Essex backs Coughlin for re-election as speaker

All eight Democrats in the Essex County Assembly delegation have endorsed Craig Coughlin for another term as Speaker of the New Jersey State Assembly.

Coughlin is a lock to hold the powerful speaker’s post at least until January 2024 after receiving commitments from the Bergen, Hudson, Monmouth and South Jersey delegations.

The powerful delegation – Budget Committee Chair Eliana Pintor Marin (D-Newark),  Financial Institutions and Insurance Chair John McKeon (D-West Orange), Regulated Professions Committee Chair Thomas P. Giblin (D-Montclair), Higher Education Committee Chair Mila Jasey (D-South Orange), Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Cleopatra Tucker (D-Newark), Tourism, Gaming and Arts Committee Chairman Ralph Caputo (D-Nutley), and Assemblywomen Britnee Timberlake (D-East Orange) and Shanique Speight (D-Newark) – voted unanimously to back Coughlin for a third term during a Zoom meeting this morning.

“We unanimously support Craig Coughlin for another term,” said Essex County Democratic Chairman LeRoy Jones, Jr. “He knows how to balance government, politics and the interest of the people.  He’s the right person at the right time.”