Democrats in Essex County have retained control of four legislative districts – the 27th, 28th, 29th, and 34th – with lots of new faces headed to the legislature from heavily redrawn districts, the New Jersey Globe projects.
In the 27th district, the retirements of State Sen. Richard Codey (D-Roseland) and Assemblyman Tom Giblin (D-Montclair) brought about the creation of an entirely new legislative ticket with Assemblyman John McKeon (D-West Orange) at its head.
It’s the end of an incredibly impressive run for Codey, who served as acting governor from 2004 to 2006 and who has been in the legislature for a record-smashing 50 years. Codey originally ran for re-election this year – in fact, he defeated fellow State Sen. Nia Gill (D-Montclair) in an incumbent-on-incumbent matchup in June – but he decided late in the summer that he was finished with the legislature.
McKeon, who had been running for re-election to the Assembly alongside newcomer Alixon Collazos-Gill, was nominated at a Democratic convention to succeed Codey in the Senate. His own Assembly slot was taken by Livingston Councilwoman Rosy Bagolie after a bizarre set of switcheroos that involved Collazos-Gill briefly exiting the race in favor of her husband, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill (D-Montclair), before re-entering the race the day of the convention.
McKeon easily defeated Republican challenger Michael Byrne, while Bagolie and Collazos-Gill beat Irene DeVita and former Passaic County Freeholder Michael Mecca (R-Clifton).
Next door in the Newark-based 28th district, State Sen. Renee Burgess (D-Irvington) has won re-election unopposed, while Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (D-Newark) and Essex County Deputy Clerk Garnet Hall overwhelmingly defeated Republicans Joy Freeman and Willie Jetti in the most Democratic district in the state.
Burgess has been in office a little over a year, after winning a September 2022 special election convention to succeed legendary State Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Newark), who retired due to health issues (and who has since died).
Hall, meanwhile, was chosen for an Assembly seat after Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-South Orange), who was redistricted from the much more suburban 27th district, decided to retire. (Technically, Hall will succeed interim Assemblywoman Jackie Yustein, who was elected in April to take the spot of former 28th district Assemblyman Ralph Caputo.)
The other Newark-based district, the 29th, is also heavily Democratic; Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark), Assembly Budget Chair Eliana Pintor Marin (D-Newark), and Assemblywoman Shanique Speight (D-Newark) crushed Republicans Maritza Mathews, Orlando Mendez, and Noble Milton.
The 28th and 29th districts will continue to be the only two districts in the state with all-female legislative delegations; the 28th district will also now be the first district in state history to be represented entirely by Black women.
Finally, northern Essex’s 34th district is also getting an entirely new legislative delegation: Assemblywoman Britnee Timberlake (D-East Orange) in the Senate, Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia and high school principal Carmen Morales in the Assembly.
Timberlake will succeed Gill, the incumbent senator who lost to Codey in the neighboring 27th district’s incumbent-on-incumbent showdown. She defeated Republican Joseph Belnome, while Venezia and Morales won against Clenard Childress and James McGuire.
All in all, the newly elected set of legislators in Essex County make up the most diverse county delegation in state history. Including three Republicans who are likely to win in the 40th district, which includes many towns in northwest Essex, the delegation will be both majority-women and majority-people of color.
The newly elected tickets are also a win for Essex Democratic Chairman LeRoy Jones, who was the Democratic leader on the commission that drew the state’s new legislative map in the first place. Just a couple of years ago, Jones had no close allies in the State Senate; now, with McKeon, Burgess, and Timberlake, he’ll have three.
See all 2023 election results HERE.
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