Trenton, NJ – The Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey (WPCNJ) proudly endorses 45 Senate and Assembly women candidates for the November General Election.  The endorsed candidates embrace and are dedicated to upholding WPCNJ’s mission to increase the number of women in elected and appointed office, protect reproductive freedom and achieve equal rights for all women.

Now, more than ever, it is critical that we encourage New Jersey residents to vote and to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms women and their families care deeply about - especially a woman’s right to reproductive freedom.  It is vital that we support and advance elected and appointed officials that are equally committed to upholding these rights. 

“We must continue to fight against attacks on women by promoting leaders who understand and represent women through elected and appointed positions of power. We must remain vigilant. Elections have consequences, we can never assume women’s rights are safe” said Shari Weiner, Chair of the Political Resource Committee. 

The Women's Political Caucus of New Jersey Political Action Committee has made significant contributions to candidates in the 2021 election cycle.  The WPCNJ PAC supports pro-choice candidates that align with the mission of the Women’s Political Caucus. 

Candidates Receiving Endorsement of Women's Political Caucus of NJ
*signifies incumbent

Caren Fitzpatrick (D) – District 2, Assembly

Gabriela Mosquera (D)* – District 4, Assembly

Nilsa Cruz Perez (D)* - District 5, Senate

Pamela Lampitt (D)* – District 6, Assembly

Carol Murphy (D)* – District 7, Assembly

Allison Eckel (D) – District 8, Assembly

Dawn Addiego (D)* – District 8, Senate

Mary Sharon Quilter (D) – District 10, Assembly

Emma Mammano (D) – District 10, Senate

Joann Downey (D)* – District 11, Assembly

Allison Friedman (D) – District 13, Assembly

Vicky Flynn (R) – District 13, Assembly

Linda Greenstein (D)* - District 14 Senate

Verlina Reynolds Jackson (D)* – District 15, Assembly

Shirley Turner (D)* – District 15, Senate

Sadaf Jaffer (D) – District 16, Assembly

Yvonne Lopez (D)* – District 19, Assembly

Annette Quijano (D)* – District 20, Assembly

Anjali Mehrotra (D) – District 21, Assembly

Nancy Munoz (R)* – District 21, Assembly

Linda Carter (D)* – District 22, Assembly

Hope Kaufman (D) – District 23, Assembly

Denise King (D) – District 23, Senate

Lauren Barnett (D) – District 25, Assembly

Patricia Veres (D) – District 25, Assembly

Melissa Brown Blaeuer (D) – District 26, Assembly

Pamela Fadden (D) – District 26, Assembly

Christine Clarke (D) – District 26, Senate

Mila Jasey (D)* – District 27, Assembly

Cleopatra Tucker (D)* – District 28, Assembly

Eliana Pintor Marin (D)* – District 29, Assembly

Shanique Speight (D)* – District 29, Assembly

M. Teresa Ruiz (D)* – District 29, Senate

Angela McKnight (D)* – District 31, Assembly

Sandra Cunningham (D)* - District 31, Senate

Angelica Jimenez (D)* – District 32, Assembly

Annette Chaparro (D)* – District 33, Assembly

Britnee Timberlake (D)* – District 34, Assembly

Nia Gill (D)* - District 34, Senate

Shavonda Sumter (D)* – District 35, Assembly

Nellie Pou (D)* - District 35, Senate

Lisa Swain (D)* – District 38, Assembly

Holly Schepisi (R)* – District 39, Senate

Genevieve Allard (D) – District 40, Assembly

Nicole McNamara (D) – District 40, Assembly

Patricia “Pat” Egan Jones began her political journey working in her community to establish safety programs and a preschool program, which after more than 40 years is still in existence. This work led to a 47-year career, including serving as Chief of Staff for Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts and Legislative & Administrative Director to the late New Jersey State Senator Walter Rand.

In 1996, Pat was sworn in as a Barrington Council Member and served until elected as a Camden County Commissioner. As Commissioner, Pat was instrumental in locating the Battleship New Jersey in Camden. She believed that Camden, across from the Philadelphia Navy Yard where the Battleship was built, was the perfect location. After numerous meetings and a lengthy application process, the Navy decided to give the Battleship to the Home Port Alliance to be located in Camden. Opened to the public since October 14, 2001, the ship has been a viable part of the Camden City's Waterfront for the past 20 years.

From Commissioner, Pat was elected Camden County Surrogate, where she served 15 years. As Surrogate, she established an outstanding Adoption Program, redefined and educated Guardians with workshops, and held financial programs for young adults about how to get resources that were held in trusts. 

She then took an unexpired seat in the General Assembly and was elected to serve two additional terms. Working in the General Assembly, Pat is proud to say she was part of the effort to pass Equal Pay legislation, Sick Time legislation and to establish a higher living wage for all New Jersey workers. 

