Valerie Vainieri Huttle Archives

Young people are significantly underrepresented in Trenton

March 25, 2022 2:44 pmMarch 28, 2022 12:25 am

Does the New Jersey legislature have an age problem? Usually, that kind of question is answered with statistics about just how old politicians are. The average age of a New Jersey legislator, for example, is 58-and-a-half; looking just at the...

After yearslong wait, Senate committee advances bill addressing sexual extortion

March 21, 2022 4:11 pmMarch 21, 2022 5:01 pm

More than five years after it was originally proposed by then-Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco (R-Boonton), a bill establishing the crime of “sexual extortion” passed the Senate Judiciary Committee today on a unanimous vote. Sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Steve Oroho...

Banasiak is newest addition to Kaufman Zita team

March 21, 2022 12:47 pm

A former top aide to Gov. Phil Murphy has joined an influential Trenton lobbying firm. Paulina Banasiak, who served as acting deputy of staff to the governor last year after Justin Braz left to join the re-election campaign, is now...

Assembly passes bill raising poll worker pay to $300

December 2, 2021 5:43 pmDecember 3, 2021 4:35 pm

While substantive legislation was far from the main focus of today’s voting sessions at the New Jersey State Capitol, the Senate and Assembly did in fact pass a number of bills, among them an Assembly bill that would raise poll...

Eight Assembly committee chairs not returning next year

November 8, 2021 6:38 amNovember 8, 2021 12:53 am

As a result of retirements and electoral defeats, the New Jersey State Assembly will likely have eight committee chairmanship vacancies when the legislature reorganizes in January. Four committee chairs lost their seats in last week’s election, two are moving up...

Johnson, Haider, Park win in the 37th district

November 2, 2021 8:03 pmDecember 21, 2021 10:17 am

The New Jersey Globe is projecting that Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-Englewood) has been elected to the 37th legislative district’s Senate seat, and that Shama Haider and Ellen Park have won their first terms in the Assembly. They defeated Republicans Michael...

Women legislators hard-pressed to increase their numbers in 2021

August 11, 2021 11:38 amAugust 11, 2021 11:40 am

The New Jersey state legislature, where all four legislative leaders and nearly 60% of all legislators are white men, is a body that has room to grow more diverse. But based on the candidates running this November, the 2021 elections...