Lewis B. Thurston III, who served under six governors during his 35 years in state government and was Gov. Thomas Kean’s first chief of staff, died on May 5. He was 89.
He first joined state government in the 1960s, when Gov. Richard J. Hughes was in office; he was one of three researchers in the Office of Legislative Services; he was hired by Samuel Alito, Sr., the longtime OLS executive director and father of the future U.S. Supreme Court Justice. OLS had a staff of twelve at the time.
Thurston served as research director at the New Jersey Republican State Committee from 1969 to 1970, playing an important role in the election of Rep. William Cahill (R-Collingswood) in his successful bid for governor against Democrat Robert Meyner, a former two-term governor. In that post, he forged a close relationship with Cahill and was a member of the new governor’s transition team.
He served as the top staffer for Senate Republicans – as executive director of the Senate Majority Office from 1970 to 1974, and after the GOP lost control in the 1973 Watergate wave election, as executive director of the Senate Minority Office from 1974 to 1976.
Following the 1970 census, Thurston served on the Legislative Apportionment Commission that drew a new map for the 1971 election.
Thurston was named executive director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission in 1976 after David Norcross resigned to seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. He held that post from 1976 to 1981. At ELEC, Thurston directed the state’s first publicly financed gubernatorial elections in 1977 and 1981.
He became friends with Kean in the early 1970s, when Kean was serving as Assembly Majority Leader, then as Speaker, and finally as minority leader.
In December 1981, after Kean had been declared the narrow winner in an excruciatingly close gubernatorial election against Jim Florio, Thurston was named chief of staff.
In April 1983, Thurston stepped down as chief of staff to take the newly-created post of chief operating officer of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. He was replaced by Greg Stevens, Kean’s 34-year-old communications director. The move mirrored that of Robert Mulcahy, who moved from his post as Gov. Brendan Byrne’s chief of staff to the Sports Authority.
Thurston left the Sports Authority in August 1994 to replace Roger Nutt as executive director of the New Jersey Highway Authority. Nutt had moved over to the Turnpike authority. Thurston helped create the E-ZPass system and remained in that post until he retired in 2002.
In 2006, Thurston helped Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, craft his first state budget.
Thurston grew up in Allendale and spent most of his adult life in Lawrenceville. He was a deacon and trustee of the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville. His wife of 53 years, Mary Jane, predeceased him in 2019. He is survived by his three daughters and eight grandchildren.
A memorial service to celebrate Thurston’s life will be held on Saturday, June 13 at 2 PM at his church.
