| Prior to his election as governor in November 1973, Brendan T. Byrne served on the staff of Governor Robert B. Meyner, who subsequently appointed him as Essex County prosecutor. He would later be named by Governor Richard J. Hughes as president of the Public Utilities Commission and by Governor William T. Cahill as a Superior Court judge. After being elected governor in 1973 on the heels of State and federal scandals, Governor Byrne's turbulent time in office saw such measures as the protection of one-fifth of the State's land area through the Pinelands Protection Act; the commencement and expansion of casino gambling in Atlantic City; the approval of the State's educational and fiscal program including the adoption of the income tax, caps on government spending and Statewide standards of educational performance; the enactment of the Spill Compensation and Control Act, which served as the model for the federal Superfund program; the development of the Meadowlands, including construction of the Meadowlands Racetrack, Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Arena; the creation of New Jersey Transit and an integrated public transit system; the development of Liberty State Park; the approval of New Jersey's first program to support community capital investment; and the implemenation of the State's largest water quality and supply capital construction program. See full biography
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