W. Cary Edwards Honored with First Hughes Center Civility Award

The presented its first Civility in Government and Politics Award to the late W. Cary Edwards at a dinner held in the new campus center at the Tuesday night, Sept. 13.

His wife, Lynn, accepted the award on his behalf in front of more than 150 people.

Edwards was honored for his three decades of service to the State of New Jersey, which included time as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, Chief Counsel to Governor Thomas H. Kean, Attorney General for New Jersey from 1986-89, and chairman of the State Commission of Investigation under former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, beginning in 1997.

“Cary would have been thrilled and delighted to have been chosen for this honor,” Lynn Edwards said.  “While he was a very strong advocate for his and his party’s points of view, he did so with respect for the other side of the issues and he always listened to all viewpoints.”

Edwards was born in Ridgewood in 1944, and grew up in Bergen County. He studied business at Seton Hall University and received his law degree from the Seton Hall School of Law in 1970. He died on Oct. 20, 2010.

“Government needs more people like Cary Edwards,” said former Congressman Jim Saxton, the keynote speaker for the event. “He was not afraid to reach across the aisle and build a consensus.  He was not afraid of compromise.”

All net proceeds from the dinner went to the development of scholarships for deserving students enrolled in the college’s Washington Internship Program. The award was created to recognize appointed or elected New Jersey officials who conduct the public’s business with civility and respect for others.

Ambassador Hughes chaired the Hughes Center Civility Award Selection Committee, which also included Saxton; Hughes Center Senior Fellow Dr. David Carr; Jennifer Young, External Affairs Field Director for Verizon; Joe Donohue, deputy director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission and a 1975 Stockton graduate; Evelyn Ingargiola, student representative to the Hughes Center Steering Committee; and Sharon Schulman, Founding Executive Director of the Hughes Center.