Roukema, Marge, 1929-2014

<p>Margaret "Marge" Roukema (née Scafati; September 19, 1929 – November 12, 2014) was an American politician who represented New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives for twenty-two years as a Republican from 1981 to 2003.</p>

<p>Roukema was a graduate of Montclair State College. Her first career was as a teacher in the Ridgewood Public Schools. She began her political career in the local board of education, becoming the vice president of the body in 1970.</p>

<p>In 1980, she challenged three-term incumbent Democratic Congressman Andrew Maguire, and won in what was then the 7th District. She was one of several Republicans swept into office by Reagan's coattails.</p>

<p>For more than two decades, Representative Marge Roukema of New Jersey used her seat on the House Financial Services Committee to help Americans access affordable housing using a combination of federal programs and private enterprise. Personal tragedy helped prompt Roukema toward a career in politics and factored into one of her great legislative successes: the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provided job protection and time off for many Americans to care for loved ones. “In a day and age when the majority of families need two paychecks to get by, it is inconceivable that we do not have a minimum guarantee of job security when a medical emergency strikes,” Roukema wrote in the New York Times. “The debate over the Family and Medical Leave Act is not about Federal mandates or benefit packages. It is about values and a standard of decency, and protecting the jobs of workers who are trying to hold on to the American dream.”</p>

<p>Margaret Roukema was born Margaret Scafati in Newark, New Jersey, on September 19, 1929. She was named after her mother. Her father, Claude, was a first-generation Italian American who worked as an auto mechanic. Roukema earned a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Montclair State College in 1951 and then pursued graduate studies there. In 1975 she did graduate work in city and regional planning at Rutgers University. She worked as a high school teacher in American history and government before marrying Richard W. Roukema, a psychiatrist. The couple raised three children: Greg, Todd, and Meg.</p>

<p>Roukema’s first public service position was on the board of education in Ridgewood, New Jersey, where she served from 1970 to 1973. Her political activity was, in part, spurred by her 17-year-old son, Todd, and his battle with leukemia. Roukema put aside her plans to attend law school to care for her son who succumbed to the disease in October 1976. Roukema later recalled that in the aftermath of her son’s death, she searched for an emotional and intellectual outlet. She became active in local party politics as the first woman elected president of the Ridgewood Republican Club in 1977 and 1978. In 1977 she supported Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Kean, first as a volunteer before quickly rising to become his campaign coordinator in 30 towns.</p>