Alan Sagner

Alan Louis Sagner (September 13, 1920 – January 3, 2018) was an American Democratic Party politician, businessman and philanthropist who served as New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation, as Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and as Chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Alan L. Sagner
Chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
In office
1996–1997
Preceded byRitajean Butterworth
Succeeded byDiane Blair
Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
In office
1977–1985
Preceded byWilliam J. Ronan
Succeeded byPhilip D. Kaltenbacher
Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation
In office
January 21, 1974 – August 15, 1977
GovernorBrendan Byrne
Preceded byJohn Kohl
Succeeded byRussell Mullen
Personal details
Born(1920-09-13)September 13, 1920
Baltimore, Maryland
DiedJanuary 3, 2018(2018-01-03) (aged 97)
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Ruth Levin, 1945-1995 (her death); Lenore Green Schottenstein (1996-present)
ChildrenJohn Sagner, Deborah Buurma, Amy Pouliot
Alma materUniversity of Maryland; M.A., Columbia University

Early life

Sagner was born on September 13, 1920 in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Mary and Samuel Sagner, a manufacturer of men's clothing. He is a graduate of Forest Park High School, where he was two years behind future Vice President Spiro Agnew. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and received an M.A. from Columbia University in American History.[1] Sagner was married to Ruth Levin, the daughter of New Jersey real estate developer Maurice Levin, on October 21, 1945.[2] Sagner and his brother-in-law, Martin Levin, formed Levin/Sagner, a New Jersey home building and real estate development business.[3] Starting with a piece of land they bought from Maurice Levin in Livingston, New Jersey, Levin/Sagner began acquiring farmland in Livingston and building single-family homes. The company later developed properties in Morris County and in Pennsylvania.[4]

Sagner became active in the community as President of the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Board of Trustees; Vice President of Health and Hospitals Council of Metropolitan New Jersey; and as a Trustee of the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry.[5] He served as New Jersey Chairman of the Regional Plan Association from 1976 to 1977.

Political career

Sagner became active in politics in 1960 on behalf of former Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, who was mounting a third bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. He attended the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles as a Stevenson volunteer. He became involved in Democrats for Good Government, a group seeking to reform the Democratic Party in Essex County, New Jersey in opposition to the Democratic County Chairman, Dennis F. Carey. He was part of the successful campaign of Richard J. Hughes for Governor of New Jersey, and served as New Jersey Co-Chairman of Citizens for Humphrey-Muskie in 1968.[6]

In 1973, Sagner became the Finance Chairman for Brendan Byrne, who was seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor of New Jersey.[7]

He was a Delegate to the 1984 Democratic National Convention, pledged to Walter Mondale.[8]

Sagner was a Trustee of the Democratic National Committee in from 1988 to 1992, and served as Chairman of the New Jersey Business Council for Clinton-Gore in 1992.

He was a founder of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in 1960.[9]

Commissioner of Transportation

On January 3, 1975, Governor-elect Brendan Byrne appointed Sagner to serve in his cabinet as the New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation. In his announcement, Byrne stressed that while Sagner lacked transportation experience, he had strong administrative abilities. He named Manuel Carballo, a former assistant counsel to Governor Hughes and the Acting Highway Commissioner under New York City Mayor John Lindsay, as the Deputy Commissioner.[10]

In 1975, the executive board of the New Jersey AFL-CIO called for Sagner's resignation amidst a bitter dispute between organized labor over Sagner's unsuccessful efforts to obtain federal highway construction funds.[11] A month later, Sagner acknowledged that John Nero, a Camden County Democratic leader, had offered $25,000 to the 1973 Byrne campaign in exchange for appointment as the head of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. Sagner told investigators looking into corruption allegations that he turned Nero down.[12]

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Chairman

Sagner resigned as Commissioner of Transportation in June 1977 to become the Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. His appointment marked the resolution of a conflict between Byrne and New York Governor Hugh Carey over control of the bi-state transportation agency. Sagner's predecessor, Dr. William J. Ronan, had been widely criticized for frequent international travel at Port Authority expense.[13] The New Jersey State Senate confirmed his nomination by a vote of 38–1 on January 21, 1974. Anthony Imperiale, a Newark independent, was the only Senator to oppose Sagner.[14] Sagner remained as Chairman after Republican Thomas Kean was elected Governor in 1981. He stepped down in 1985 when Kean named Philip Kaltenbacher as Port Authority Chairman.[15] When Kean ran for re-election in 1985, Sagner backed Democrat Peter Shapiro, who had begun his political career as an aide at the state Department of Transportation in 1974.[16]

