Directory". Plumsted Township. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  7. ↑ via Associated Press. "N.J. Lawmakers keep double dipping", WPVI-TV, March 4, 2008. Accessed June 4, 2009.
  8. ↑ Baratta, Kathy. "Dancer tapped to replace Cottrell in N.J. Assembly" Archived July 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Tri-Town News, November 21, 2002. Accessed May 31, 2010.
  9. ↑ Article IV, New Jersey State Constitution (1947).
  10. ↑ Legislative Roster for District 12, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 11, 2022.
  11. ↑ Wildstein, David (July 23, 2022). "Ronald Dancer, longtime assemblyman, dies at 73". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  12. ↑ Liu, Olivia (July 23, 2022). "Assemblyman Ronald Dancer dies at 73, spent two decades in legislature". The Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Ronald S. Dancer". Tilghman Funeral Home. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/02/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For PRIMARY ELECTION 06/04/2019 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  16. ↑ "2017-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  17. ↑ "2015-official-ge-results-nj-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  18. ↑ "2013-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  19. ↑ "2011-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-results-121411.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  20. ↑ "2009-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-tallies-120109.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  21. ↑ "2007-official-general-election-tallies(ga)-12.12.07.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  22. ↑ "05831236.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  23. ↑ "2003g_a_candidate_tally.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
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