Richard Bagger

Richard Hartvig Bagger (born March 27, 1960) is an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey, and former State Senator who later served as chief of staff to Governor Chris Christie.[1] He left the Christie administration in early 2012, and is now an Executive Vice President with Celgene. He is a resident of Westfield, New Jersey.

Rich Bagger
Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 21st district
In office January 8, 2002 – January 15, 2003
Preceded by	Kevin J. O'Toole
Succeeded by	Thomas Kean Jr.
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 22nd district
In office January 14, 1992 – January 8, 2002
Preceded by	Maureen Ogden
Succeeded by	Jerry Green Linda Stender
Personal details
Born	Richard Hartvig Bagger March 27, 1960 Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	Princeton University (BA) Rutgers University, Newark (JD)

Life and career

Bagger was born in Plainfield, New Jersey. He received an A.B. in 1982 from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law.[2]

Bagger served as a Planning Board member, Councilman, and Mayor of Westfield, New Jersey during the 1980s and 1990s.[2] He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly from the 22nd Legislative District in 1991, succeeding Chuck Hardwick, his longtime mentor. During his time as an assemblyman, he served as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and was elected to be Majority Conference Leader. In 2000, he declined a race to succeed Bob Franks in Congress. In 2001, he was elected to the New Jersey Senate for the 21st Legislative District. He resigned as a State Senator in 2003 in order to pursue private business interests and was succeeded by Thomas Kean Jr. Bagger remained a political leader in Union County after leaving the legislature.

Earlier in his career, Bagger was an Assistant General Counsel to Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey and practiced law with the firm of McCarter and English.[2] After leaving the Senate, he worked as Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy for Pfizer.[2] He also was a member of the NJN Foundation Board of Trustees and Board Chair of the National Pharmaceutical Council.[3] In December 2009, then-Governor-elect Chris Christie appointed Bagger as his chief of staff.

Bagger serves on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Board of Commissioners, having been confirmed by the New Jersey State Senate on June 28, 2012.[4] During 2020, he joined the Board of Directors of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society[5] and the Board of Directors of Tonix Pharmaceuticals.[6]

Bagger briefly joined the transition planning team of Donald Trump, after his friend and close associate Chris Christie endorsed him and was named head of the planning group.[7][8][9] After calls for Christie's impeachment as Governor and felony convictions in U.S. federal court for high-ranking members of his staff in the Bridgegate scandal, Christie was dropped by Trump as leader of the transition team, in favor of Mike Pence.[7][8] On the same day, Bagger was removed by Trump from the transition team.[7][8] In May 2017, Bagger was appointed to the President's Commission on White House Fellowships.[10]

Bagger is also an adjunct faculty member of the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers University.[11]

References

1. Bagger Will Be Christie's Chief of Staff, Politicker NJ. Accessed December 3, 2009.
2. Richard H. Bagger - NJN Foundation Board of Trustees Archived 2006-12-01 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 13, 2007.
3. "Celgene EVP Richard Bagger Elected National Pharmaceutical Council Board Chair | National Pharmaceutical Council". www.npcnow.org. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
4. "Board of Commissioners".
5. "The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Announces Board of Directors | Article | Healthcare Global". www.healthcareglobal.com. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
6. "Tonix Pharmaceuticals Announces Appointment of Richard H. Bagger to Board of Directors". BioSpace. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
7. David Smith (11 November 2016), "Chris Christie dropped as head of Trump's White House transition team", The Guardian, retrieved 12 November 2016
8. Michael D. Shear, Michael S. Schmidt, and Maggie Habermannov (11 November 2016), "Vice President-Elect Pence to Take Over Trump Transition Effort", The New York Times, retrieved 12 November 2016CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
9. Jeremy Diamond, Jake Tapper, Phil Mattingly and Stephen Collinson, CNN (February 26, 2016). "Chris Christie endorses Donald Trump". CNN. Retrieved February 27, 2016.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
10. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to his Administration". The White House. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
11. "Eagleton Faculty, Staff and Visiting Associates". Eagleton Institute of Politics. Retrieved 2020-12-30.