I would like to write a diary of appreciation about an activist, a politician, and my across the street neighbor for nearly 36 years, former New Jersey State Senator Byron Baer who passed away last night at the age of 77.
He had been an assemblyman and a senator for 34 years before retiring due to illness. Both he and his wife Linda, a former Bergen County freeholder and retired administrative law judge were active in Democratic politics for years. Although he battled Parkinson's Disease for quite some time, he never gave up the fight for those in need.
In the assembly, Sen. Baer was responsible for the 1974 Open Public Meetings Act, commonly called "the Sunshine Law" because it "forced public officials to conduct the people's business in front of the people and not behind closed doors."
Here's what his successor, Sen. Loretta Weinberg, said about the law:
"We take [the Sunshine Law] for granted, but it changed how government is done in New Jersey," said state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, who succeeded Baer in the upper chamber and worked for him briefly in the Assembly three decades ago.
"I don't think people realize the struggle that crafting that legislation was. It was groundbreaking."
Here's another thing I didn't realize until the obituary in today's Record of Hackensack (N.J.):
Last year, New Jersey's Open Public Meetings Act was renamed for Baer, and the retired lawmaker was inducted into the Open Government Hall of Fame, an honor sponsored by the National Freedom of Information Coalition and the Society of Professional Journalists.
In addition to his legislation, he was involved in environmental issues and issues regarding those who could not help themselves. When he was first elected to the state assembly, he became involved in a dispute between migrant farm workers and their employers and broke his arm in a scuffle.
Much of Senator Baer's life can be read in the linked article from the Record; however, I wanted to include some things that few knew about the Senator. For instance, he was involved in television advertising and was responsible for the Hertz ad from the 1960s: "Let Hertz put you in the driver's seat."
Second, on a personal note, after the death of my father in July of 2003, Senator Baer read a proclaimation in the State Senate honoring my dad, an ordinary guy who went on with his life and took care of his family and friends. My mother has the proclaimation on the wall at her home which was signed by Senator Codey.
I could say more about Byron Baer that hasn't been mentioned but I feel that he was a significant person in my life and the lives of his constituents through the years. For that alone, I want to say, "Thank you, Mr. Baer."