Background
Mochary was born as Mary Veronica Kasser in Budapest in 1942 to Alexander and Elisabeth Kasser. Her father was the manager of the largest paper mill in Eastern Europe.
Mochary was born as Mary Veronica Kasser in Budapest in 1942 to Alexander and Elisabeth Kasser. Her father was the manager of the largest paper mill in Eastern Europe.
She attended Montclair State College High School, an experimental high school at Montclair State College (now Montclair State University). She graduated from Wellesley College in 1963 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and from the University of Chicago Law School in 1967 with a Juris Doctor degree.
She served as Mayor of Montclair, New Jersey and was the Republican nominee for United States Senate in 1984 to oppose incumbent Bill Bradley. The family left Hungary at the end of World World War II, immigrating first to Mexico and then to the United States. They settled in Montclair, New Jersey when Mochary was 9 years old.
They have two children, Alexandra Bergstein and Matthew Mochary.
In 1980, Montclair"s form of government changed from a five-member commission to a seven-member council. Mochary ran for the Council, and out of 28 candidates in the nonpartisan municipal election she received the most votes, leading to her selection as Mayor of Montclair, New Jersey from 1980 to 1984.
State Republican leaders tried to recruit Mochary to run for Congress and to oppose New Jersey Senate President Carmen A. Orechio in 1983. She then emerged as a potential candidate to oppose Bill Bradley in the 1984 United States. Senate race.
After declaring her candidacy she defeated Robert Morris of Mantoloking in the Republican primary.
The Almanac of American Politics called her an "attractive candidate" to run against Bradley. Stephen Mochary lived until 2001. She was defeated by Bradley in the general election, losing by a margin of 64.2% to 35.2%.
Mochary later served in the United States Department of State, as Principal Deputy Legal Advisor to the Secretary of State and Special Negotiator for Real Estate.
She has also served as manager and trustee of the Kasser Family Foundation, overseeing a fund with assets of $2.5 million that awards scholarships to young artists.