Verlina Reynolds-Jackson

Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (born July 26, 1971) is an American Democratic Party politician who represents the 15th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly.^[1] Previously a member of the Trenton City Council, Reynolds-Jackson was sworn into office on February 15, 2018, to succeed Elizabeth Maher Muoio, who left office after being nominated to serve as Treasurer of New Jersey.^[2]

Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 15th district
Incumbent
Assumed office February 15, 2018 Serving with Anthony Verrelli
Preceded by	Elizabeth Maher Muoio
Personal details
Born	(1971-07-26) July 26, 1971 (age 53)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Lorenzo Jackson
Residence	Trenton, New Jersey
Education	College of New Jersey (BA) Central Michigan University (MS)
Website	Campaign website State Assembly website

She served in the Assembly as the Deputy Majority Leader from 2020 to 2021 and has been the Constituent Outreach Chair since 2022.^[1]

Early life

A resident of Trenton, New Jersey, Reynolds-Jackson attended Trenton Central High School. She graduated from Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) with a bachelor's degree in sociology and from Central Michigan University with a Master of Science in administration. She has worked for the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs in its Division of Housing and for the Mercer County Board of Social Services.^[3] First elected in 2010, Reynolds-Jackson was elected to a second term in office to represent Trenton's East Ward for a four-year term running from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2018, receiving 42% of the votes cast in the ward among the three candidates running for the seat.^[4][5][6] As a Democratic county committee member, she was involved in political campaigns across Mercer County in 2016 and 2017.^[6] She was elected by her peers in October 2014 to serve as the City Council's vice president, though two councilmembers voted against the appointment, claiming that the position of vice president had been created improperly.^[7][8]

New Jersey Assembly

Assemblywoman Elizabeth Maher Muoio was nominated by Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy to serve as the Treasurer of New Jersey. She resigned from office effective January 15, 2018, as well as from her position as director of economic development for Mercer County to begin work in the executive branch, in advance of her confirmation by the New Jersey Senate; her resignation came less than a week after being sworn into office for her second full term in the Assembly.^[9] Reynolds-Jackson was chosen at a February 10 Democratic county convention from Mercer County and Hunterdon County to succeed Muoio until a November 2018 special election; in the second round of voting, Reynolds-Jackson received a majority of the votes cast by committee members, defeating Mercer County Freeholder Anthony Verrelli.^[6]

In 2020, she was one of the primary sponsors of Assembly Bill 4454 (now N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.36a) which requires a curriculum on diversity and inclusion to be a component of the school curriculum for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.^[10]

In January 2024, during a debate on a bill to increase legislators' salaries, Assemblyman Brian Bergen asserted that legislators are "doing quite well" based on the cars with Assembly member license plates he saw in the New Jersey State House parking lot, to which Reynolds-Jackson responded that she drives a 2007 Toyota Camry.^[11]

Committee assignments

Committee assignments for the 2022—23 Legislative Session session are:^[1]

• Commerce and Economic Development, Vice-Chair
• Budget
• Higher Education
• Joint Committee on the Public Schools

District 15

Each 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.^[12] The representatives from the 15th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:^[13]

• Senator Shirley Turner (D)
• Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D)
• Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli (D)

Electoral history

15th Legislative District General Election, 2023^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Anthony S. Verrelli (incumbent)	27,669	42.3
	Democratic	Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (incumbent)	27,322	41.8
	Republican	Michel F. Hurtado	10,371	15.9
Total votes			65,362	100.0
	Democratic hold
	Democratic hold

15th legislative district general election, 2021^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Anthony S. Verrelli (incumbent)	37,507	40.66%
	Democratic	Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (incumbent)	37,214	40.34%
	Republican	Patricia "Pat" A. Johnson	15,492	16.79%
	Vote For Pedro	Pedro M. Reyes	2,042	2.21%
Total votes			92,255	100.0
	Democratic hold

