Reed Gusciora

Reed Gusciora
Mayor of Trenton
Incumbent
Assumed office July 1, 2018
Preceded by	Eric Jackson
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 15th district
In office January 9, 1996 – July 1, 2018
Preceded by	Joseph Yuhas
Succeeded by	Anthony Verrelli
Personal details
Born	(1960-03-27) March 27, 1960 (age 61) Passaic, New Jersey, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Catholic University (BA) Seton Hall University (JD)
Website	Official website

Walter Reed Gusciora (born March 27, 1960) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served as the mayor of Trenton, New Jersey since 2018. He previously served from 1996 to 2018 in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 15th Legislative District. He also served as the prosecutor for Lawrence Township.^[1] He defeated businessman Paul Perez to become Mayor of Trenton in 2018, earning 52 percent of the vote in a runoff election on June 12 since no candidate won the 50 percent threshold or more in the May 8 election.^[2]

Early life[]

Gusciora was born in Passaic, New Jersey and raised in Jamesburg, where he attended public schools and graduated from Jamesburg High School in 1978. Gusciora's father, Walter, worked at the New Jersey Department of Health in Trenton and the City was an integral part of his childhood. As a teenager, Gusciora worked for his family's company, Aardvark Pest Control, and in his free time, he spent time visiting Trenton's museums and famous restaurants. He received a B.A. from The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Politics/International Relations and worked his way through college by working at the Library of Congress. After graduation, he worked on Capitol Hill in the congressional offices of U.S. Representatives Andy Ireland (D-FL) and the late Mike Synar (D-OK). Gusciora was awarded a J.D. in 1988 from the Seton Hall University School of Law.

Legislative career[]

In 1995, Gusciora beat Joseph Constance, a former Mercer County Freeholder and deputy police chief of Trenton Police Department, who received support from the National Rifle Association and campaigned against New Jersey's teachers' union. At the time, Republicans outnumbered Democrats 53 to 27 in the New Jersey State Legislature, and Constance received the momentum of the State's shift towards moderate Republicanism under popular Governor Christine Todd Whitman.^[3] Gusciora's victory maintained New Jersey's 15th Legislative District as a Democratic stronghold.

Gusciora has been the Deputy Majority Leader since 2008, and was the Assembly's Assistant Minority Leader from 1998-2001. He currently serves as Chairman of the Assembly Regulatory Oversight, Federal Relations, and Reform Committee, and is a member of the Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance and Assembly Labor Committees.^[4] He is a former Chairman of the Environment and Solid Waste Committee.

Gusciora authored the "Paramount Safety" Law that changed the legal standard in child custody cases to protect the health and well being of the child when abuse has occurred. He is the author of a law that streamlines services for people with developmental disabilities through the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education. He is also the original prime sponsor of legislation that would allow patients to sue HMOs for malpractice and the "Senior Gold Prescription Discount Act," which expanded the state’s prescription drug program for seniors.

2011 redistricting[]

The redistricting plan adopted following the 2010 U.S. Census moved Gusciora's hometown of Princeton Borough out of the 15th district and into the heavily-Republican 16th. Gusciora immediately announced that he would put his Princeton home on the market and move to Trenton, some 12 miles (19 km) away.^[5] Trenton was the largest city in the old 15th district and remained the largest city in the newly configured 15th district.

2014–2015 Legislative session[]

In the 2014-2015 legislative session, Gusciora sponsored fourteen bills and co-sponsored thirty-four bills.

Gusciora co-sponsored legislation creating the option to make a voluntary contribution for the support of local libraries on gross income tax returns, establishing a program to provide assistance to qualified veterans in in-patient and out-patient treatment programs to travel to in-state medical counseling, and requiring school bus drivers and school bus aides to attend a training program on interacting with students with special needs.^[6][7][8]

Similarly, during this legislative session, Gusciora co-sponsored several key criminal justice reform bills: "The Opportunity to Compete Act" establishing certain employment rights for persons with a criminal record, requiring the New Jersey Department of Corrections to make reports containing information concerning treatment and reentry initiative participation, extending "Overdose Prevention Act" immunity provisions to certain professionals and professional entities, and permits needle exchange programs to obtain standing order for opioid antidotes.^[9][10][11]

2016–2017 Legislative session[]

In the 2016-2017 legislative session, Gusciora sponsored twenty-eight bills and co-sponsored thirty-nine bills for a total of sixty-seven bills which were signed into law.

Gusciora sponsored legislation to authorize medical marijuana for qualifying patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, require that certain inmates with detainers be provided access to drug treatment programs, and exempt homeless individuals from paying fees for non-driver identification cards.^[12][13][14]

Gusciora co-sponsored "New Jersey Housing Assistance for Veterans Act," a pilot program to assist veterans with housing modification and rehabilitation as well as a bill to permit small, women-owned, or minority-owned businesses located in designated regional centers or planning areas to qualify for loans from the New Jersey Economic Development Agency (EDA) as if located in a designated urban center.^[15][16]

Role as mayor[]

Youth Initiatives[]

On September 13, 2018, the Mayor's Office announced that the City's initiative "Trenton Production and Knowledge Innovation Campus" (TPKIC) was awarded the Innovative Challenge grant by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. The City partnered with Princeton University, Rider University, The College of New Jersey, Thomas Edison State University, and Mercer County Community College to build the vision behind the application, which seeks to support start-up businesses, local creators, students and faculty at partner colleges and universities, and Trenton Public Schools students and recent graduates.^[17]

