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Gina Genovese

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Gina Genovese
Mayor of Long Hill Township, New Jersey
In office
2006–2007
Preceded byDavid Welch
Succeeded byGeorge Vitureira
Personal details
Born
Gina Rose Genovese

(1959-04-30) April 30, 1959 (age 65)
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyIndependent (2011–present)[1]
Other political
affiliations		Democratic (before 2011)
SpouseWendy McCahill
ProfessionSmall business owner

Gina Rose Genovese (born April 30, 1959) is an American businesswoman, former professional tennis player and politician from New Jersey. In 2006, Genovese become the first Democratic Party mayor in Long Hill Township's history and the first openly gay mayor in the state of New Jersey.[2] She was an Independent candidate in the 2017 New Jersey gubernatorial election.[3]

Early life and education

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Genovese was born on April 30, 1959, in Newark and raised in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey. At age 12, Genovese moved to Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. She graduated from Kent Place School in Summit, New Jersey, in 1977.[4]

Professional tennis career

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Genovese joined the Women's Tennis Association circuit in 1980. After attaining a world 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]

Political career

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Mayoral term and 2007 state senate campaign

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In 2004, Genovese ran for a seat on the Long 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 for New Jersey Senate in the 21st Legislative District, challenging Republican incumbent Tom 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 15 electors in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.[9]

Courage to Connect NJ

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In 2009, after extensive research in the field of municipal consolidation, Genovese formed the non-partisan, non-profit organization Courage To Connect NJ, which encourages property 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 the 2013 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]

2017 New Jersey gubernatorial election

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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 of Plainfield as her running mate.[15] In the November 7, 2017, general election, she received 0.57% of the vote.[16][17]

Personal life

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Genovese resides in Long Hill Township with her partner of 20 years, Wendy McCahill. The couple married in 2013.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Pizarro, Max (May 1, 2017). "NJ Towns Consolidation Champion Genovese on Independent Guv Bid: 'I Felt Compelled to Run'". InsiderNJ. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Parker-Magyar, Alex (April 25, 2017). "Genovese seeks property tax revolution through gubernatorial campaign". Echoes-Sentinel. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Muscavage, Nick (April 19, 2017). "Former Long Hill mayor announces bid for governor". MyCentralJersey.com. Gannett Co. Inc. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Magyar, Mark J. (April 30, 2014). "Profile: The Woman Who Wants To End NJ's 'Multiple Municipal Madness'". NJ Spotlight. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  5. ^ Edozien, Frankie (July 4, 2006). "The power of mayors". The Advocate. Here Media Inc.
  6. ^ "Gina Genovese elected as Long Hill mayor". New Jersey Hills. New Jersey Hills Media Group. January 11, 2006.
  7. ^ Capone, Sally (October 18, 2007). "Genovese hopes to make history against Kean". Echoes-Sentinel. p. 9.
  8. ^ Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2007 General Election Archived 2012-08-22 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State, December 3, 2007. Accessed June 14, 2017.
  9. ^ "U. S. Electoral College 2008 Election - Certificates". Archives.gov. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  10. ^ Pérez-Peña, Richard (November 26, 2010). "New Jersey's Tiniest Towns Fight Push to Merge". New York Times. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  11. ^ "Board of Directors". Courage to Connect NJ. Archived from the original on June 15, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  12. ^ Knapp, Krystal (November 8, 2011). "Princeton "Trailblazers" Vote to Unite". Planet Princeton. Princeton Community Media. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  13. ^ Limanov, Nicolas (October 31, 2015). "New Jersey Taxpayers' Association Presents Taxpayer Advocate Awards". Parsippany Focus. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  14. ^ "2017 Insider 100 Policymakers" (PDF). InsiderNJ. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  15. ^ Pizarro, Max (July 25, 2017). "Independent Guv Candidate Genovese to Run with Veteran Operative Derel Stroud". Insider NJ. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  16. ^ Leip, Dave. "2017 Gubernatorial General Election Results - New Jersey". US Election Atlas. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  17. ^ Corasaniti, Nick (June 6, 2017). "Phil Murphy and Kim Guadagno Win Primaries in New Jersey Governor's Race". New York Times. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  18. ^ "About Gina Genovese". Gina4NJGovernor. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
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