Verlina Reynolds-Jackson

Last updated

Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
Verlina Reynolds-Jackson.jpg
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 15th district
Assumed office
February 15, 2018
Servingwith Anthony Verrelli
Website Campaign website
State Assembly website

Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (born July 26, 1971) is an American Democratic Party politician who represents the 15th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly. [1] Previously a member of the Trenton City Council, Reynolds-Jackson was sworn into office on February 15, 2018, to succeed Elizabeth Maher Muoio, who left office after being nominated to serve as Treasurer of New Jersey. [2]

Contents

She served in the Assembly as the Deputy Majority Leader from 2020 to 2021 and has been the Constituent Outreach Chair since 2022. [1]

Early life

A resident of Trenton, New Jersey, Reynolds-Jackson attended Trenton Central High School. She graduated from Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) with a bachelor's degree in sociology and from Central Michigan University with a Master of Science in administration. She has worked for the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs in its Division of Housing and for the Mercer County Board of Social Services. [3] First elected in 2010, Reynolds-Jackson was elected to a second term in office to represent Trenton's East Ward for a four-year term running from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2018, receiving 42% of the votes cast in the ward among the three candidates running for the seat. [4] [5] [6] As a Democratic county committee member, she was involved in political campaigns across Mercer County in 2016 and 2017. [6] She was elected by her peers in October 2014 to serve as the City Council's vice president, though two councilmembers voted against the appointment, claiming that the position of vice president had been created improperly. [7] [8]

New Jersey Assembly

Assemblywoman Elizabeth Maher Muoio was nominated by Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy to serve as the Treasurer of New Jersey. She resigned from office effective January 15, 2018, as well as from her position as director of economic development for Mercer County to begin work in the executive branch, in advance of her confirmation by the New Jersey Senate; her resignation came less than a week after being sworn into office for her second full term in the Assembly. [9] Reynolds-Jackson was chosen at a February 10 Democratic county convention from Mercer County and Hunterdon County to succeed Muoio until a November 2018 special election; in the second round of voting, Reynolds-Jackson received a majority of the votes cast by committee members, defeating Mercer County Freeholder Anthony Verrelli. [6]

In 2020, she was one of the primary sponsors of Assembly Bill 4454 (now N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.36a) which requires a curriculum on diversity and inclusion to be a component of the school curriculum for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. [10]

In January 2024, during a debate on a bill to increase legislators' salaries, Assemblyman Brian Bergen asserted that legislators are "doing quite well" based on the cars with Assembly member license plates he saw in the New Jersey State House parking lot, to which Reynolds-Jackson responded that she drives a 2007 Toyota Camry. [11]

Committee assignments

Committee assignments for the 2022—23 Legislative Session session are: [1]

District 15

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. [12] The representatives from the 15th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are: [13]

Electoral history

15th Legislative District General Election, 2023 [14]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Anthony S. Verrelli (incumbent) 27,669 42.3
Democratic Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (incumbent) 27,322 41.8
Republican Michel F. Hurtado10,37115.9
Total votes65,362 100.0
Democratic hold
Democratic hold
15th legislative district general election, 2021 [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Anthony S. Verrelli (incumbent) 37,507 40.66%
Democratic Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (incumbent) 37,214 40.34%
Republican Patricia "Pat" A. Johnson15,49216.79%
Vote For PedroPedro M. Reyes2,0422.21%
Total votes92,255 100.0
Democratic hold
15th Legislative District General Election, 2019
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (incumbent) 22,742 39.01%
Democratic Anthony Verrelli (incumbent) 22,141 37.98%
Republican Jennifer Williams9,42616.17%
Legalize Marijuana Party Edward Forchion 2,4474.2%
Legalize Marijuana Party Dioh Williams1,5412.64%
Total votes58,297 100%
Democratic hold
15th Legislative District special Election, 2018 [16] [17]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (incumbent) 36.0%
Democratic Anthony Verrelli (incumbent) 35.75%
Republican Tracy Sinatra13.2%
Republican Justin Tibbetts12.75%
Integrity, Transparency, AccountabilityAlex Bethea1.5%
Legalize Marijuana Party Edward Forchion 0.8%
Total votes100%
Democratic hold

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennington, New Jersey</span> Borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, US

Pennington is a borough in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is located at the cross-roads between the Delaware Valley region to the southwest and the Raritan Valley region to the northeast. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2,802, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 217 (+8.4%) from the 2010 census count of 2,585, which in turn had reflected a decline of 111 (−4.1%) from the 2,696 counted in the 2000 census.

