He served as county clerk until 2009 until he was appointed to the Senate seat formerly held by
John Adler, who had won a seat in the
United States House of Representatives. With the endorsement of
George Norcross, Beach ran unopposed in the convention. Beach won a November 2009 special election in order to remain in the Senate through the end of Adler's four-year term. Beach saw his salary drop from $153,437 annually as county clerk to $49,000 as state senator, and indicated after his selection to fill the Senate seat that he would seek additional employment to supplement his salary, ensuring that there was no conflict with his position as senator. After critical editorials in
The Star-Ledger and the
Courier-Post accused Beach of abusing the public pension system, Beach left the Camden County College job. He has served as Assistant Majority Leader since 2014.
Committees Committee assignments for the
2024—2025 Legislative Session are: • State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation (as chair)
District 6 Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the
New Jersey Senate and two members in the
New Jersey General Assembly. Representatives from the 6th District for the
2024—2025 Legislative Session are: • Senator James Beach (D) • Assemblyman
Louis Greenwald (D) • Assemblywoman
Pamela Rosen Lampitt (D) == Personal life ==