Raya Arbiol

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Raya Arbiol

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 7, 2023

Education

Graduate

University of Scranton, 2017

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Years of service

2007 - 2007

Personal

Religion

Roman Catholic

Profession

Head of operations

Contact

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Raya Arbiol (Democratic Party) ran for election to the New Jersey General Assembly to represent District 12. She lost in the general election on November 7, 2023.

Biography

Raya Arbiol was born in Manila in the Philippines. She served in the U.S. Navy. Arbiol earned a graduate degree from the University of Scranton in 2017. Her career experience includes working as an operations manager for Target and as the owner and principal consultant at Raya Enterprises, LLC in Old Bridge, New Jersey.

Elections

2023

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2023

General election

General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)

Incumbent Robert Clifton and incumbent Alex Sauickie defeated Paul Sarti and Raya Arbiol in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert Clifton (R)	32.0	28,200
✔	Submit photo	Alex Sauickie (R)	30.7	27,061
	Submit photo	Paul Sarti (D)	19.0	16,767
		Raya Arbiol (D)	18.3	16,164

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 88,192
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)

Paul Sarti and Raya Arbiol advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on June 6, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Paul Sarti	50.4	4,861
✔		Raya Arbiol	49.6	4,789

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,650
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)

Incumbent Robert Clifton and incumbent Alex Sauickie defeated Salvatore Giordano in the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on June 6, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert Clifton	45.1	5,297
✔	Submit photo	Alex Sauickie	43.1	5,056
	Submit photo	Salvatore Giordano	11.8	1,387

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,740
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Arbiol in this election.

2021

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2021

General election

General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)

Incumbent Ronald Dancer and incumbent Robert Clifton defeated Michael Palazzolla and Raya Arbiol in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ronald Dancer (R)	33.4	47,595
✔		Robert Clifton (R)	32.5	46,378
	Submit photo	Michael Palazzolla (D)	17.3	24,642
		Raya Arbiol (D)	16.8	23,993

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 142,608
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)

Raya Arbiol and Michael Palazzolla advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on June 8, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Raya Arbiol	50.2	5,250
✔	Submit photo	Michael Palazzolla	49.8	5,202

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,452
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)

Incumbent Ronald Dancer and incumbent Robert Clifton defeated Ahmed Basuoni in the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on June 8, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ronald Dancer	49.2	9,608
✔		Robert Clifton	47.7	9,312
		Ahmed Basuoni	3.1	602

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,522
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Clare Farragher (R)
• Eleanor Walker (R)
• Alex Robotin (R)

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Raya Arbiol did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

Raya Arbiol completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Arbiol's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a fourth-generation immigrant and I am an American. My father is a building maintenance worker and my mother was a public school teacher. I am the eldest of seven siblings whom 5 out of my 6 siblings went through and/or still in the Old Bridge public school system.

Since I came to this country, New Jersey has been my home state. I came to the United States of America back in 2005 not to chase my American dream but to fulfill family responsibilities. As the eldest, I had to help my father care and rear for my barely 2-year-old sister after my mother passed away due to a brain tumor at a very young age. Since then, as a promise to her, my aspiration is to keep my family together and seek what’s best for them at all costs. Like many of you in this district, family is very important to me and I genuinely would like to better the lives of every family in our district – no matter the structure of it.

In the United States Navy, where my patriotism and allegiance to this country solidified, I learned how to lead and have discipline and be responsible for my actions – and that’s what we are lacking and needing in our township government – a sensible, responsible leadership.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Fairness
• Community
• Empowerment

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Throughout my life, I have been a strong advocate for eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. I have participated and been involved in various national and state organizations promoting democratic and progressive values. I believe that my unique personal and professional experiences, network, and dedication can make a huge impact on our district. I know that my proven leadership skills, strong commitment to high ethical and professional standards and flexibility in devising proactive responses to changing socioeconomic conditions would allow me to make more significant contributions to our district.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to all the women who paved the way for women in politics. I love learning from different individual successes and failures. I emulate the successes they had and definitely learn from their failures.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Servant leadership is the most important leadership principle for any elected official. Only selfless love for the community will result into a harmonious public service.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I believe that my unique personal and professional experiences, network, and dedication can make a huge impact on LD-12. I know that my proven leadership skills, strong commitment to high ethical and professional standards and flexibility in devising proactive responses to changing socioeconomic conditions would allow me to make more significant contributions to LD-12.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Raya Arbiol, a lifelong mentor who supported people and important causes, shared her blessings to others, and pursued her passions in life.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