Shirley Kersey Turner is an American Democratic Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 1998, where she represents the 15th Legislative District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Board of County Commissioners (New Jersey)</span> New Jersey county government

In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the board of county commissioners serves as the county legislature. In the remaining counties, the board of county commissioners exercises both executive and legislative functions, often with an appointed county administrator or manager overseeing the day-to-day operations of county government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda R. Greenstein</span> Member of the New Jersey Senate

Linda R. Greenstein is an American attorney and politician who has served since 2010 as a member of the New Jersey Senate representing the 14th legislative district. She previously served in the General Assembly from 2000 to 2010.

Marcia A. Karrow is an American politician affiliated with the Republican Party. She is currently serving as the mayor of Flemington, New Jersey. She previously served in the New Jersey State Senate representing the 23rd Legislative District from February 9, 2009 to November 23, 2009. She previously served for three years in the General Assembly representing the same district she represented in the Senate.

Wayne P. DeAngelo is an American Democratic Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since January 8, 2008, where he represents the 14th Legislative District.

Concetta "Connie" Wagner is an American Democratic Party politician, who had served in the New Jersey General Assembly since January 8, 2008, where she had represented the 38th legislative district until her resignation on October 1, 2013.

William Everett Schluter was an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey, who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature in two separate instances.

Annette M. Quijano is an American Democratic Party politician, who has represented the 20th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since September 25, 2008, having been selected by Union County Democrats to succeed Neil M. Cohen, who resigned on July 28, 2008, amid allegations of child pornography on an official computer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey's 15th legislative district</span> American legislative district

New Jersey's 15th legislative district is one of 40 in the New Jersey Legislature, covering the Hunterdon County municipalities of Delaware Township, East Amwell Township, Frenchtown, Kingwood, Lambertville City Stockton, and West Amwell Township; and the Mercer County municipalities of Ewing Township, Hopewell Borough, Hopewell Township, Lawrence Township, Pennington Borough, Trenton City and West Windsor Township.

Daniel R. Benson is an American Democratic Party politician who is the current Mercer County Executive and a former member of the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 14th Legislative District. Benson, who previously served on the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders, replaced Assemblywoman Linda R. Greenstein, after she was elected to the New Jersey Senate in a special election. He was sworn in on January 10, 2011, to fill Greenstein's vacant Assembly seat.

Gabriela M. Mosquera is an American Democratic Party politician, who represented the 4th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from March 5, 2012, until January 9, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Maher Muoio</span> American politician

Elizabeth Maher Muoio is an American Democratic Party politician who serves as the Treasurer of New Jersey. Previously, she had been a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature, representing the 15th Legislative District from 2015 to 2018. She had also served as a councilwoman from the borough of Pennington and a Mercer County Freeholder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristin Corrado</span> Member of the New Jersey Senate

Kristin M. Corrado is an American Republican Party politician who has represented the 40th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate since she was sworn into office on October 5, 2017. Before her appointment to the senate, she served as Passaic County Clerk for seven years.

