Reginald Atkins (born December 25, 1967)[1] is an American pastor and politician who has represented the 20th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since taking office on January 11, 2022.
Reginald Atkins | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 20th district | |
| Assumed office January 11, 2022 Serving with Annette Quijano | |
| Preceded by | Jamel Holley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 25, 1967 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Roselle, New Jersey |
| Website | Legislative webpage |
Atkins served as president of the board of education of the Roselle Public Schools from 2007 to 2016. Elected to the Roselle borough council in 2016, he served as council president from 2018 to 2019, and was elected as mayor, serving from 2020 to 2021.[2]
New Jersey General Assembly
editWith Assemblyman Jamel Holley announcing in early 2021 that he would be mounting an ultimately unsuccessful primary challenge against Joseph Cryan for the seat from the 21st District in the New Jersey Senate, the Union County Democratic Party chose Atkins to run for the Assembly together with incumbent Annette Quijano.[3][4] He took office in January 2022 as one of 17 newly elected members and the only ordained clergyman in the New Jersey Legislature.[5]
Committees
editCommittee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[6]
- Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations (as chair)
- Higher Education (as vice-chair)
- Aging and Human Services
District 20
editEach of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.[7] The representatives from the 20th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[8]
- Senator Joseph Cryan (D)
- Assemblyman Reginald Atkins (D)
- Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D)
Electoral history
edit| 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 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Annette Quijano (incumbent) | 26,276 | 50.77% | |
| Democratic | Reginald Atkins | 25,477 | 49.23% | |
| Total votes | 51,753 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Assemblyman Reginald Atkins (D)". njleg.state.nj.us. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- ^ Assemblyman Reginald Atkins (D), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 16, 2022.
- ^ Wildstein, David. "Rev. Atkins gets nod for Holley Assembly seat", New Jersey Globe, March 3, 2021. Accessed January 4, 2024. "Union County Democrats have picked Rev. Reginald Atkins, the Roselle Democratic Municipal Chair and a former interim mayor, as their candidate for State Assembly in the 20th district. He will replace Jamel Holley (D-Roselle), who is giving up his seat to mount an uphill fight for State Senate against incumbent Joseph Cryan (D-Roselle)."
- ^ "Atkins Running with Cryan and Quijano in LD20". Insidernj.com. March 3, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
- ^ Difilippo, Dana. "Fueled by faith, new Assemblyman vows to ‘keep God first’", New Jersey Monitor, February 2, 2022. Accessed January 24, 2024. "And a church 'flavor' is what he said he hopes to bring to the New Jersey Assembly, where he was sworn in last month as one of 17 newcomers to the state Legislature. He’s believed to be the only ordained clergy in the 120-member body, where he will represent the 20th District, a heavily Democratic area that includes four Union County towns."
- ^ Assemblyman Reginald W. Atkins (D), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 23, 2024.
- ^ New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
- ^ Legislative Roster for District 20, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 23, 2024.
- ^ "Candidates for General Assembly - For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ^ "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/02/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.