15th Legislative District General Election, 2019

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (incumbent)	22,742	39.01%
	Democratic	Anthony Verrelli (incumbent)	22,141	37.98%
	Republican	Jennifer Williams	9,426	16.17%
	Legalize Marijuana Party	Edward Forchion	2,447	4.2%
	Legalize Marijuana Party	Dioh Williams	1,541	2.64%
Total votes			58,297	100%
	Democratic hold

15th Legislative District special Election, 2018^[16][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (incumbent)		36.0%
	Democratic	Anthony Verrelli (incumbent)		35.75%
	Republican	Tracy Sinatra		13.2%
	Republican	Justin Tibbetts		12.75%
	Integrity, Transparency, Accountability	Alex Bethea		1.5%
	Legalize Marijuana Party	Edward Forchion		0.8%
Total votes				100%
	Democratic hold

References

1. Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 27, 2022.
2. Johnson, Brent. "Meet N.J.'s newest Assembly member", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 15, 2018. Accessed February 15, 2018. "Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, a Democrat, was sworn in Thursday to fill the state Assembly seat vacated by Elizabeth Muoio, whom new Gov. Phil Murphy has nominated to become the next state treasurer.... She had to resign from the Trenton council to serve in the Assembly because state law bans dual office-holding."
3. Councilwoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson Biography, City of Trenton. Accessed February 11, 2018.
4. Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, City of Trenton. Accessed February 11, 2018.
5. Staff. "Trenton election results 2014 for mayor, council races", The Times, May 13, 2014. Accessed February 11, 2018.
6. Abdur-Rahman, Suleiman. "Trenton Councilwoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson wins Assembly seat, succeeds Liz Muoio", The Trentonian, February 10, 2018. Accessed February 11, 2018. "Instead of running for a third term, Reynolds-Jackson will soon resign from Trenton City Council and get sworn in at the New Jersey Statehouse as the next General Assembly member who represents the capital city and surrounding suburbs of the 15th Legislative District. That is because Reynolds-Jackson received the blessing of the Democratic Party’s committee members on Saturday to fill the vacancy left by former Assemblywoman Liz Muoio (D-Mercer/Hunterdon), who resigned from office last month to work in Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration as state treasurer."
7. Meet the Council, City of Trenton. Accessed February 11, 2018.
8. Pizi, Jenna. "Trenton councilwoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson voted in as council vice president", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 2, 2014. Accessed February 11, 2018. "In a close vote Trenton City Council elected Councilwoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson to the post of board vice president Thursday night. ... Councilmembers Marge Caldwell-Wilson and George Muschal voted against Reynolds-Jackson’s election to the post saying the process used to create the position was done incorrectly and therefore anyone holding the position is inappropriate. Both argued that because council through an ordinance, which requires the signature of the mayor, created the position it is not valid because council business should be separate from the mayor’s authority."
9. Curran, Phillip Sean. "Assemblywoman Muoio resigns, creating vacancy in legislature", CentralJersey.com, January 17, 2018. "State Assemblywoman Liz Muoio, a Democrat who represented parts of Mercer and Hunterdon counties since 2015, resigned her seat to join the Murphy administration, thus creating a vacancy that many Democrats want to fill.... But she submitted her resignation to the Assembly clerk on Friday to become acting state Treasurer until she gets confirmed by the Democrat-controlled state Senate. Her resignation took effect at the end of business Monday, according to an aide. She also left her job as the Mercer County director of economic development."
10. Bill A4454 AcaSca (2R) Session 2020 - 2021, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 27, 2022.
11. Friedman, Matt. "Legislative pay raises and Verlina Reynolds-Jackson’s 2007 Toyota", Politico New Jersey Playbook, January 5, 2024. "'For the record, I drive a 2007 Camry.' — Assemblymember Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-Mercer)."
12. New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
13. Legislative Roster for District 15, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed September 28, 2022.
14. "Candidates for General Assembly - For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
15. "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.
16. "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/06/2018 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 3, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
17. "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/06/2018 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 3, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2022.

External links

• Legislative webpage