Donald Kofi Tucker
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Donald Kofi Tucker (March 18, 1938 – October 17, 2005) was an American politician who served 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 ...
from 1998 until his death in 2005, representing the 29th district and later the 28th. He was also a member of the
Municipal Council of Newark The Municipal Council is the legislative branch of government for Newark, New Jersey. Newark was governed by a mayor and common council from 1836 to 1917 and then by a five-member commission until 1954. Effective as of July 1, 1954, the voters o ...
, serving from 1974 until his death. Tucker received 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 from
Goddard College Goddard College was a Private college, private college with three locations in the United States: Plainfield, Vermont; Port Townsend, Washington; and Seattle. The college offered undergraduate and graduate degree programs. With predecessor ins ...
in Urban Planning. He served in the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
from 1955 to 1959 as an
Airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred to as a soldier in other definitions. As a military rank designat ...
Second Class. Tucker served as a Councilman-at-Large in Newark and served on the Newark Municipal Council from 1974 and on the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission from 1985. Tucker was a member of the Essex County chapter of the
Congress of Racial Equality The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about ...
and was involved in efforts to desegregate Newark's public housing projects. He founded a tenants' council and served as chairman of the New Jersey Black Issues Convention. He was the Assembly's Speaker Pro Tempore from 2002 until his death. Tucker served on the Assembly's Commerce and Economic Development Committee (as Chair) and on the Joint Committee on the Public Schools. Despite his failing health — he suffered from
diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
, survived a
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
, and had a
pacemaker A pacemaker, also known as an artificial cardiac pacemaker, is an implanted medical device that generates electrical pulses delivered by electrodes to one or more of the chambers of the heart. Each pulse causes the targeted chamber(s) to co ...
implanted — he remained in his seat in the Assembly and on the Newark City Council (where he served for 31 continuous years) until his death in 2005. In 2008, his widow,
Cleopatra Tucker 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. Biography Tucker was born and raised in Birmingham, Alab ...
, was elected to the Assembly to represent the 28th district.


References


External links


Assemblyman Tucker's Legislative WebsiteObituary from Newark Star-Ledger
1938 births 2005 deaths African-American state legislators in New Jersey Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey city council members Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Goddard College alumni United States Air Force airmen 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature {{NewJersey-politician-stub