Nia Gill
Encyclopedia
Nia H. Gill is an American
Democratic Party
politician
, who has been serving in the New Jersey
State Senate
since 2002, where she represents the 34th Legislative District.
Gill serves in the Senate on the Commerce Committee (as Chair), the Legislative Oversight Committee (as Vice-Chair), the Legislative Services Commission and the Judiciary Committee.
She has served as the Senate President Pro-Tempore
since January 12, 2010.
Gov.-elect Jon Corzine
said on November 11, 2005, that he would consider appointing Gill to fill his vacant seat in the United States Senate
following his resignation to become Governor of New Jersey
. He later chose Bob Menendez to fill the seat.
Before her service as State Senator
, Gill served in the lower house
of the New Jersey Legislature
, the General Assembly
, from 1994 to 2001, where she was Minority Whip from 1996 to 2001. She also served in the Assembly on the Speaker's Education Funding Task Force and on several committees including, the Assembly Democratic Senior Citizen Task Force (as Co-chair) and the Assembly Advisory Committee on the Arts, History and Humanities.
Gill became a candidate for State Senate in District 34 after some of the cities she had represented in the Assembly were integrated into the district. Most of the cites and towns added to District 34, which at the time was a Republican stronghold and had been for nearly two decades prior, were heavily Democratic and contributed to Gill's landslide victory over first-time incumbent Norman M. Robertson
. In the 2003 primaries, LeRoy J. Jones, Jr.
was given the party line opposing Gill. Despite being outspent by Jones in the heavily Democratic district, Gill won with 55% of the vote. addSenator Gill has been re-elected twice, winning elections in 2003 and 2007. (Gill, along with the other 39 state senators, was required to run for her seat after two years due to a New Jersey law taking into effect census changes to districts.)
Gill is a sponsor of the measure recently signed into law to criminalize the deprivation of civil rights
by public officials, making racial profiling
a state crime. She has also sponsored the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, which would give individuals a remedy whenever one person deprives another person of any rights, privileges or immunities or interferes with another's civil rights. Additionally, she sponsored a resolution to formally rescind an 1868 effort by the New Jersey Legislature
to withdraw New Jersey's support for the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
and its due process
and equal protection provisions.
Gill sponsored legislation that provides a $3,000 income tax
deduction for certain families providing home care for an elderly relative, legislation that abolishes the death penalty
in New Jersey, and has also sponsored legislation allowing PAAD recipients freedom of choice in selecting a pharmacy and prohibits the imposition of a mail order system. The Senator also sponsored legislation that establishes a central registry of domestic violence orders for use in evaluating firearm permit applications, sponsored legislation to upgrade crimes of the third degree. In addition, Senator Gill is the first African American
and the first woman in the history of New Jersey named to serve on the powerful Senate Judiciary
Committee.
Gill is generally recognized as being one of the leading abortion rights advocates in New Jersey politics. One significant example is her opposition to the override of then-Governor Christie Whitman's veto of the New Jersey Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1997 in the New Jersey Assembly.
Gill received a B.A.
in History/Political History from Upsala College
and was awarded a J.D.
from the Rutgers University
School of Law. She is an attorney with the firm of Gill & Cohen, P.C. together with fellow Assembly member Neil M. Cohen
of the 20th Legislative District.
to be the next Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court
, replacing James R. Zazzali
, who was nearing mandatory retirement age. Prior to the formal nomination, two members of the New Jersey Senate
from Essex County
, where Rabner resides, were said to be blocking consideration of his confirmation by invoking "senatorial courtesy
", a Senate tradition that allows home county legislators to intercede to prevent consideration of a local nominee. On June 14, 2007, Governor Corzine officially nominated Rabner for the post. State Senator Ronald Rice
withdrew his objections to Rabner's nomination on June 15, 2007, after a meeting with the governor. Fellow Senator Gill dropped her efforts to block Rabner's confirmation on June 19, 2007, after meeting with Rabner. While she did not respond to initial media requests to explain the nature of her concerns, anonymous lawmakers cited in The New York Times
indicated that the objection was due to Rabner's lack of bench experience and Governor Corzine's failure to consider a minority candidate for the post.
