David W. Dowd

Dowd was born in West Orange, New Jersey on February 7, 1921. He was the son of Thomas A. Dowd and Margaret J. Dowd.[1] His father owned a real estate brokerage firm. Dowd attended Livingston High School, Villanova University and received his law degree from Rutgers University.[2] He was married to Connie Sansone Dowd and had seven children.[3]

In 1942, Dowd signed a contract with the New York Yankees and was assigned to the Wellsville Yankees in the New York–Penn League. He played in 11 games, with a .182 batting average. His teammates included future Yankees Jerry Coleman and Charlie Silvera.[4] Dowd's baseball career ended later that season when he joined the U.S. Army during World War II.[2]

Dowd first ran for office in his hometown of Livingston, New Jersey when he was elected to the Township Council in 1956. He was re-elected in 1960. Dowd served as Mayor of Livingston in 1958 and in 1963.[5]

Dowd ran for the New Jersey State Senate in 1967. He won a hotly contested primary on a Reform Republican slate, finishing fourth in a field of thirteen candidates for six Senate seats elected at-large in Essex County.[6] The General Election turned out to be a strong environment for Republicans; it was the mid-term election of Governor Richard J. Hughes's second term. Republicans won all six Senate seats, with Dowd running fifth. The four Democratic Senators elected in 1965 -- Nicholas Fernicola, John J. Giblin, Maclyn Goldman and Hutchins Inge—were all defeated.[7]

On November 16, 1970, Dowd resigned from the Senate to become the General Counsel of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.[8] He held that post until 1974.[9]

Dowd practiced law in New Jersey and lived in Howell Township, New Jersey and in Florida. He died in 1988 at age 67.