Pat helped improve funding for the Arts and Cultural and Heritage Programs. She served on the Transportation and Budget Committee and also served on the Joint Committee on Public Schools and Higher Education Committee.

Along the way, Pat managed many other activities and today continues to actively serve on the Board of Volunteers of America Delaware, Larc School, The Walter Reed Institute at Rutgers Camden, Coopers Ferry Partnership and the Board of the Battleship New Jersey. 

Currently, Pat serves as Outreach Director for the Camden County Veterans’ Affairs Office, a rewarding position that allows her to give thanks to all the people who have made all of the above happen. 

Today the Women’s Political Caucus of NJ, LUPEPAC, PAM’s List, a coalition of African American women leaders, the Democratic Task Force of the Bipartisan Coalition for Women’s Appointments announced their collaboration with Senator Loretta Weinberg, Senator Nellie Pou and the NJ Legislative Latino Caucus, and Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter and the NJ Legislative Black Caucus in an effort to secure landmark appropriations to study the gender and ethnic diversity of those appointed to state boards and commissions, as well as all publicly elected officials. 

These organizations have been working collaboratively for years in an attempt to develop ways to address the lack of diverse representation in our state’s elected offices, as well as appointed positions on boards and commissions. It is clear that a key element missing from this effort is availability of current, transparent data that is public-facing, searchable and easily downloadable for data visualization and analysis by researchers. For ongoing analysis, it is also crucial to ensure consistent and ongoing access to the data. 

“For too long now, our appointed boards have been dominated by white men. It is difficult to achieve gender parity or appropriate representation on these boards when it is unclear who is serving and when their terms end. I am hopeful that this transparency will make the nomination and appointment process more equitable for the diverse communities we represent. I appreciate the Governor and Senate President’s willingness to help in this endeavor.” said Senator Loretta Weinberg. 

"Nearly one in five New Jerseyans are a member of the Hispanic community, and as the Latino Caucus, a top priority is to ensure there is proper representation from our community in all levels of government. In order to accomplish this goal, we need to ensure we are armed with the most accurate and current data. Those elected to serve in office, as well as those on public boards and commissions, should reflect the diversity of our state." said Senator Nellie Pou, Chair of the Legislative Latino Caucus

“We must be intentional to ensure gender equity and diversity is represented in all spaces. This database is an essential tool needed to guarantee that a conscious effort is established in this endeavor. I would like to thank all of the partners for their strong alliance and support with these necessary inclusion initiatives.” said Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus.  

Members of these organizations have partnered with legislators to develop two resolutions. The first will fund a deep dive into the racial and gender makeup of all the seats on New Jersey’s more than 500 public boards. Data will be collected by Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute of Politics, and the public-facing database will be jointly housed by Eagleton and the Governor’s office. The regular updating of this database would be codified via legislation to ensure that future administrations continue to make the appointments process transparent and equitable. 

The second appropriation would accelerate achieving the goal of P.L.2019, c.377, signed in January of 2020, collecting the race and gender of every elected public official currently in office at the municipal, county and state levels. It is important that the public have this data as soon as possible so that voters can make informed decisions about diversity in representation when entering the voting booth. 

“For fifty years the Center for American Women and Politics has been tracking and monitoring the number of women candidates and officeholders nationwide. This has taught us that you can’t solve the problem of underrepresentation until you define the problem and you can’t define the problem without the data. This appropriation will finally allow us all to fully understand the status of women and people of color in New Jersey State government and develop effective strategies to make sure that the diversity of our state is reflected in our government.” said Debbie Walsh, Director of the Center for American Women and Politics, a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. 

Jeanette Hoffman is an experienced public affairs consultant and statewide media spokesperson specializing in strategic messaging, marketing, crisis communications and public affairs campaigns. As president of a public affairs firm that services a broad range of corporate and non-profit clients, she has over two decades of experience in issues advocacy, politics, policy, and state government.

Hoffman is also a media commentator who can be seen on national and New Jersey television and radio stations discussing politics and public policy. She is regularly featured as a political strategist for media outlets such as Fox, My9, Newsmax, NJTV, CBS News, News 12 New Jersey, Gannett Newspapers, Ebru TV, National Public Radio, WNYC radio and New Jersey 101.5.

Jeanette has been named to ROI’s Influencers List Women in Business 2021, NJBIZ’s prestigious “Forty Under 40” list and Fox’s “Chasing News” Power List. Since 2012, State Senator Loretta Weinberg has consistently featured Jeanette on her New Jersey Women of Power List. She’s also been named one of Observer/PolitickerNJ’s top political operatives several times, and one of Save Jersey’s “Right 40 Women to Watch.” She is a regular speaker at Center for American Women and Politics “Ready to Run” campaign leadership training for women, and has served as a Faculty in Residence for CAWP’s New Leadership program.

