Annette Quijano | |
|---|---|
_Annette_Quijano.jpg) Quijano in 2025 | |
| Speaker pro tempore of theNew Jersey General Assembly | |
| Assumed office January 30, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Benjie Wimberly |
| Member of theNew Jersey General Assembly from the20th district | |
| Assumed office September 25, 2008 Serving with Reginald Atkins | |
| Preceded by | Neil M. Cohen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1962-07-04)July 4, 1962 (age 62) New Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Rutgers University, Camden (BS) Rutgers University, Newark (JD) |
| Website | State Assembly website |
Annette M. Quijano (/kiˈhɑːnoʊ/, born July 4, 1962[1]) is an AmericanDemocratic Party politician, who has represented the20th Legislative District in theNew Jersey General Assembly since September 25, 2008, having been selected byUnion County Democrats to succeedNeil M. Cohen, who resigned on July 28, 2008, amid allegations he possessed child pornography on an official computer.[2]
Quijano is a native of New Jersey, the daughter ofPuerto Rican parents. She is a resident ofElizabeth.
Quijano graduated fromRutgers University with aB.S. in Management and earned herJuris Doctor fromRutgers School of Law–Newark in 1991.[3][4] She served clerkships atNew Jersey Superior Court in Newark, and in Trenton at both the Office of the Governor's Counsel and theNew Jersey Department of the Public Advocate in Trenton. She has bar admissions in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.[5][6] She is currently a municipal prosecutor for the City of Elizabeth.[7] She has worked as a Compliance Manager for Prudential/AetnaU.S. Healthcare and as an attorney in civil practice. She served as Chief of Staff toState SenatorRaymond Lesniak from 1992 to 1994, Assistant Counsel to Union County, Clerk to the Union CountyBoard of Chosen Freeholders and as the Assistant Counsel to GovernorsJim McGreevey,Richard Codey andJon Corzine.[8] Quijano has served on the United Way Hispanic Advisory Council of Union County, the Governor's Working Group for Hispanic Affairs, a Legal Services committee in Elizabeth, and as a Commissioner for New Jersey's Congressional Redistricting efforts. She is the recipient of the Excellence in State Government Leadership and the Women of Excellence in Government awards and mentors young adults to consider law and graduate school in her free time.[8]
Quijano is the first woman and first minority to represent the 20th District. Quijano was selected by a convention of Union County Democrats over Patricia Perkins-Auguste by a vote of 87–82 to replace the vacant seat of Neil Cohen who resigned. Cohen resigned after staffers for then AssemblymanJoseph Cryan and then SenatorRaymond Lesniak foundchild pornography on Cohen's computer.[9] She was sworn in on September 25, 2008. She has been serving as General Assembly Deputy Majority Leader and Chairwoman of the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. This is in addition to serving as a member of the Labor Committee.[3] In June 2017, Quijano introduced a bill to designateStreptomyces griseus asNew Jersey's State Microbe, to be added tothe state's other state symbols.S. griseus was chosen for this honor because it is a New Jersey native that made unique contributions to healthcare and scientific research worldwide. A strain ofS. griseus that produced the antibioticstreptomycin was discovered in New Jersey in 1916 and developed into an antibiotic by aRutgers University team byAlbert Schatz andSelman Waksman in 1943.[10] A companion bill was introduced in the Senate in May 2017 bySamuel D. Thompson.[11]
In January 2025, Quijano was elected as speaker pro tempore, replacingBenjie Wimberly who was appointed to the State Senate.[12]
Committee assignments for the2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[3]
Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in theNew Jersey Senate and two members in theNew Jersey General Assembly.[13] The representatives from the 20th District for the2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[14]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Annette Quijano (incumbent) | 12,280 | 42.7 | |
| Democratic | Reginald Atkins (incumbent) | 12,104 | 42.1 | |
| Republican | Ramon Hernandez | 4,380 | 15.2 | |
| Total votes | 28,764 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Annette Quijano (incumbent) | 26,276 | 50.77% | |
| Democratic | Reginald Atkins | 25,477 | 49.23% | |
| Total votes | 51,753 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Annette Quijano (Incumbent) | 13,173 | 40.75 |  4.65 | |
| Democratic | Jamel Holley (Incumbent) | 12,437 | 38.48 | 6.12 | |
| Republican | Charles Donnelly | 3,496 | 10.82 |  0.82 | |
| Republican | Ashraf Hanna | 3,218 | 9.96 | 9.96 | |
| Total votes | '53,372' | '100.0' | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Annette Quijano (Incumbent) | 24,221 | 45.4 | 6.0 | |
| Democratic | Jamel Holley (Incumbent) | 23,790 | 44.6 | 6.8 | |
| Republican | Joseph G. Aubourg | 5,361 | 10.0 | 1.7 | |
| Total votes | '53,372' | '100.0' | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Annette Quijano (Incumbent) | 12,061 | 39.4 | 3.9 | |
| Democratic | Jamel Holley (Incumbent) | 11,568 | 37.8 | 1.5 | |
| Republican | Stephen E. Kozlovich | 3,593 | 11.7 | 2.8 | |
| Republican | Roger Stryeski | 3,398 | 11.1 | 2.6 | |
| Total votes | 30,620 | 100.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joseph Cryan (Incumbent) | 19,268 | 36.3 | 6.1 | |
| Democratic | Annette Quijano (Incumbent) | 18,839 | 35.5 | 7.2 | |
| Republican | Charles Donnelly | 7,719 | 14.5 | 0.1 | |
| Republican | Christopher Hackett | 7,269 | 13.7 | N/A | |
| Total votes | '53,095' | '100.0' | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Annette Quijano (Incumbent) | 12,116 | 42.7 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Cryan (Incumbent) | 12,104 | 42.7 | |
| Republican | John F. Donoso | 4,128 | 14.6 | |
| Total votes | 28,348 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joseph Cryan (Incumbent) | 20,607 | 50.7 | 15.5 | |
| Democratic | Annette Quijano (Incumbent) | 20,054 | 49.3 | 12.6 | |
| Total votes | '40,661' | '100.0' | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Annette Quijano (Incumbent) | 35,746 | 71.2 | |
| Republican | Linda Gaglione | 14,458 | 28.8 | |
| Total votes | 50,204 | 100.0 | ||
Annette Quijano '91 was appointed to fill a vacant State Assembly seat in Union county (20th Legislative District). She had been an assistant counsel to Gov. Jon Corzine.
| New Jersey General Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Speaker pro tempore of theNew Jersey General Assembly 2025–present | Incumbent |
Statewide political officials ofNew Jersey | ||
|---|---|---|
| U.S. senators |  | |
| State government |
| |
| Senate |
| |
| General Assembly |
| |
| Supreme Court (appointed) | ||