On January 16, 2020, Gusciora announced the launch of the Trenton Youth "WIN" App, a mobile application, which is designed to connect City youth with access to essential services. The City of Trenton, in conjunction with the County of Mercer and our Continuum of Care partners, accepted the pledge to prevent and end youth homelessness in 2020. As part of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, the City of Trenton has developed community partnerships to promote, educate, and commit to eliminating homelessness within the Capital City. The WIN application has been identified as a crucial way to establish channels of communication with youth who may feel embarrassed when going to a governmental agency. Mayor Reed Gusciora stated “The success of this application will not be measured by our ideas, but by our impact. Community stakeholders have been key supporters and we will need the help of all community partners in promoting this.”^[18]

Housing and Economic Development[]

Within the first 6 months of holding office, Gusciora reported that his administration had received $17 million in new public and private grant funding and that there were pursuing $19 million in grants and aid.^[19] Gusciora also stated that $6 million in Community Development Block Grants (from 2011-2018), from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, was in the process of being unfrozen. On January 21, 2020, Gusciora stated that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development had decided to release funds to the Capital City because of Gusciora's re-hiring of key positions needed for the appropriate management of federal funds. While most of the funding was used to pay back the City for past projects, the rest will go into public facility renovations and improvements for senior centers.^[20]

In September 2019, Gusciora touted the results of Trenton's monthly public property auction as the largest and most successful in the City's history. On that day alone, 86 City-owned properties, valued at a collective $3.3 million, were auctioned off, and went back on the tax rolls.^[21] Around the same time, Gusciora and the Trenton Housing Authority (THA) won $1.3 million in Choice Neighborhood Planning and Action Grant funds, distributed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to develop a comprehensive neighborhood transformation plan for Donnelly Homes.^[22]

In December 2019, Ordinance 19-80 and 19-79, legislation that Gusciora designed and advocated for was passed by the City Council. The legislation authorized sidewalk cafés (without City approval) and the distribution of alcohol for brunch on Sunday mornings earlier (earlier than neighboring municipalities).^[23]

Public Safety[]

On October 15, 2019, Gusciora announced that the City had been awarded $85,000 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's 2019 Port Security Grant Program. The funds subsidized the purchase of 3 watercraft with engines, dive rescue equipment, and additional supplies.^[24]

Health and Human Services[]

In November 2019, Gusciora shared that the City of Trenton's Department of Health had won a $95,000 grant "Strengthening Local Public Health Capacity Grant Operations" from the New Jersey Department of Health. The funds are being utilized to supplement Gusciora's efforts to reduce the number of residents affected by vaccine-preventable illnesses.^[25]

Veteran's Issues[]

In November 2019, Gusciora collaborated with veteran Willie Smith and a student leader at Trenton Central High School to win Governor Murphy's "We Value our Veterans Community Award" for City initiatives to help City veterans access medical care, find employment, and locate permanent housing.^[26]

COVID-19 Response[]

Gusciora's published a document "COVID-19: Trenton Testing Status Report," which outlined steps that his administration had taken to reduce the fatality rate of COVID-19 in the Capital City. The report was the first of its kind written by a municipality in New Jersey and published publicly. At the time of the report, the City's fatality rate of those infected with COVID-19 was 2.8% whilst the State of New Jersey's fatality rate was 7.4%. Gusciora outlined a set of proactive steps that the City had taken to increase the amount of testing, secure personal protective equipment, and coordinate with other governmental agencies.^[27]

One of Gusciora's policies, created a business loan program for City small businesses, who could apply for up to $20,000 in emergency loans. The Trenton Emergency Loan Program utilized existing funds from the City's Urban Enterprise Zone and exceeded State and County programs set up to assist businesses with their economic recovery.^[28]

Executive Leadership[]

In July 2019, Gusciora announced that he had been selected as one of 40 mayors to participate in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, which is an initiative founded by Michael Bloomberg of Bloomberg Philanthropies and three-term mayor of New York City as well as Harvard University. The mission of the program is to inspire and strengthen city leaders as well as equip them with the tools to lead high-performing and innovative cities.^[29]

Politics[]

Gusciora is a supporter of gay rights and same-sex marriage.^[30] In December 2006, he publicly acknowledged his homosexuality, thereby becoming the first ever openly gay member of the New Jersey Legislature.^[31] In January 2012, he was joined by Assemblyman Tim Eustace, the openly gay mayor of Maywood, who was elected to the General Assembly from the 38th District.^{[citation needed]}

On Governor Chris Christie's opposition to a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the state, Gusciora stated "Govs. Lester Maddox and George Wallace would have found allies in Chris Christie over efforts by the Justice Department to end segregation in the South", and "[Christie] would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets of the South."^[32][33]

Christie responded, "What I said was I’m sure that civil rights advocates would have liked to have this as another option but it was not available to them, yet you have numbnuts like Reed Gusciora who put out a statement comparing me to George Wallace and Lester Maddox."^[32] The two later amended their differences.^[34]

References[]

External links[]

• New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms:
  • 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
• Campaign website
• Assembly Member Reed Gusciora, Project Vote Smart

New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by Joseph Yuhas	Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 15th district 1996–2018 Served alongside: Shirley Turner, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Elizabeth Maher Muoio	Succeeded by Anthony Verrelli
Political offices
Preceded by Eric Jackson	Mayor of Trenton 2018–present	Incumbent