Donald A. Guardian (born June 12, 1953) is an American Republican Party politician who has represented 2nd Legislative District in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

since taking office on January 11, 2022, becoming the first openly gay Republican legislator in state history. He served as the mayor of

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, from 2014 to 2017.

Early life and education

Raised in

Palisades Park, New Jersey Palisades Park is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 20,292, an increase of 670 (+3.4%) from the 2010 census count of 19,622, which in turn reflected ...

, and

West New York West New York is a town in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 52,912, an increase of 3,204 (+6.4%) from ...

, Guardian graduated from

Don Bosco Preparatory High School Don Bosco Preparatory High School (Don Bosco Prep) is a private, all-boys Catholic high school from ninth through twelfth grades. Founded in 1915 as a boarding school for Polish boys, by the Salesians of Don Bosco, a religious community of pr ...

. He graduated in 1975 from

Upsala College Upsala College (UC) was a private college affiliated with the Swedish-American Augustana Synod (later the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and located in East Orange in Essex County, New Jersey in the United States, with an additiona ...

. Before being elected mayor, Guardian served as an executive with the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

and at the Claridge Hotel, and headed Atlantic City's Special Improvement District for two decades prior to his election as mayor. After his time as mayor, Guardian was named as Business Administrator by the

Toms River, New Jersey Toms River is a Township (New Jersey), township and coastal town located on the Jersey Shore in Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its mainland United States, mainland portion is also a census-designated ...

Township Council, for which he was paid an annual salary of $175,000.

Elective office

On January 19, 2013, Guardian announced that he was challenging incumbent mayor Lorenzo Langford. He won the Republican primary unopposed. On November 5, Guardian defeated Langford by 50% to 47%."Don Guardian taking over as Atlantic City mayor"
"WPVI-TV 6ABC Action News", January 1, 2014. In the 2013 United States elections, he defeated incumbent Democratic mayor Lorenzo Langford to become Atlantic City's first

openly gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

mayor and first Republican mayor since 1990."Don Guardian sworn in as Atlantic City's new mayor"
''

The Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, New Jersey, Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The Designated marke ...

'', January 1, 2014. Accessed January 13, 2022. In the 2017 election, Guardian lost re-election to Democratic city councilman, Frank Gilliam. Guardian and fellow Republican Claire Swift won the 2021 New Jersey General Assembly election, defeating the Democratic slate of incumbent Assemblyman John Armato and Atlantic County Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick; the district's other Assemblyman, Democrat Vince Mazzeo, did not seek reelection to the Assembly in order to make what would ultimately be an unsuccessful bid for the district's State Senate seat. On January 11, 2022, Guardian was sworn in to the New Jersey General Assembly, making him the first openly gay Republican legislator in state history and the only openly gay member of the New Jersey Legislature.

Committees

Committee assignments for the current session are:Assemblyman Donald A. Guardian

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 April 10, 2022. *Environment and Solid Waste *Special Committee on Infrastructure and Natural Resources *Tourism, Gaming and the Arts

District 2

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

and two members in the

. The representatives from the 2nd District for the 2024—25 Legislative Session are:Legislative Roster for District 2

. Accessed January 21, 2024. *Senator Vincent J. Polistina (R) *Assemblyman Don Guardian (R) *Assemblyman Claire Swift (R)

Electoral history

References

External links

Legislative webpageCity of Atlantic City: Mayor Donald A. Guardian

Campaign websiteAtlantic City Mayor Don Guardian on InstagramAtlantic City Mayor Don Guardian on TwitterAtlantic City Mayor Don Guardian on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guardian, Don 1953 births Living people LGBTQ state legislators in New Jersey American gay politicians LGBTQ mayors of places in the United States LGBTQ people from New Jersey Mayors of Atlantic City, New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century mayors of places in New Jersey People from Palisades Park, New Jersey People from West New York, New Jersey Don Bosco Preparatory High School alumni Upsala College alumni 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature