JACKSON – Family, friends and some of his former Jackson Council colleagues watched as Alex Sauickie took the oath of office in the Trenton Statehouse as the newest member of the State Assembly.
The 12th District Assemblyman was chosen to fill the seat of Assemblyman Ron Dancer who died on July 23 and served as an assemblyman for over two decades. Dancer also served as mayor of Plumsted Township for 20 years.
With his wife Maggie at his side, their 22-month-old daughter, Emma and his son, Alex, Sauickie took the oath office. Dancer’s widow Brenda was present for the swearing in ceremony. She, Sauickie’s family and Assembly Chamber and Speaker Craig Coughlin observed Assembly Republican Leader John DiMaio administer the oath of office.
Last month, Sauickie won a special convention election to succeed Dancer. Sauickie said that like Dancer, he would represent conservative values.
In a prior interview with The Jackson Times, Sauickie – who served as council president for one year during his term on the Jackson Council – said “this has been a surreal experience. It isn’t something I expected to do anytime soon but the circumstances in which the seat opened up were unfortunate with the passing of Assemblyman Dancer.
“I viewed it as a position that I could continue to do some good for Jackson by giving Jackson more representation on the state level which I feel we’ve been severely lacking. I felt there were a lot of issues that Jackson experiences that a lot of municipalities in Monmouth, Middlesex and Burlington also experience,” he said.
Following his swearing in on September 15, Sauickie said, “it’s an honor to serve as an outspoken advocate for conservative values in the state legislature and I will work tirelessly to stop radical left policies that are ruining the economy, coming between parents and children, and threatening our republic and individual liberties.”
The lifelong resident of Jackson Township resigned from his town council position to serve as an assemblyman. He had been poised to run with fellow GOP Jackson Councilman Andrew Kern for re-election for a second four-year-term on the Council.
The 12th District is divided up in a complex fashion extending from Old Bridge to New Hanover Township in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties.
Sauickie told The Jackson Times, “By getting into this I can help more people in more places and the position itself was occupied by somebody who really set the bar. He was somebody who I looked up to and admired. He is someone I think was able to work across the aisle and work with intelligent people and get things done. In today’s politics that is an increasingly rare thing.
“I represent the struggling families who can’t afford ‘tax and spend’ Democrats and the beleaguered business owners who were forced to close their doors because of government overreach,” he added. “I look forward to getting to work for the residents of the 12th legislative district and all New Jerseyans.”
Sauickie built a career in the financial technology services market starting with Merrill Lynch in 1994, and helped develop the electronic trading platform Merrill Edge. He went on to become chief executive and operating officer of multiple financial software companies.
Currently, Sauickie serves as global head of wealth management services for Fidelity Information Services Inc., a multinational payment services provider based in Jacksonville, Florida.
He founded a nonprofit organization to benefit children following the unexpected loss of his daughter, Chloe, from a rare heart condition in 2005. Sauickie also volunteered as a board member of the Kimball Medical Center Foundation (now known as Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus), where he served as chairman from 2012 to 2014.
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