Joseph McGahn
American politician
title: "Joseph McGahn" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1917-births", "1999-deaths", "american-gynecologists", "united-states-army-personnel-of-world-war-ii", "american-obstetricians", "mayors-of-places-in-new-jersey", "democratic-party-new-jersey-state-senators", "holy-spirit-high-school-(new-jersey)-alumni", "people-from-absecon,-new-jersey", "people-from-northfield,-new-jersey", "politicians-from-atlantic-city,-new-jersey", "university-of-pittsburgh-school-of-medicine-alumni", "st.-mary's-college-of-maryland-alumni", "united-states-army-medical-corps-officers", "20th-century-american-surgeons", "20th-century-mayors-of-places-in-new-jersey", "military-personnel-from-atlantic-county,-new-jersey", "20th-century-members-of-the-new-jersey-legislature"] description: "American politician" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McGahn" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American politician ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Joseph McGahn |
| state_senate1 | New Jersey |
| district1 | 2nd |
| term_start1 | January 11, 1972 |
| term_end1 | January 10, 1978 |
| predecessor1 | Frank S. Farley |
| successor1 | Steven P. Perskie |
| birth_name | Joseph Leo McGahn |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Northfield, New Jersey, U.S. |
| party | Democratic (1971–77) |
| Independent (1977) | |
| Republican (1981) | |
| :: |
|name = Joseph McGahn |image = |caption = |state_senate1 = New Jersey |district1 = 2nd |term_start1 = January 11, 1972 |term_end1 = January 10, 1978 |predecessor1 = Frank S. Farley |successor1 = Steven P. Perskie |birth_name = Joseph Leo McGahn |birth_date = |birth_place = Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = Northfield, New Jersey, U.S. |party = Democratic (1971–77) Independent (1977) Republican (1981) Joseph Leo McGahn (March 29, 1917 – December 24, 1999) was an American obstetrician and Democratic Party politician from New Jersey who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1972 to 1978, where he was a key figure in bringing casino gambling to Atlantic City.
Education and medical career
McGahn was born in Atlantic City. He graduated from Holy Spirit High School in Absecon, attended St. Mary's College of Maryland, graduating summa cum laude in 1939 and was awarded his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1943 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. After graduating from medical school, he served as a general surgeon in the United States Army Medical Corps during World War II.
After returning from military service, he practiced internal medicine and surgery in Atlantic City. Starting in 1951, he began a specialty in obstetrics and gynecology.
Legislative career
McGahn served on the Absecon, New Jersey City Council and as its mayor. He won the Democratic primary for State Senate in 1971 in the district, in which registered Republican Party heavily outnumbered Democrats, and ran for office without the support of the local Democratic Party leadership.
Shortly after taking office, McGahn was the cosponsor of a bill to bring casino gambling to New Jersey. He was described by The New York Times as the "principal architect" of legislation that brought casino gambling to Atlantic City. While in the Senate, he served as chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Energy and the Environment.
Party leadership at the Democratic convention in 1977 roundly supported Steven P. Perskie, a Democratic member of the New Jersey General Assembly, by a margin of 266 to 77. Both McGahn and Perskie had won election to the Legislature in 1971, despite the Republicans 4-1 edge in registration. Perskie won reelection with 29,151 votes, defeating McGahn, who received 28,149.
After the legislature
Both before and after his service in the legislature, he worked at the Atlantic City Medical Center, specializing in emergency medicine. From 1984 to 1989, he became medical director at Resorts International.
On September 27, 1995, the South Jersey Transportation Authority named the bridge connecting the Atlantic City Expressway with local Atlantic City streets in honor of McGahn.
McGahn had been a longtime resident of Absecon, New Jersey. He died on December 24, 1999, at Meadowview Nursing Home in Northfield, New Jersey.
References
References
- Sullivan, Joseph S.. (September 27, 1981). "2 Longtime Allies Squaring Off". The New York Times.
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=MClMAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Joseph+L.+McGahn%22+%22St.+Mary%22 ''Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, Volume 197, Part 1''], p. 214. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1976. Accessed December 20, 2022. "Joseph L. McGahn, M.D. (Dem., Absecon)... He graduated from Holy Spirit High School, Mt. St. Mary's College, summa cum laude; University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and served his Internship and residency in Atlantic City Hospital."
- Saxon, Wolfgang. [https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/28/nyregion/joseph-mcgahn-82-pioneer-of-casinos-in-atlantic-city.html "Joseph McGahn, 82, Pioneer Of Casinos in Atlantic City"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 28, 1999. Accessed December 20, 2022. "Joseph Leo McGahn, a New Jersey obstetrician who, as a Democratic state senator, paved the way for Atlantic City's gambling industry in the 1970's, died Friday at Meadowview Nursing Home in Northfield, N.J. A longtime resident of Absecon, N.J., he was 82."
- On Election Day, November 3, 1971, McGahn defeated incumbent [[Frank S. Farley]], who had served a total of 34 years in the [[New Jersey Legislature]], to win a seat in the New Jersey Senate, in a race in which McGahn focused on corruption, in the wake of federal investigation of the Republican Party machine in Atlantic City.Carroll, Maurice. [https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/03/archives/democratic-gains-posted-in-jersey-gop-control-of-assembly-imperiled.html "Democratic Gains Posted In Jersey; G.O.P. Control of Assembly Imperiled and Senate Edge Is Cut -- Farley Beaten Jersey Democrats Score Gains in the Legislature"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 3, 1971. Accessed August 18, 2008.
- Braun, Martin Z. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB5CF166855A315&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "Joseph McGahn, 82, Ex-Senator Who Was A Proponent Of Casinos"], ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'', December 25, 1999. Accessed August 18, 2008.
- [[Martin Waldron
- McGahn ran in the general election as an independent, with Perskie beating both McGahn and Republican candidate Frederick Perone.Narvaez, Alfonso. [https://www.nytimes.com/1977/11/09/archives/easy-triumph-by-governor-helps-democrats-keep-trenton-control.html&scp=16&sq=mcgahn+senate&st=p "Easy Triumph by Governor Helps Democrats Keep Trenton Control"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 9, 1977. Accessed August 18, 2008.
- [https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/05/nyregion/totals-for-vote-in-elections-in-city-suburbs-and-nearby-states-key-to-symbols.html "Totals For Vote In Elections In City, Suburbs And Nearby States; Key To Symbols"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 5, 1981. Accessed December 20, 2022.
- [http://www.sjta.com/sjta/history.asp History & Milestones], [[South Jersey Transportation Authority]]. Accessed August 18, 2008.
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