At the conclusion of confirmation hearings, the Senate voted on June 21, 2007, to confirm Rabner as Chief Justice by a 36-1 margin, with Gill casting the lone dissenting vote, citing Rabner's lack of judicial experience and the fact that he had never argued a case in New Jersey's courts. Anne Milgram
was confirmed by a 37-1 Senate vote to succeed Rabner as Attorney General.
and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly
. The other representatives from the 34th Legislative District for the 2008-2009 legislative Session are:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, who has been serving in the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
State Senate
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
since 2002, where she represents the 34th Legislative District.
Gill serves in the Senate on the Commerce Committee (as Chair), the Legislative Oversight Committee (as Vice-Chair), the Legislative Services Commission and the Judiciary Committee.
She has served as the Senate President Pro-Tempore
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
since January 12, 2010.
Biography
New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Gov.-elect Jon Corzine
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and of MF Global, and a one time American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year U.S. Senate term representing New Jersey before being elected Governor...
said on November 11, 2005, that he would consider appointing Gill to fill his vacant seat in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
following his resignation to become Governor of New Jersey
Governor of New Jersey
The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
. He later chose Bob Menendez to fill the seat.
Before her service as State Senator
State Senator
A state senator is a member of a state's Senate, the upper house in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a legislator in Nebraska's one house State Legislature.There are typically fewer state senators than there are members of a state's lower house...
, Gill served in the lower house
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
of the New Jersey Legislature
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 the Senate...
, the General Assembly
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...
, from 1994 to 2001, where she was Minority Whip from 1996 to 2001. She also served in the Assembly on the Speaker's Education Funding Task Force and on several committees including, the Assembly Democratic Senior Citizen Task Force (as Co-chair) and the Assembly Advisory Committee on the Arts, History and Humanities.
Gill became a candidate for State Senate in District 34 after some of the cities she had represented in the Assembly were integrated into the district. Most of the cites and towns added to District 34, which at the time was a Republican stronghold and had been for nearly two decades prior, were heavily Democratic and contributed to Gill's landslide victory over first-time incumbent Norman M. Robertson
Norman M. Robertson
Norman M. Robertson is an American Republican Party politician and attorney who served a single term in the New Jersey Senate, from 1998 to 2002....
. In the 2003 primaries, LeRoy J. Jones, Jr.
LeRoy J. Jones, Jr.
LeRoy J. Jones, Jr. is an American Democratic Party politician, who served four terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 27th Legislative District...
was given the party line opposing Gill. Despite being outspent by Jones in the heavily Democratic district, Gill won with 55% of the vote. addSenator Gill has been re-elected twice, winning elections in 2003 and 2007. (Gill, along with the other 39 state senators, was required to run for her seat after two years due to a New Jersey law taking into effect census changes to districts.)
Gill is a sponsor of the measure recently signed into law to criminalize the deprivation of civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
by public officials, making racial profiling
Racial profiling
Racial profiling refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement...
a state crime. She has also sponsored the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, which would give individuals a remedy whenever one person deprives another person of any rights, privileges or immunities or interferes with another's civil rights. Additionally, she sponsored a resolution to formally rescind an 1868 effort by the New Jersey Legislature
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 the Senate...
to withdraw New Jersey's support for the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
and its due process
Due process
Due process is the legal code that the state must venerate all of the legal rights that are owed to a person under the principle. Due process balances the power of the state law of the land and thus protects individual persons from it...
and equal protection provisions.
Gill sponsored legislation that provides a $3,000 income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
deduction for certain families providing home care for an elderly relative, legislation that abolishes the death penalty
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
in New Jersey, and has also sponsored legislation allowing PAAD recipients freedom of choice in selecting a pharmacy and prohibits the imposition of a mail order system. The Senator also sponsored legislation that establishes a central registry of domestic violence orders for use in evaluating firearm permit applications, sponsored legislation to upgrade crimes of the third degree. In addition, Senator Gill is the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
and the first woman in the history of New Jersey named to serve on the powerful Senate Judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
Committee.
