Gabriela Mosquera

Gabriela Mosquera
New Jersey General Assembly District 4
Incumbent
In office
2012 - Present
Term ends
January 2014
Years in position	1
Party	Democratic
Compensation
Base salary	$49,000/year
Elections and appointments
First elected	November 6, 2012
Next election	November 5, 2013
Appointed	February 29, 2012
Term limits	N/A
Personal
Birthday	1/3/1977
Websites
Office website

Gabriela Mosquera (b. January 3, 1977) is a Democratic member of the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 4th District since 2012. She was elected in the November 8, 2011 general election, but her candidacy was successfully challenged on the grounds that she had not resided in the district long enough to qualify as a candidate. However, by the time this ruling came, Mosquera was eligible for the seat. As such, local Democrats appointed her as interim representative to serve until facing a special election on November 6, 2012, which she won.

Mosquera earned her B.A. in Political Science from the College of New Jersey and her M.B.A in Business Administration from DeVry University Keller School of Management. She works as a public policy consultant for Gloucester Township and previously worked for the state Assembly local government committee.

Issues

Campaign themes

In an interview with the Gloucester County Times, Mosquera listed her top priorities:

• "My top priorities if elected will be to work to bring new and good paying jobs to South Jersey, to reduce property taxes, and make New Jersey affordable again for businesses and residents. I will work with my running mates to implement programs to ensure workers have access to vital job training programs, such as the proposed "Back to Work New Jersey," as well as fully funding middle class property tax relief and the Senior Freeze program."

     (For responses from all the candidates, see the full story here.)

Elections

2013

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2013

Mosquera is running in the 2013 election for New Jersey General Assembly District 4. Mosquera is bracketed with Paul Moriarty in the June 4 Democratic primary. The general election takes place on November 5, 2013.

2012

See also: State legislative special elections, 2012

Mosquera faced a special election for her seat on November 6, 2012. She successfully defeated Shelley Lovett (R) to remain in office.

New Jersey General Assembly, District 4, Special Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Gabriela Mosquera	60.6%	55,027
	Republican	Shelley Lovett	39.4%	35,835
Total Votes				90,862

2011

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2011

Mosquera won election to District 4 of the New Jersey General Assembly. Mosquera and incumbent Paul Moriarty ran unopposed in the Democratic Primary on June 7. John Caramanna also sought the party nomination but was disqualified in late April. She and Moriarty defeated Shelly Lovett (R), Agnes Gardiner (R) and Tony Celeste (I) in the November 8 general election.

New Jersey General Assembly District 4 Special Election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Paul Moriarty Incumbent	30%	22,734
	Democratic	Gabriela Mosquera	28.3%	21,461
	Republican	Shelley Lovett	19.9%	15,106
	Republican	Tony Celeste	19.4%	14,725
	Independent		2.4%	1,843
Total Votes				75,869

With redistricting moving Republican incumbent Domenick DiCicco to the 3rd district, NJ Spotlight identified the 4th as a potential place for the Democrats to pickup a seat in the Assembly.

Campaign donors

2011

In 2011, Mosquera received $85,140 in campaign donations. The top contributors are listed below.

New Jersey General Assembly 2011 election - Campaign Contributions
Top contributors to Gabriela Mosquera's campaign in 2011
New Jersey Regional Council Of Carpenters	$16,400
New Jersey State Laborers	$8,200
Electrical Workers Local 351	$8,200
1199 Seiu United Healthcare Workers East	$5,000
Friends Of Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts	$5,000
Total Raised in 2011	$85,140
Total Votes received in 2011	21,461
Cost of each vote received	$3.97

Controversies

Residency challenge

2011 Republican candidate Shelley Lovett has launched a court challenge, arguing that Mosquera did not meet New Jersey's residency requirements and thus is ineligible to represent the 4th District. The New Jersey Superior Court will take up the case on December 19, 2011.

Mosquera disqualified

On January 5, a superior court judge ruled that Mosquera was not qualified for 2011 ballot. Specifically, the judge found that Mosquera had not resided in the district for at least one year prior to her election. The judge did decide to let local Democrats select an interim replacement. Lovett had asked the judge to allow the local GOP to make the choice since the seat was last held by a Republican. A special election will be held next November to select a permanent member. Mosquera plans to appeal the decision.

Supreme Court upholds

On February 16, the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld Mosquera's disqualification. The result is surprising given that a federal court found the state's candidate residency requirement unconstitutional in 2002. The state Supreme Court ruling opens the door to a federal challenge. In any case, the court ruled that local Democrats could appoint Mosquera to fill the vacancy since she now meets the residency requirement. However, as an appointee she would face a special election in November rather than finishing out a full term.

Mosquera appointed

On February 29, Mosquera was appointed to the District 4 seat by local Democrats. She will serve until a special election on November 6, 2012. Her 2011 opponent, Shelley Lovett (R), is expected to challenge Mosquera in the special election. Lovett launched the challenge of Mosquera's candidacy.

Endorsements

Mosquera was endorsed by:

• New Jersey State AFL-CIO

Recent news

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Additional reading

• NJSpotlight, "Legislative District 4," October 21, 2011

External links

Suggest a link

• Project Vote Smart - Gabriela Mosquera
• NJ Principals and Supervisors Association Questionnaire – Gabriela Mosquera

References

Political offices
Preceded by Domenick DiCicco	New Jersey General Assembly District 4 2012–present	Succeeded by NA