Gina Genovese | |
|---|---|
| Mayor ofLong Hill Township, New Jersey | |
| In office 2006–2007 | |
| Preceded by | David Welch |
| Succeeded by | George Vitureira |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gina Rose Genovese (1959-04-30)April 30, 1959 (age 66) |
| Political party | Independent(2011–present)[1] |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic(before 2011) |
| Spouse | |
| Profession | Small business owner |
Gina Rose Genovese (born April 30, 1959) is an American businesswoman, former professional tennis player and politician fromNew Jersey. In 2006, Genovese become the firstDemocratic Party mayor inLong Hill Township's history and thefirst openly gay mayor in the state of New Jersey.[2] She was anIndependent candidate in the2017 New Jersey gubernatorial election.[3]
Genovese was born on April 30, 1959, inNewark and raised inUnion Township, Union County, New Jersey. At age 12, Genovese moved toBerkeley Heights, New Jersey. She graduated fromKent Place School inSummit, New Jersey, in 1977.[4]
Genovese joined theWomen's Tennis Association circuit in 1980. After attaining aworld ranking of 150, she was forced to retire in 1981 due to injury. In 1983, Genovese opened Gina's Tennis World in Berkeley Heights. She has coached over 25 nationally ranked players and continues to own and operate the club.[4]
In 2004, Genovese ran for a seat on theLong Hill Township committee and defeated a four-time Republican incumbent, becoming the lone Democrat on the committee.[5] In January 2006, Genovese was unanimously selected to become the township's first Democratic mayor and the first openly gay mayor in New Jersey.[6]
Genovese resigned from the township committee in 2007 to run forNew Jersey Senate in the21st Legislative District, challenging Republican incumbentTom Kean Jr.[7] The district included Long Hill and several other towns in Essex, Morris, Somerset and Union counties. Genovese was unopposed in the Democratic primary and lost to Kean in the general election, receiving 20,092 votes to Kean's 29,795.[8]
Genovese was one of New Jersey's 15electors in the2008 U.S. presidential election.[9]
In 2009, after extensive research in the field ofmunicipal consolidation, Genovese formed the non-partisan, non-profit organization Courage To Connect NJ, which encouragesproperty tax reform in New Jersey.[2][10] Genovese serves as the organization's executive director and co-authored the Courage To Connect NJ Guidebook.[11] She was an advocate of the2013 merger of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township.[12] In 2015, Genovese was presented the New Jersey Taxpayers’ Association Advocate Award in the category of Shared Services / Consolidation.[13] In 2017, InsiderNJ included her in its Insider 100 Policymakers as "the state's leading expert on municipal consolidation."[14]
In April 2017, Genovese announced an Independent bid for New Jersey governor, dedicating her candidacy to property tax reform.[3] On July 25, Genovese selected political operative Derel Stroud ofPlainfield as her running mate.[15] In the November 7, 2017, general election, she received 0.57% of the vote.[16][17]
Genovese resides in Long Hill Township with her partner, Wendy McCahill. The couple married in 2013.[18]