Gill is generally recognized as being one of the leading abortion rights advocates in New Jersey politics. One significant example is her opposition to the override of then-Governor Christie Whitman's veto of the New Jersey Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1997 in the New Jersey Assembly.
Gill received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in History/Political History from Upsala College
Upsala College
Upsala College was a private college in East Orange, New Jersey, USA, founded in 1893. Construction of the campus started in 1900. The college closed in 1995, after several years of financial problems.-History:...
and was awarded a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from the Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
School of Law. She is an attorney with the firm of Gill & Cohen, P.C. together with fellow Assembly member Neil M. Cohen
Neil M. Cohen
Neil M. Cohen is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1994 to 2008 , where he represented the 20th Legislative District....
of the 20th Legislative District.
Senatorial courtesy
On June 4, 2007, Governor Corzine announced and filed his intent to nominate Stuart RabnerStuart Rabner
Stuart Jeff Rabner is the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. He has previously served as New Jersey Attorney General, Chief Counsel to Governor Jon Corzine, and as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey.-Biography:Rabner grew up in Passaic,...
to be the next Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court
New Jersey Supreme Court
The New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It has existed in three different forms under the three different state constitutions since the independence of the state in 1776...
, replacing James R. Zazzali
James R. Zazzali
James Ronald Zazzali was the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from October 26, 2006 until his retirement on June 17, 2007. He previously served as an associate justice on the Supreme Court from June 14, 2000.-Biography:...
, who was nearing mandatory retirement age. Prior to the formal nomination, two members of the New Jersey Senate
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
from Essex County
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
, where Rabner resides, were said to be blocking consideration of his confirmation by invoking "senatorial courtesy
Senatorial courtesy (New Jersey)
Senatorial courtesy is an unwritten rule practiced in the Senate of the U.S. state of New Jersey under which a State Senator can indefinitely block consideration of a nomination by the Governor of New Jersey for a gubernatorial nominee from the Senator's home county, without being required to...
", a Senate tradition that allows home county legislators to intercede to prevent consideration of a local nominee. On June 14, 2007, Governor Corzine officially nominated Rabner for the post. State Senator Ronald Rice
Ronald Rice
Ronald L. Rice is an American Democratic Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey State Senate since 1986, where he represents the 28th Legislative District...
withdrew his objections to Rabner's nomination on June 15, 2007, after a meeting with the governor. Fellow Senator Gill dropped her efforts to block Rabner's confirmation on June 19, 2007, after meeting with Rabner. While she did not respond to initial media requests to explain the nature of her concerns, anonymous lawmakers cited in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
indicated that the objection was due to Rabner's lack of bench experience and Governor Corzine's failure to consider a minority candidate for the post.
At the conclusion of confirmation hearings, the Senate voted on June 21, 2007, to confirm Rabner as Chief Justice by a 36-1 margin, with Gill casting the lone dissenting vote, citing Rabner's lack of judicial experience and the fact that he had never argued a case in New Jersey's courts. Anne Milgram
Anne Milgram
Anne Milgram was the Attorney General of New Jersey from June 2007 to January 2010.Milgram had served as First Assistant Attorney General, the second-highest position in the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, having taken office on February 14, 2006...
was confirmed by a 37-1 Senate vote to succeed Rabner as Attorney General.
District 34
Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey SenateNew Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...
. The other representatives from the 34th Legislative District for the 2008-2009 legislative Session are:
- Assemblyman Thomas P. GiblinThomas P. GiblinThomas P. Giblin is an American Democratic Party politician, who serves in the New Jersey General Assembly where he represents the 34th legislative district, having taken office on January 10, 2006...
, and - Assemblywoman Sheila Y. OliverSheila Y. OliverSheila Y. Oliver is an American Democratic Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2004, where she represents the 34th legislative district. She is the Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly, having taken office on January 12, 2010 after the retirement of...
External links
- Senator Gill's legislative web page, New Jersey LegislatureNew Jersey LegislatureThe 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 the Senate...
- Senator Gill's Website
- New Jersey Senate Democrats Website Biography
- Senator Nia H. Gill, Project Vote SmartProject Vote SmartProject Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
- New Jersey Voter Information Website 2003
- New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms