Cleopatra Gibson Tucker (born April 9, 1943) is an American Democratic Party politician, who has represented the 28th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2008.
Cleopatra Tucker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 28th legislative district | |
| Assumed office January 8, 2008 Serving with
| |
| Preceded by | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cleopatra Gibson April 9, 1943 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Tennessee State University |
| Occupation | Non-profit director |
| Website | Assemblywoman Tucker's legislative webpage |
Biography
editTucker was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. She attended Tennessee State University, majoring in sociology. After moving to Newark, New Jersey, in 1966, she was hired by the Newark Housing Authority in 1976. She retired from the Authority in 2002. She is currently the executive director of a non-profit organization called The Centre, Inc.[1] The Centre's headquarters was named after her late husband, Donald Kofi Tucker, in 2006.[2]
Personal life
editTucker has two grown children with her late husband and is a resident of Newark's Weequahic neighborhood.[3][4]
Political career
editAfter Donald Tucker, who was both a Newark councilman and an Assemblyman, died in October 2005 and posthumously won re-election to his Assembly seat, Assemblyman Tucker was replaced in a special election convention by Evelyn Williams, who was elected to serve the remaining month of the term and to serve the first year of the full term.[5][6] Williams resigned from the Assembly in January 2006 before the start of the new session, following her arrest for shoplifting, creating a vacant seat. A special election convention appointed Democratic Party activist Oadline Truitt to the seat for the first half of the term and she was re-elected in a November 2006 special election.[7] In Truitt's first bid for a full two-year term, Tucker and Essex County Freeholder and former Assemblyman from the 1960s-1970s Ralph R. Caputo defeated Truitt and incumbent Assemblyman Craig A. Stanley in the June 2007 Democratic primary. Tucker and Caputo had the backing of Newark Mayor Cory Booker.[4][8] Tucker has subsequently won re-election to the Assembly every two years since then.
In January 2011, Tucker introduced a bill that would require every bicycle in the state of New Jersey to display a license plate, which would be registered with the government for a small fee.[9] Within about a week, she withdrew her proposal.[10]
Committees
editCommittee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[1]
- Military and Veterans' Affairs (as chair)
- Aging and Human Services (as vice-chair)
District 28
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.[11] The representatives from the 28th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[12]
- Senator Renee Burgess (D)
- Assemblyman Garnet Hall (D)
- Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (D)
Electoral history
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cleopatra G. Tucker (incumbent) | 19,094 | 46.3 | |
| Democratic | Garnet Hall | 18,637 | 45.2 | |
| Republican | Joy Freeman | 1,902 | 4.6 | |
| Republican | Willie S. Jetti | 1,600 | 3.9 | |
| Total votes | 41,233 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ralph R. Caputo (incumbent) | 32,797 | 39.24% | |
| Democratic | Cleopatra G. Tucker (incumbent) | 32,719 | 39.15% | |
| Republican | Monique Headen | 9,063 | 10.84% | |
| Republican | Anthony D'Angelo | 9,005 | 10.77% | |
| Total votes | 83,584 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ralph Caputo (incumbent) | 16,234 | 41.5% | ||
| Democratic | Cleopatra Tucker (incumbent) | 15,998 | 40.8% | ||
| Republican | Joy Bembry-Freeman | 3,282 | 8.4% | ||
| Republican | Antonio Pires | 3,025 | 7.7% | ||
| Independent | Derrick Ross | 637 | 1.6% | ||
| Total votes | 37,284 | 100% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
References
edit- ^ a b Assemblywoman Cleopatra G. Tucker, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 24, 2024.
- ^ Biography via CapitolConnect.com
- ^ "Assemblywoman Cleopatra G. Tucker Bio Page". NJ Assembly Majority Office. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ a b "Official List Candidate Returns for General Assembly For June 2007 Primary Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. July 20, 2007. p. 28. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ "Dead assemblyman wins re-election". United Press International. November 8, 2005. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ "Donald Tucker's replacement". Politicker NJ. November 15, 2005. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ Howlett, Deborah (February 10, 2006). "School librarian takes Assembly seat". The Star-Ledger.
- ^ Gillespie, Andra (2012). The New Black Politician: Cory Booker, Newark, and Post-Racial America. New York University Press. p. 199. ISBN 9780814732458. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ Friedman, Matt (January 12, 2011). "N.J. lawmaker proposes mandatory license plates for bicycles". NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ Staff (January 13, 2011). "N.J. lawmaker withdraws proposal to require license plates for bicycles". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ 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 28, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 24, 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.
- ^ Official List Candidates for General Assembly For 11/05/2019 Election, New Jersey Department of State, December 2, 2019. Accessed February 12, 2024.
External links
edit- Assemblywoman Tuckers' legislative webpage, New Jersey Legislature
- Assembly Majority Web site Archived March 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms - 2007 Archived June 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine 2008 Archived June 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine 2009 Archived June 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine 2010 Archived June 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine 2011 Archived June 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine 2012 Archived June 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine 2013 Archived June 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine 2014 Archived June 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine 2015 Archived June 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine 2016 Archived August 10, 2017, at the Wayback Machine