Biography of Jon Corzine

Jonathan Corzine was born on New Year’s Day in 1947 and grew up on his family’s farm in rural Illinois. Having learned the value of hard work from his parents, a farmer and a school teacher, he graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a Phi Beta Kappa and immediately enlisted in the Marine Reserves. He served for six years as a reservist while beginning his career in finance at the Continental Illinois National Bank. He earned his MBA in 1973 while attending night classes and went to work for Bank Ohio.He moved to New Jersey in 1975 with his wife when he went to work for the New York investment firm of Goldman Sachs where he was named partner in 1980 and CEO in 1984(About the Governor, 2006). The couple had three children, but later divorced (Governor’s Information, 2006). His affair became a public spectacle during his political career with his wife announcing that he may let down the state of New Jersey in the same way he let down the fa mily (Cilliza, 2005).However, this did not deter his political aspirations. Soon, Corzine entered the political spectrum. He made a push for the United States Senate and won the seat in 2000. Five years later, Corzine announced his intention of running for the New Jersey Governor. He focused on using his knowledge and skills in finance to help the economy of the state of New Jersey. As a Democrat, he urged the state to adopt a more progressive economic and social policy (Governor’s Information, 2006).He helped write the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which attempted to crack down on corporate wrongdoing. He also sponsored the Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Act, which worked to create more health care coverage for children and pregnant women (Jon Corzine, 2008). His career was punctuated by his attempt to apply his business expertise to politics. In 2005, Corzine announced his candidacy for the governorship of New Jersey and vowed to utilize his business acumen which had helped him become a multimillionaire on Wall Street in helping out the state.â€Å"He built his campaign around his comprehensive ethics proposal, revamping the state’s property tax system, building a stronger economy, and improving education and healthcare†(Governor’s Information, 2006) Using 43 million dollars of his own money on the campaign, he narrowly beat his Republican adversary and became the 54th governor of New Jersey in January of 2007 (Cilliza, 2005). Corzine was sworn in as New Jersey’s 54th Governor on January 17, 2006.While in office, he worked hard to raise the sales tax from 6% to 7% even though he had to shut down the nonessential elements of government in order to do it. In addition, he abolished the death penalty in the state of New Jersey, replacing it with life imprisonment. He suffered a critical injury in a car accident in 2007, but has made a recovery and continues to serve his term. About the Governor. (2006). State of New Jersey Office of the Gov ernor. Retrieved 31 March 2008 from http://www. state. nj. us/governor/about/ Cilliza, C. (2005). Corzine Defeats Forrester to Become N.J. Governor. The Washington Post. 8 November 2005: A1u8. Governor’s Information: New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. National Governor’s Association. Retrieved 31 March 2008 from http://www. nga. org/portal/site/nga/ menuitem. 29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/? vgnextoid=9db05 b07f60c8010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD Jon Corzine. Wikipedia. Received 31 March 2008 fromhttp://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/ Jon_Corzine#Senate_career Corzine, who made a fortune on Wall Street and spent at least $43 million of it on this race, evidently did not win the vote of his ex-wife, Joanne Corzine.Her quote to a newspaper about how Corzine might â€Å"let New Jersey down† the same way he â€Å"let his family down† with an adulterous affair was featured in Forrester's TV ads. With 95 percent of precincts counted, Corzine had 54 percent of the votes (1 ,120,272) to Forrester's 43 percent (908,796). Corzine Defeats Forrester To Become N. J. Governor Bloomberg Wins Easily; Texas Passes Gay-Marriage Ban By Chris Cillizza Special to The Washington Post Wednesday, November 9, 2005; Page A18