Phillipsburg’s Flags Will Fly Half Staff This Week In Memory of Mayor Gloria Decker

PHILLIPSBURG, NJ - Mayor Randy Piazza Jr. has announced that all flags posted on township property will fly at half-staff next week in honor of Phillipsburg’s first elected Mayor, Gloria A. Decker.

On July 23, 2024, Decker passed away peacefully at the age of 91. Born on October 16, 1932, to parents Alfred R. Bates and Maeon (Smith) Bates, Decker remained a lifelong resident of Phillipsburg. According to Decker’s family, “She was an extraordinary woman who broke barriers through her dedication, perseverance, and leadership, earning great respect and inspiring others.”

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Decker is a 1950 graduate of Phillipsburg High School and Churchman Business College. She was renowned for her unwavering dedication to state and local politics, community activism, and business, pursuing these fields with a deep passion for her work and community.

Decker was first introduced to politics by her mother-in-law, Beatrice Decker. Her political journey began in 1953 when Democrat Robert B. Meyner, a Phillipsburg resident, won the governorship.

In 1968, Decker attended the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a reporter for the Easton Express. When an alternate was called home for an emergency, Decker found herself replacing him. Decker’s behind-the-scenes reports of this historic convention made front-page headlines.

Decker’s influence in county politics grew from there, and in 1972, she made history by becoming the first woman to lead a major political party in New Jersey and was elected chairman of the Warren County Democratic Party.

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Concurrently, Decker was a member and Vice President of the Phillipsburg Board of Education and the first female member of the Warren County Board of Taxation. From 1968 to 1973, Decker secured a $4 million bond to finance the construction of the Phillipsburg Middle School, Green Street School, and an addition to the Barber School. Decker also served on the building committee overseeing the construction of new schools and school improvements. She led an initiative to create cafeterias in every school district. Her efforts greatly enhanced the quality of education in town.

Decker was nominated by Governor Brendon T. Byrne and unanimously confirmed by the Senate to work at the New Jersey Lottery Commission as a confidential aide to the director in 1974. By 1977, she became the Executive Director. This made Decker the first woman to serve as head of a state of national lottery in the world. Under Decker’s direction, the New Jersey Lottery almost tripled its growth. She introduced the first Pick-4 and Pick-6 daily number games to market in the United States, leaving an indelible mark on the industry.

From the years 1982 to 1985, Decker served as a lottery consultant, instrumental in starting, advising, and operating lotteries in the District of Columbia and the Dominican Republic.

In 1989, Decker returned to her political roots as a town council member and later Deputy Mayor of Phillipsburg. Decker was the first elected mayor under the new strong mayor system of government and the first woman mayor in the town from 1992 through 1996. During her campaign for mayor, Decker switched political parties from Democrat to Republican.

From 1994 to 2003, Decker was a commissioner on the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. She was vital to restoring the brass seals atop the Easton-Phillipsburg Free Bridge. Decker served as the executive director of the New Jersey Real Estate Commission from 1996 to 2002. She eventually started her own real estate firm, NJ Realty Partners, and was the managing partner from 2006 to 2019.

Decker has received numerous awards and recognitions. Of particular significance, the Phillipsburg Senior Center, located at 310 Firth Street, was renamed the Gloria A. Decker Senior Center . In 2022, the Phillipsburg Town Council unanimously approved the proposal to rename the building to honor her strides toward equality for women. The Town Council’s ordinance describes Gloria as “a trailblazer for women, a person who was not afraid to fight for what she believed in and who overcame gender barriers to achieve great heights,” having “ably served the residents of Phillipsburg and beyond through public service.” Serving as the mayor when the building was constructed, the ordinance stated that Gloria “was instrumental in getting the funds for the Phillipsburg Senior Center, a center which does so much for the senior residents of Phillipsburg.”

Decker’s additional awards and recognitions:

• Warren County Republican Women, Woman of the Year (2019)

• Warren County Community College, Warren County Hall of Fame Class of 2012

• Phillipsburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Outstanding Citizen (2003)

• Who’s Who in American Politics (1973-1974, Fourth Edition)

• Phillipsburg High School Athletic Council – Outstanding Service to the Children of Phillipsburg (1973)

Decker’s full obituary can be found here .

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