Shanique Davis Speight (born November 14, 1978) is an American Democratic Party politicians who represents the 29th 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 2018, succeeding Blonnie R. Watson, who chose not to run for reelection. Speight has served in the Assembly as the Deputy Parliamentarian since 2022. Speight served briefly on the Municipal Council of Newark after being nominated by then-Mayor

Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of the Democ ...

in November 2012 to fill a vacant seat, but was forced to vacate the seat the following month after a judge ruled that Booker lacked the authority to cast a vote given the circumstances.

Early life and education

A resident of Newark, Speight graduated from Lincoln University with a Master of Arts in Human Services. An officer in the Essex County Sheriff's Office, Speight was first elected to the

Newark Public Schools Newark Board of Education is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in the city of Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The state took over the dis ...

Advisory Board in 2007, and served as the board's vice chair from 2007 to 2012. She was an aide to Senator Teresa Ruiz from 2009 to 2010."Speight Sworn in to Represent 29th Legislative District"
Assembly Democrats press release dated January 8, 2018. Accessed January 18, 2018.

Political career

After Donald Payne Jr. vacated his at-large seat on the Newark City Council after being elected to succeed his father in Congress, Speight was nominated by Mayor

at a contentious November 2012 council meeting and sworn in to fill Payne's vacant seat, resulting in what ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'' described as a "near-riot". After the nomination, residents charged the sitting council members and Speight was knocked down. In December 2012, a

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts: under Article Six of the State Consti ...

judge ruled that Booker did not have the power to cast a deciding vote under the circumstances that prevailed at the meeting in question, forcing Speight to vacate the seat. In July 2013, the

New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division The New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division (in case citation, N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div) is the intermediate appellate court in New Jersey. "The Appellate Division of New Jersey's Superior Court is the first level appellate court, with ap ...

affirmed the decision that Booker did not have the authority to vote to nominate Speight; a special election to fill the vacant seat was to be held in November 2013, with the council left in a four-four deadlock on the nine-member council until the seat would be filled.

New Jersey General Assembly

In the November 2017 general election, with Blonnie Watson not seeking re-election, Speight (with 18,308 votes; 43.0% of all ballots cast) and her running mate, incumbent Eliana Pintor Marin (with 19,088; 44.8%), defeated Republican challengers Charles G. Hood (2,622; 6.2%) and Jeannette Veras (2,574; 6.0%) to win both Assembly seats from the district for the Democrats.

Committees

Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:Assemblywoman Shanique Speight

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 24, 2024. *Aging and Human Services (as chair) *Regulated Professions (as vice-chair) *Health

District 29

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 29th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:Legislative Roster for District 29

. Accessed January 24, 2024. * Senator Teresa Ruiz (D) * Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin (D) * Assemblywoman Shanique Speight (D)

Electoral history

References

External links

Legislative website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speight, Shanique 1978 births Living people Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Members of the Municipal Council of Newark Politicians from Newark, New Jersey School board members in New Jersey Women state legislators in New Jersey Women city councillors in New Jersey 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature