Biography
Kim Guadagno, New Jersey's first lieutenant governor, was sworn into office January 19, 2010. She was concurrently the secretary of state of New Jersey. Guadagno held both positions until 2018.
Born in Waterloo, Iowa, Guadagno graduated from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, in 1980. She completed her Juris Doctorate from American University Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C., in 1983.
Guadagno began her public service as federal prosecutor with the Organized Crime and Racketeering Strike Force in Brooklyn, New York. When she married a native of New Jersey, she and her husband moved to New Jersey's Monmouth County. At that time, Guadagno became an assistant United States attorney in Newark. As a federal prosecutor in New Jersey, she was awarded the nation's highest honor for her prosecutions of two separate corrupt public officials in New Jersey. After her federal service, Guadagno served as a ranking member in New Jersey's Attorney General's office.
In 2001, Guadagno began practicing law closer to her home and began teaching at Rutgers University School of Law-Newark. In 2007, she was elected Monmouth County's 75th sheriff and first female sheriff. As sheriff, she managed a 650-member law enforcement agency. Upon assuming office as lieutenant governor, Guadagno left her office of sheriff and teaching post at Rutgers University. She was appointed as secretary of state for New Jersey at the same time.
Sources: Ballotpedia (n.d.). “Kim Guadagno” Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 7, 2022. https://ballotpedia.org/Kim_Guadagno