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

President Bill Clinton nominated Sagner to serve on the Board of Director of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on March 8, 1994.[17] On May 10, 1994, the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation met to consider Sagner's nomination. Sagner's nomination initially faced opposition from Senate Republicans, who criticized his ownership of The Nation, a magazine with a liberal political philosophy, and Senator John McCain questioned his involvement as a founder of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in 1960. McCain also questioned Sagner's experience in public broadcasting issues and viewed him as a political appointee who would continue when McCain and Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole called a liberal bias in political reporting.[18]

After a five-month battle, he was eventually confirmed by the Senate.[19]

Sagner served as Chairman of the CPB from 1996 to 1997.

Later years

Sagner was married to Ruth Levin Sagner (1924-1995), a social worker, from 1945 until her death on January 27, 1995.[20] The Sagners were residents of South Orange, New Jersey.[21] They had three children: John Sagner, Deborah Sagner Buurma, and Amy Sagner Pouliot.[22] On December 1, 1996, Sagner married Lenore Green Schottenstein (Born 1935), a director of M/I Schottenstein Company, a Columbus, Ohio home building company.[23]

He served as a Trustee of The Century Foundation.[24]

Sagner died at his home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on (2018-01-03)January 3, 2018. He was aged 97.[25]

References
  1. "Lenore Schottenstein, Alan Sagner". New York Times. 1 December 1996. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  2. "Sagner-Levin". New York Times. 22 October 1945.
  3. Helmreich, William B. (1998). The Enduring Community: The Jews of Newark and MetroWest. Transaction Publishers. p. 81. ISBN 9780765804938.
  4. Aron, Michael. "Interview with Alan Sagner". Center on the American Governor. Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  5. Aron, Michael. "Interview with Alan Sagner". Center on the American Governor. Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  6. Aron, Michael. "Interview with Alan Sagner". Center on the American Governor. Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  7. Aron, Michael. "Interview with Alan Sagner". Center on the American Governor. Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  8. Mullin, Moon (1985). New Jersey Legislative Manual. Fitzgerald's.
  9. Nomination of Alan Sagner to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting : hearing before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, second session, May 10, 1994. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. 1994. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  10. Sullivan, Ronald (4 January 1974). "Byrne Names Ann Klein Chief of State Institutions; Byrne Names Ann Klein Chief of State Institutions A Low-Key Appointment". New York Times.
  11. "SAGNER OUSTER SOUGHT BY LABOR; Transportation Chief Scored by A.F.L.-C.I.O. for Failure to Get U.S. Road Funds". New York Times. 13 March 1975.
  12. Sullivan, Ronald (10 April 1975). "Sagner Acknowledges Official Offered $25,000 Campaign Gift to Get a Post". New York Times.
  13. Blumenthal, Ralph (18 June 1977). "Sagner Named to Succeed Ronan As Chairman of Port Authority". New York Times.
  14. Sullivan, Joseph F. (22 January 1974). "Senate Unit Bars Ann Klein Nomination By Governor Pending Full Finance Data". New York Times.
  15. Sullivan, Joseph F. (26 April 1985). "BERGER LIKELY TO GET PORT AGENCY JOB". New York Times. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  16. Nomination of Alan Sagner to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting : hearing before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, second session, May 10, 1994. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. 1994. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  17. Clinton, William Jefferson (1994). Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton, 1994.
  18. Nomination of Alan Sagner to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting : hearing before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, second session, May 10, 1994. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. 1994. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  19. Nomination of Alan Sagner to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting : hearing before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, second session, May 10, 1994. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. 1994. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  20. "Ruth Ll Sagner". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  21. Oser, Alan S. "About Real Estate New Project by Sagner Reflects Weakness in Jersey Sales", The New York Times, November 28, 1980. Accessed March 28, 2016. "Mr. Sagner lives in South Orange and he is producing customized homes meant to appeal to many of his affluent neighbors -- those who have perhaps tired of caring for their finely landscaped private houses."
  22. Nomination of Alan Sagner to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting : hearing before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, second session, May 10, 1994. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. 1994. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  23. "Lenore Schottenstein, Alan Sagner". New York Times. 1 December 1996. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  24. "Alan Sagner, Emeritus Trustee". The Century Foundation. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  25. "Alan Sagner, Who Revitalized the Port Authority, Dies at 97". The New York Times. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
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