Thomas J. Holleran (1906–1984) was an American Democratic Party politician and jurist from New Jersey who once banned Nazi sympathizers from holding rallies during the 1930s. He served as a Municipal Court Judge in Irvington, New Jersey for eighteen years. He was a graduate of Seton Hall University and Rutgers University Law School.[1] He was the Democratic nominee for Congress in 1940 against freshman U.S. Rep. Robert Kean, losing 67,996 (53.68%) to 53,677 (42.38%).[2] When Kean ran for the U.S. Senate in 1959, Holleran again ran for Congress. He lost to Republican George M. Wallhauser by 8,048 votes, 57,510 (52.68%) to 49,463 (45.30%).[3]
In 1934, Judge Holleran received national attention when he banned Nazi sympathizers from holding public meetings in Irvington. Holleran's ruling came after a May riot occurred between a group of 40-50 Nazi supporters came to Irvington by bus to participate in a pro-Hitler rally. More than 60 people were hospitalized as a result of the rally. Irvington had been called a "hotbed of Nazi activity."[4]
Holleran was the choice of Essex County Democratic Chairman Dennis Carey to become the Essex County Prosecutor in 1958, but Governor Robert Meyner declined to nominate him.[5]
References edit
- ^ Knowles, Clayton (10 October 1958). "Senate Result Could Rest on Holleran or Wallhause". New York Times.
- ^ "Our Campaigns". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ "Our Campaigns". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ "Nazi Meetings Are Banned in Irvington". Jewish Telegraphic Service. 24 May 1934.
- ^ Sullivan, Joseph F. (26 March 1978). "And When The Cat's Away". New York Times.