N.J. judge, former lawmaker Peter Barnes III dies at 64 Updated Feb 23, 2021; Facebook Share The longtime Edison resident died after an illness not related to COVID-19, the Senate Democratic Office said. Barnes, a Democrat, represented Middlesex County’s 18th legislative district in the New Jersey Legislature for nearly a decade, serving in the Assembly from 2007-14 and then the Senate from 2014-16. Gov. Phil Murphy said Barnes, the son of the late former state Assemblyman Peter Barnes Jr., “proudly continued his family’s legacy of service.” “Pete garnered a reputation as a detail-driven lawmaker who put the need for good policy before the desire for a quick headline,” Murphy, a fellow Democrat, said. “A workhorse, not a showhorse. The things that made him a good legislator and beloved colleague also made him a model judge in our Superior Courts for the past nearly five years.”