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Shavonda E. Sumter

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Shavonda Sumter
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 35th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 10, 2012
Serving with Benjie E. Wimberly
Preceded by
Personal details
Born (1974-01-19) January 19, 1974 (age 50)
Paterson, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseKenneth Sumter
Children2
EducationKean University (BA)
Fairleigh Dickinson University
(MBA)
WebsiteState Assembly website

Shavonda E. Sumter (born January 19, 1974) is an American Democratic Party politician who has represented the 35th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since taking office in January 2012.

Personal

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Sumter was born in Paterson, New Jersey, the daughter of Charles and Bonnie Williams. She attended public and private schools in Paterson, Prospect Park, and Haledon. She graduated from Kean University in 1996 with a B.A. degree in political science. She earned an M.B.A. degree in health care administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Sumter has worked in health services and currently serves as director of behavioral health services at Mountainside Medical Center in Glen Ridge.[1]

Sumter has served on the New Jersey Democratic State Committee since 2008.[2] She was one of the members of the electoral college who cast a ballot for Barack Obama and Joe Biden after the 2008 presidential election.[3] In 2010, Sumter was the campaign manager for Jeffery Jones in his successful campaign for Mayor of Paterson.[1]

As of September 2016, Sumter was considering a run for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2017, and was also considered the leading candidate for selection as the party's candidate for lieutenant governor.[4] However, the eventual Democratic nominee for governor, Phil Murphy, chose Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver as his running mate.

In 2024, following the death of Congressman Bill Pascrell, Sumter briefly campaigned to be the replacement Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives election for New Jersey's 9th congressional district, but eventually withdrew.[5]

A resident of North Haledon, she is married to Kenneth Sumter and has two children: Tyler (1998) and Kenneth Jr. (2000)[1]

New Jersey General Assembly

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In the 2011 New Jersey General Assembly election, there were two open Assembly seats in the 35th District, after Nellie Pou decided to run for the State Senate and Elease Evans retired. Sumter and her running mate, Benjie E. Wimberly, defeated the Republican candidates, William Connolly and Donna Puglisi. She was sworn in on January 10, 2012.[6] She held the leadership positions in the Assembly of Majority Conference Leader from 2015 to 2019 and was Deputy Speaker from 2014 to 2015.[2]

Committees

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Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[2]

  • Community Development and Women's Affairs (as chair)
  • Environment, Natural Resources, and Solid Waste (as vice-chair)
  • Labor

District 35

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Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.[7] The representatives from the 35th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[8]

Electoral history

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35th Legislative District General Election, 2023[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Benjie E. Wimberly (incumbent) 12,320 50.2
Democratic Shavonda Sumter (incumbent) 12,214 49.8
Total votes 24,534 100.0
Democratic hold
Democratic hold
35th legislative district general election, 2021[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Benjie E. Wimberly (incumbent) 20,276 34.56%
Democratic Shavonda Sumter (incumbent) 20,235 34.49%
Republican Ramzy Yamisha 9,166 15.62%
Republican Iman Majagah 8,990 15.32%
Total votes 58,667 100.0
Democratic hold
35th Legislative District General Election, 2019
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Benjie Wimberly (incumbent) 13,213 43.61%
Democratic Shavonda Sumter (incumbent) 13,173 43.48%
Republican Tamer Mamkej 3,909 12.9%
Total votes 30,295 100%

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Meet Assemblywoman Shavonda E. Sumter". Shavonda Sumter for Assembly. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Assemblywoman Shavonda E. Sumter (D), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2024.
  3. ^ "U. S. Electoral College 2008 Election - Certificates". Archives.gov. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  4. ^ "The Battle of Fort Sumter: Top-Tier Gubernatorial Candidates Share a Common LG Play". The New York Observer. September 11, 2016.
  5. ^ Sumter drops out of NJ-9 race, New Jersey Globe, Aug. 27, 2024
  6. ^ "Turnover in N.J. Legislature is slight". Asbury Park Press. January 10, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  7. ^ New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
  8. ^ Legislative Roster for District 35, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2024.
  9. ^ "Candidates for General Assembly - For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  10. ^ "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/02/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
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New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by Member of the New Jersey Assembly
from the 35th district
2012–present
Served alongside: Benjie E. Wimberly 		Incumbent
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