Angel Fuentes (born August 2, 1961) is an American Democratic Party politician who was elected to serve in the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

from 2009 until June 2015, where he represented the 5th legislative district. Fuentes was the president of the city council in Camden, New Jersey's seventh-largest city, serving from 2000 to 2010, stepping down to take the Assembly seat. He resigned from his Assembly seat in June 2015 in order to become a deputy

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

for Camden County.

Early life and education

Fuentes was raised in Camden, where he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. He then attended St. John Vianney College Seminary in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, earning a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. He then successfully pursued certification by the state of New Jersey as a

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

er.

Camden City Council

Fuentes represented Camden's Fourth Ward, which includes Downtown Camden, the

Camden Waterfront The Camden Waterfront, also known as the Central Waterfront, is a commercial and entertainment district in Camden, New Jersey, on the Delaware River south of the Ben Franklin Bridge and north of Port of Camden. The Waterfront South was foun ...

, and the North Camden, Cramer Hill, and Cooper Grant neighborhoods. He resides in the Cramer Hill neighborhood. As a city councilman, Fuentes was a major proponent of youth and

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

s' programs, efforts toward social justice, and anti-crime efforts. During his tenure on the council, Fuentes helped to create or spearheaded the creation of a Citizen Public Safety Council, Ethics and Municipal Human Relations Commissions, a Taxicab Commission, a Public Safety Council, and an Asian American Advisory Board. Notably, Fuentes has led a crusade against

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

in the city of Camden, which included the establishment of an anti-graffiti task force, the implementation of an anti-graffiti curriculum in local schools, and a related hotline. Favoring efficiency and accountability in government, Fuentes published a Ten Point Plan for city government reform. Fuentes enjoys close ties with the Save Our Waterfront in North Camden organization and the Cramer Hill Neighborhood Advisory Board.

Other activities

Beyond the city council, Fuentes serves on the Strategic Planning Committee for the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute. He is a member of the

National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) is the 501(c)(4) non-partisan leadership organization of the nation's more than 7,000 Latino elected and appointed Latino public officials in the United States. NALEO is ...

. He also serves on the boards of directors for the Camden County Chapter of the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

, the Greater Camden Partnership, and the Cooper's Ferry Development Board. In 1997, he was recognized by the Camden County Office of Hispanic Affairs & Community Development as an Outstanding Community Leader. Since then he has received addition public service awards from the American Red Cross, the Peace Troopers of Camden City, and the faith-based initiative Christian Quarterly, Inc., among others.

New Jersey General Assembly

In 2009, both incumbent Democratic Assembly members, Nilsa Cruz-Perez and

Joseph J. Roberts Joseph J. Roberts (born July 14, 1952) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1987 to 2010, where he represented the New Jersey's 5th legislative district ...

announced their retirements from the Assembly. In the general election, Fuentes and running mate

Donald Norcross Donald W. Norcross (born December 13, 1958) is an American politician and labor leader who is the U.S. representative for in South Jersey. A member of the Democratic Party, Norcross was first elected to this congressional seat in 2014, followi ...

soundly defeated the Republican nominees, Brian Kluchnick and Stepfanie Velez-Gentry. Norcross would be appointed to a vacant Senate seat about a week after being sworn into the Assembly; Gilbert "Whip" Wilson would become Fuentes's 5th District Assembly partner for the remainder of his time there. After being re-elected in 2011 and 2013, Fuentes again won the Democratic nomination for an Assembly seat in 2015 before being tapped to become a deputy clerk for Camden County Clerk Joseph Ripa. Though under state law he would not have to resign to take the position, he submitted his resignation effective June 30. The Camden and Gloucester County Democratic Committees will name his replacement on the 2015 general election ballot and nominate a person to fill the remainder of Fuentes's Assembly term.

District 5

Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 5th District for the legislative sessions in which he served are:Legislative Roster 2014-2015 Session
,

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

. Accessed January 17, 2014. *Senator

(D), Senator Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D) *Assemblyman

(D), Assemblyman Gilbert "Whip" Wilson (D)

References

External links

Legislative web page

*''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms''
2012201120102009

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuentes, Angel 1961 births American Red Cross personnel Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New Jersey American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Living people Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey city council members People from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico Politicians from Camden, New Jersey Eastside High School (Camden, New Jersey) alumni 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature