Mildred Barry Hughes

Mildred Barry Hughes was an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly and became the first woman elected to the New Jersey Senate in 1965.

Politics

She was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly, as a Democrat, in 1957, 1959, 1961, and 1963. She became assistant majority leader in 1960 and 1961. When she won her Senate seat in 1965, she was the first Democrat from Union County, New Jersey, to be elected to the Senate in 75 years. She died on January 11, 1995, in Cranford, New Jersey.
She was known for sponsoring the following laws and acts:

revision of the state's Food and Drug Act
state's first "Good Samaritan" act to protect from lawsuits those who aided accident victims
control billboards
to aid nursing schools
to assist mental health organizations
a uniform Drinking Age of 21

Personal life

She was born as Mildred Barry in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and married Peter L. Hughes II and had three children: Peter L. Hughes III, W. Barry Hughes, and David J. Hughes.