An Ocean County state legislator who served in the General Assembly for nearly 20 years has died after a long illness.
Ron Dancer’s career as a public servant spanned more than three decades. The Republican served as mayor of Plumstead from 1990 to 2011, then as an assemblyman representing the state’s 12th legislative district from 2002 until his death.
Governor Phil Murphy said social media that state flags would be flown at half-mast “in his honor and memory.”
“True to his roots in one of New Jersey’s famous horse racing families, in public service he was a work horse, not a show horse,” Murphy said. “The entire Dancer family is in our thoughts this weekend.”
Dancer’s peers in the Legislature on both sides of the aisle, including Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, remembered him as a dedicated public servant.
Dancer, R-Ocean, a graduate of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. He served in the military from 1969 to 1971, then worked as a professional trainer and driver with the Stanley Dancer horse racing stables until 1994, according to a brief biography of the NJ Assembly GOP.
Rick Rickman is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at [email protected]
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