Shanique Davis Speight is an American Democratic Party politicians who represents the 29th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2018, succeeding Blonnie R. Watson, who chose not to run for reelection. Speight has served in the Assembly as the Deputy Parliamentarian since 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda S. Carter</span> Member of the New Jersey General Assembly

Linda Carter is an American Democratic Party politician. who has represented the 22nd Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since taking office in 2018 to fill the seat that had been vacant following the death of Jerry Green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Verrelli</span> Member of the New Jersey General Assembly

Anthony S. Verrelli is an American carpenter, union leader and Democratic Party politician who represents the 15th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">218th New Jersey Legislature</span>

The 218th New Jersey Legislature began on January 9, 2018 following the 2017 Elections. The session started in the end of Chris Christie's governorship and continued in the first two years of Phil Murphy's governorship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 New Jersey General Assembly election</span>

The 2021 New Jersey General Assembly election was held on November 2, 2021. New Jersey voters elected two assembly members in all of the state's legislative districts for a two-year term to the New Jersey General Assembly.

Shama Haider is a Democratic Party politician who represents the 37th legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly since taking office on January 11, 2022. Along with Sadaf Jaffer, she is one of the first Muslim women to be elected to the New Jersey Legislature.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 27, 2022.
  2. Johnson, Brent. "Meet N.J.'s newest Assembly member", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 15, 2018. Accessed February 15, 2018. "Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, a Democrat, was sworn in Thursday to fill the state Assembly seat vacated by Elizabeth Muoio, whom new Gov. Phil Murphy has nominated to become the next state treasurer.... She had to resign from the Trenton council to serve in the Assembly because state law bans dual office-holding."
  3. Councilwoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson Biography, City of Trenton. Accessed February 11, 2018.
  4. Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, City of Trenton. Accessed February 11, 2018.
  5. Staff. "Trenton election results 2014 for mayor, council races", The Times , May 13, 2014. Accessed February 11, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 Abdur-Rahman, Suleiman. "Trenton Councilwoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson wins Assembly seat, succeeds Liz Muoio", The Trentonian , February 10, 2018. Accessed February 11, 2018. "Instead of running for a third term, Reynolds-Jackson will soon resign from Trenton City Council and get sworn in at the New Jersey Statehouse as the next General Assembly member who represents the capital city and surrounding suburbs of the 15th Legislative District. That is because Reynolds-Jackson received the blessing of the Democratic Party’s committee members on Saturday to fill the vacancy left by former Assemblywoman Liz Muoio (D-Mercer/Hunterdon), who resigned from office last month to work in Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration as state treasurer."
  7. Meet the Council, City of Trenton. Accessed February 11, 2018.
  8. Pizi, Jenna. "Trenton councilwoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson voted in as council vice president", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 2, 2014. Accessed February 11, 2018. "In a close vote Trenton City Council elected Councilwoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson to the post of board vice president Thursday night. ... Councilmembers Marge Caldwell-Wilson and George Muschal voted against Reynolds-Jackson’s election to the post saying the process used to create the position was done incorrectly and therefore anyone holding the position is inappropriate. Both argued that because council through an ordinance, which requires the signature of the mayor, created the position it is not valid because council business should be separate from the mayor’s authority."
  9. Curran, Phillip Sean. "Assemblywoman Muoio resigns, creating vacancy in legislature", CentralJersey.com, January 17, 2018. "State Assemblywoman Liz Muoio, a Democrat who represented parts of Mercer and Hunterdon counties since 2015, resigned her seat to join the Murphy administration, thus creating a vacancy that many Democrats want to fill.... But she submitted her resignation to the Assembly clerk on Friday to become acting state Treasurer until she gets confirmed by the Democrat-controlled state Senate. Her resignation took effect at the end of business Monday, according to an aide. She also left her job as the Mercer County director of economic development."
  10. Bill A4454 AcaSca (2R) Session 2020 - 2021, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 27, 2022.
  11. Friedman, Matt. "Legislative pay raises and Verlina Reynolds-Jackson’s 2007 Toyota", Politico New Jersey Playbook, January 5, 2024. "'For the record, I drive a 2007 Camry.' — Assemblymember Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-Mercer)."
  12. New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
  13. Legislative Roster for District 15, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed September 28, 2022.
  14. "Candidates for General Assembly - For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State . Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  15. "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/02/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  16. "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/06/2018 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 3, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  17. "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/06/2018 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 3, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2022.