Jeanette has served as a senior vice president at one of the state’s top ten lobbying firms and Vice President of the Commerce Industry Association of New Jersey, representing more than 900 businesses. A former Executive Director of the New Jersey Republican State Committee, Hoffman was the Party’s primary media spokesperson throughout several campaign cycles.  Jeanette began her career in state government working for Governor Christine Todd Whitman, and later worked for Assembly Speaker Jack Collins and Congressman Bob Franks.

A proud graduate of The College of New Jersey, Jeanette has served on the College’s Alumni Executive Board. She is active with the Jersey Shore Partnership and an avid marathon runner and a former fitness instructor. Jeanette resides in Monmouth County with her husband and four children.

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As an executive with over 30 years of industry experience, Kelly Stewart Maer has an extensive network in federal, state, and local government, including working for a U.S. Senator, NJ Senate President, and NJ House Speaker, and five NJ State Governors.

Currently, as the Director of Public Affairs, State and Federal for Capital Health System, Kelly oversees all Public and Government Affairs functions for the growing hospital system as it expands in Bucks County, PA. In this capacity, she works directly with senior management, the CEO and Board of Trustees, on key initiatives. Kelly has received a series of awards and recognitions for her efforts to date, as well as a position as a Board Member of Drumthwacket Foundation and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s Healthcare Policy Transition Team.

Kelly has been ranked among the 100 most powerful political players in New Jersey on Insider NJ’s 2016-2020 Power Lists as well as PolitickerNJ’s “Women of Power Lists” for 2015 to 2020

Kelly earned her MA in Corporate Communications from Rowan University and her BA in Communications from the University of South Carolina. She is a past and present Board Member of multiple organizations, and her involvement in volunteer activities stems from a sincere desire to give back to her community and the state of New Jersey.

Kelly grew up getting involved in politics as her Grandfather was a prominent figure and her father was NJ State Assemblyman. They fostered her love of campaigns and fueled her drive to work on the 1992 Clinton – Gore race – where she worked alongside Barbara’s son, Stephen Sigmund. She also worked on the 2008 US Senate and Presidential races, 2016 Hilary Clinton campaign and numerous state and federal races throughout her career.

A lifelong New Jerseyan she lives in Monmouth County with her husband, daughter and their rescue pup. She cherishes the friends she’s made serving on the Board of the WPCNJ for the past eight years.

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Thank You to the 2021 Passion * Power * Progress Sponsors

Leader

Kivvit

Visionary

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

Benefactor

Comcast

Fairview Insurance Agency Association

Hackensack Meridian Health

Orsted

PSE&G

RWJBarnabas Health

Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli

Partner

Advocacy & Management Group

Anbaric

Anheuser Busch

AT&T

Assemblyman Daniel Benson

Capital Impact Group

Speaker Craig Coughlin

Fair Share Hospitals Collaborative

Fox Rothschild LLP

Genova Burns LLC

Senator Vin Gopal

Amy Mansue

Middlesex County Democratic Organization

New Jersey Business & Industry Association

New Jersey Chamber of Commerce

New Jersey Natural Gas

New Jersey Realtors

New Jersey Utilities Association

Planned Parenthood Action Fund of NJ

Princeton Public Affairs Group

Reynolds American

Riker Danzig

River Crossing Strategy Group LLC

Senate President Stephen Sweeney

Somerset County Democratic Committee

South Jersey Industries

Taft Communications

Thomas Edison State University

Utility & Transportation Contractors Association

Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf LLP

Friend

ARH Associates

Bayshore Recycling

Bevan, Mosca & Giuditta, P.C.

Marcia W. Brown, Esq.

Laurie Clark

Eileen DellaVolle

Edison Democratic Organization

Dennis Enright

Sharon Shinkle Gardner

Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald

GTB Partners

Hoagland Longo

Jefferson Health New Jersey

Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak

MBI-GluckShaw

McCarter & English LLP

Elizabeth Murray

Congressman Frank Pallone

Stark & Stark

Senator Joseph Vitale

Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg

Shari Weiner, Esq.

Supporter

AECOM

Rosemary Bernardi

Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey

Jennifer H. Chuang, MD, MS, FAAP

Zulima Farber

Jeanne Fox

Assemblyman Thomas Giblin

Impact NJ

Katz Government Affairs

Eileen Kean, Esq.

Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt

Lawrence Law

NAIOP New Jersey

NJ Food Council

Assemblywoman Annette Quijano

Melanie Willoughby

Trish Zita

Thank you again for sharing our commitment to increase women’s participation in the political process.