State Sen. Diane Allen Makes Decision On Political Future

State Sen. Diane Allen (R-7) announced she won’t seek re-election on Tuesday, citing health concerns.

“It has always been my intention to run for another term in the New Jersey Senate,” Allen said. “However, over the last few weeks I have come to realize I must face some health issues that I have been trying to ignore. Consequently, with my family’s support, I have decided to make this term my last and 2017 my last year in office.”

Allen didn’t cite specific health concerns in her announcement. In 2010, she underwent surgery to treat oral cancer, according to nj.com.

“I have a number of medical concerns that sometimes make it difficult for me to put in the same time and effort I have been able to expend in the past,” Allen said. “While this is supposedly a part time position, I have never treated it as such. Fortunately, I believe I can maintain a pace to continue to serve my district this year. What I can’t imagine is adding the many extra hours a campaign would require. I want to expend my energy serving my constituents and working to solve the problems they and the rest of us in New Jersey face.”

“Senator Diane Allen is one of the most courageous women and most devoted public servants I have ever known," Gov. Chris Christie said in a statement Tuesday evening. "She is a role model for my daughters and should be for any woman seeking to make a positive impact in this world. Diane worked tirelessly to achieve hall-of-fame status as an anchor and reporter in the male-dominated television industry from the 1970s to early 1990s and did not stop there. In her decades of public life, she helped women break barriers with her leadership and advocacy for equality, as a school board member, Assemblywoman and Senator. As Chairwoman of the National Foundation for Women Legislators, she has done New Jersey proud, humbly enriching elected officials and leaders across this country. Her leadership, grace and caring for people are unparalleled, and her shoes will be impossible to fill. We are sad to see her leave, but upon Diane’s well-earned retirement, Mary Pat and I wish her good health and a wonderful future with her family.”

Before that future begins, Allen said there were many important pieces of legislation she still wished to address, and many wrongs that still needed to be set right.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, as usual, to try to accomplish these goals,” Allen said. “I am forever grateful to the people of the 7th District for giving me the amazing gift of letting me serve them for more than 21 years. I also am so appreciative of the many people who have helped me through the years in so many ways. There are those who stand on conviction, who follow their moral compass and who put people over politics. I look forward to continuing to work with them this coming year.”

Allen, a Moorestown High School graduate, was elected to the State Senate in 1997, and began her first term in 1998. She was a Republican Conference Leader in 2003, and currently serves as Deputy Minority Leader.

She is a member of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens and the Senate Education committees. In 2008, she was appointed to the Joint Committee on the Public Schools.

She has served on New Jersey's Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission since 1998, was appointed to the New Jersey Council of Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs in 2004 and was appointed as one of two state representatives on the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2006.

She lives in Edgewater Park, and her office is in Cinnaminson.

“Diane Allen has been a fierce fighter for the women and children of New Jersey, a trusted leader in our caucus, and a true friend to me personally," Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean (R-21) said. “Her many accomplishments are too numerous to count, and her resolve and dedication to address issues of importance for the people of New Jersey have been unmatched.

"It’s not possible to sum up a career as distinguished as Diane’s in a few words, or to adequately voice the respect she has earned from all of her colleagues in the Legislature. I know I speak for many when I say that it has been an honor to serve alongside Senator Allen, and we look forward to helping her to finish the work she started before she leaves at the end of her term next January.”

“We will miss Diane Allen and are sorry to see her leave," New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said. "We’ve had a long-standing working relationship with her for many years. When she was on the Senate Environment Committee she was a real leader in fighting for clean water, clean air and open space. She has been a strong ally in our efforts to ban fracking and fracking waste as well as our efforts to stop the bear hunt. It’s a shame that we’re losing a moderate, pro-environment Republican, since we need to make sure that the environment stays a bi-partisan issue. This is especially critical now since some other members of the Republican Party and trying to dismantle 40 years of environmental protections. We enjoyed working with Senator Allen and she will be missed.”

The attached image was provided by State Sen. Diane Allen.