Thomas Gerard Dunn (April 9, 1921 – February 11, 1998) was an American Democratic Party politician who was a longtime Mayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey.
[1] In his first bid for elected office in 1950, he fell six votes short of winning in a seat on the Elizabeth City Council, but came back and won in 1952.
[1] FBI agents later released audio recordings of a meeting between Dunn and Mafia boss Sam 'The Plumber' DeCavalcante,[3] during which the politician accepted cash, promised to deliver city work and was asked to tell two other individuals to "keep their mouths shut."
After gasoline stations ran low on supplies following the 1973 oil crisis, Dunn made Elizabeth one of the first cities in the nation to impose odd-even rationing.
[4] Despite his assurances that he would not run for mayor again, Dunn ran in the 1992 Democratic primary and lost his bid for the nomination to James Christian Bollwage, who went on the win in the November elections by a 3-1 margin over his Republican challenger.
[8] His staunch conservative ideology, dubious ethical standing and irascible personality earned Dunn a spirited primary election challenge from progressive Democrat James J. Devine when he ran for the General Assembly in 1991.
Subsequent to his slim nomination victory, Dunn won an uncontested general election with running mate George Hudak.