Ocean City Resident, Fmr. U.S. Rep. William J. Hughes Dies At 87

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Former Congressman William "Bill" J. Hughes died Wednesday in his Ocean City home. He was 87.

Hughes represented the 2nd Congressional district, much of coastal South Jersey, from 1975-95 before serving as U.S. ambassador to Panama until 1998.

He was a member of the House Judiciary Committee, in which he chaired the Subcommittee on Crime from 1981-90 and then the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property and Judicial Administration from 1991-94.

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Ambassador Bill Hughes," said State Senator Bob Andrzejczak. "After I became Senator, Ambassador Hughes became a mentor to me. I will forever cherish the discussions we had on public service, government, politics and his beloved Ocean City.

"He was a man of deep integrity and grace and I hope to live up to his standards as a public servant. My condolences, and the condolences of my Assembly colleagues Bruce Land and Matt Milam go out to the Ambassador’s family.”

Hughes was deeply involved with ocean protection and environmental legislation. In 1970, President Richard Nixon's Council on Environmental Quality issued a landmark report concluding that ocean dumping and other forms of marine pollution had resulted in serious environmental damage and posed a threat to human health and ocean ecosystems.

In 1975, Hughes successfully offered an amendment to ban the dumping of harmful sewage sludge and chemicals in the ocean after Dec. 31, 1981. President Jimmy Carter signed the bill into law in 1977.

Under the law, more than 300 industries and municipalities — including New York City and Philadelphia — lost permits to dump waste in the ocean and had to seek land-based disposal alternatives, according to a report to Congress.

Hughes has been honored throughout his district and in New Jersey. The Bill & Nancy Hughes Performing Arts Center in Ocean City High School honors the local contributions from Hughes and his wife. Cape May renamed Trenton Beach to The Congressman William J. Hughes Beach in 1995.

Stockton University also has the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy.

"Bill Hughes was the epitome of what a public servant ought to be," said Stockton President Harvey Kesselman. "He exuded a sense of civility with respect to everything he did in life, and he was unwaveringly committed to exhibiting that noble conduct to those with whom he came in contact."

"Congressman Hughes was a leader on the environment, ocean quality, pinelands preservation, and keeping what is now the William J. Hughes Technical Center from moving to Oklahoma," said Hughes Center Interim Executive Director John Froonjian. "He was a national leader on legislation concerning guns, crime, aging issues and trademark and copyright law."

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