When I was 17 years old, I witnessed 9/11 unfold in front of eyes on television. It was devastating and extremely alarm me as my family lived in New York metropolitan area at that time.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was a Dairy Clerk in Pathmark grocery store. I had the job for about six months until I enlisted for the United States Navy.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Bible - Full of great and inspiring stories.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Wonder Woman - fight all the evil in the world.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Cupid by Sam Cooke

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

It is definitely beneficial but I do not believe that it is a requirement to be a successful legislator. Being a successful legislator means that one knows the pulse of the people he/she represents. Genuine compassion and a true heart for public service are mostly important.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

I believe it is extremely beneficial to build relationship in general and not just with other legislators. Building relationship could be a key in passing significant legislations that matters to the people I represent.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

I believe that a non-partisan organization should lead and run redistricting efforts. They also must ensure that there is no way for them to be influenced by political organizations, donors, etc - just by the people.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

I would love to be part of Environment and Solid Waste committee as I am a strong advocate for the environmental issues. As a US Navy veteran, I would like to serve in Military and Veteran Affairs. Commerce and Economic Development committee also interests me as an entrepreneur.

Tell us your favorite joke.

What’s the best thing about Switzerland?
I don’t know, but the flag is a big plus.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2023 Elections

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the New Jersey General Assembly

Leadership

Representatives

District 1

Antwan McClellan (R)

Erik Simonsen (R)

District 2

Don Guardian (R)

Claire Swift (R)

District 3

Dave Bailey (D)

Heather Simmons (D)

District 4

Dan Hutchison (D)

Cody Miller (D)

District 5

William Moen (D)

William Spearman (D)

District 6

Louis Greenwald (D)

Melinda Kane (D)

District 7

Carol Murphy (D)

Balvir Singh (D)

District 8

Andrea Katz (D)

Michael Torrissi (R)

District 9

Gregory Myhre (R)

Brian Rumpf (R)

District 10

Paul Kanitra (R)

Gregory McGuckin (R)

District 11

Margie Donlon (D)

Luanne Peterpaul (D)

District 12

Robert Clifton (R)

Alex Sauickie (R)

District 13

Victoria Flynn (R)

Gerard Scharfenberger (R)

District 14

Wayne DeAngelo (D)

Tennille McCoy (D)

District 15

Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D)

Anthony Verrelli (D)

District 16

Mitchelle Drulis (D)

Roy Freiman (D)

District 17

Joseph Danielsen (D)

Kevin Egan (D)

District 18

Robert Karabinchak (D)

Sterley Stanley (D)

District 19

Craig Coughlin (D)

Yvonne Lopez (D)

District 20

Reginald Atkins (D)

Annette Quijano (D)

District 21

Michele Matsikoudis (R)

Nancy Muñoz (R)

District 22

Linda Carter (D)

James Kennedy (D)

District 23

John DiMaio (R)

Erik Peterson (R)

District 24

Dawn Fantasia (R)

Michael Inganamort (R)

District 25

Christian Barranco (R)

Aura Dunn (R)

District 26

Brian Bergen (R)

Jay Webber (R)

District 27

Rosy Bagolie (D)

Alixon Collazos-Gill (D)

District 28

Garnet Hall (D)

Cleopatra Tucker (D)

District 29

Eliana Marin (D)

Shanique Speight (D)

District 30

Sean Kean (R)

Avi Schnall (D)

District 31

William Sampson (D)

Barbara Stamato (D)

District 32

John Allen (D)

Jessica Ramirez (D)

District 33

Julio Marenco (D)

Gabriel Rodriguez (D)

District 34

Carmen Morales (D)

Michael Venezia (D)

District 35

Alaa Abdelaziz (D)

Shavonda Sumter (D)

District 36

Clinton Calabrese (D)

Gary Schaer (D)

District 37

Shama Haider (D)

Ellen Park (D)

District 38

Lisa Swain (D)

Chris Tully (D)

District 39

Robert Auth (R)

John Azzariti (R)

District 40

Al Barlas (R)

Christopher DePhillips (R)

Democratic Party (52)

Republican Party (28)