Located in the southwestern portion of the state bordering the lower Delaware River and reaching to the Delaware Bay, the Third District is the state’s largest district in area, covering 788.55 square miles, and ranks lowest of all 40 districts in population density, with 265 people per square mile. It is comprised of all of Salem and parts of Gloucester and Cumberland Counties. The district has a slightly above average proportion of African-Americans, but relatively few Hispanics or Asians. It also contains the lowest number of foreign-born citizens and fourth fewest proprtion of college graduates. See New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Center for Government Services, Rutgers University.
The district remains one of the more undeveloped and rural regions in the state where economic issues, particularly job creation and security, continue to be important for its relative high proportions of middle-class residents and those employed in farming or related industries.
The area now incorporated within the district has one of the more interesting histories in New Jersey. It was first settled along the lower Delaware by Swedes, who were subsequently displaced by the Dutch, who were in turn forced to cede their claims by the British. Later, Quakers acquired much of the land along the Delaware in hopes of founding a cohesive Quaker community, establishing the first meaningful permanent English settlement in the Delaware Valley at Salem in 1675. The goal of the Quakers, was frustrated, however, by the already diverse national and religious affiliations of the existing settlers in the area, and they soon decided to shift their efforts west to the more unsettled frontier of present-day Pennsylvania.
Coastal towns along the Delaware and Maurice Rivers formerly were key fishing and shipping ports, but the once thriving shellfish industry was severely impacted by the blight that nearly wiped out the industry. The sandy soils through much of the region also aided in the establishment of glass manufacturing; the Salem Glass Works in Salem was founded in 1863 to manufacture bottles and fruit jars, and is now the container division of the Anchor Glass Corporation, one of the largest producers of glass containers in the United States.
In 1933, Charles F. Seabrook founded Seabrook Farms Corporation near Bridgeton, which became one of the largest producers and processors of frozen vegetables in the world, and during World War II also served as the worksite for Japanese-American internees who were arrested after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, with many remaining to work voluntarily at Seabrook even after they were released at the end of the War from the terms of their confinement.Today, a successor company founded in 1978 by Seabrook’s three grandsons operates as Seabrook Brothers & Sons, freezing snap beans, spinach, collards, mustard greens, peppers, peas and lima beans in a modern plant located in Upper Deerfield Township surrounded by farmland. See Review of Seabrook at War: A Radio Documentary, The Journal for Multimedia History. Other major employers include Mannington Mills in Salem, founded in 1915 by Scottish immigrant John Campbell and his sons, and now one of the nation's leading manufacturers of floor coverings and the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear generating plants in Lower Alloways Township.
Democratic Senator Stephen Sweeney, a labor union official, was first elected in 2001, defeating incumbent Republican (and former Democrat) Raymond Zane by 1,735 votes in a campaign featuring the highest spending of all 40 districts. In the 2007 election, Senator Sweeney
was easily re-elected to his third term. He defeated Republican Mark Cimino of Wenonah, a labor lawyer with an office in Deptford who previously worked as an electrical engineer designing communications systems for air
traffic control, and William Mead of West Deptford, an independent who has worked in Gloucester County government for 23 years. In the 2008 legislative session, Senator Sweeney was selected to serve as both Democratic Majority Leader and Conference Chair. He is reportedly interested in succeeding Senator Richard Codey as Senate President following the 2009 election.
The Assembly seats are also held by two Democrats: John Burzichelli and Celeste Riley. Assemblyman Burzichelli, now serving his fourth term, is managing partner of Hill Studio in Paulsboro, a sound stage facility that provides studio services and special effects to the motion picture, video and still photography industry. He is chair of the Tourism and Gaming Committee and a former Deputy Speaker and Assistant Majority Leader. Assemblywoman Riley, a teacher at the Morris Goodwin Elementary School in Greenwich and a former Bridgeton City Council President, was sworn in March 16, 2009 to fill the vacancy created when Assemblyman Doug Fisher resigned his seat to accept appointment as Secretary of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. She is the first woman to represent the 3rd Legislative District and the
first woman representative from Cumberland County.
In the 2009 election, both Assembly incumbents are seeking re-election. Their Republican opponents--Lee Lucas of Gibbstown and Robert Villare of West Deptford-- were nominated in the June 2009 primary in a bitter contest splitting the Gloucester County Republican organization and have each been the subject of controversy. Mr. Lucas allegedly used racially insensitive terms to a neighbor, but has rejected calls from State and county Republican leaders that he withdraw from the race. GOP officials also charged that Dr. Villare did not register to vote in New Jersey until spring 2009, having previously been registered to vote in Wilmington, Delaware, provoking questions over the legality of his candidacy.
