Jamel Holley
American politician (born 1979)
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Jamel Curtis Holley (born September 13, 1979) is an American Democratic Party politician from the state of New Jersey, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 20th Legislative District from 2015 to 2022. He is the first African American to represent the district, serving out the unexpired term of former Assemblyman and now State Senator Joseph Cryan, and formerly served as councilman and then mayor of Roselle, New Jersey; at age 32, he was the borough's youngest-ever mayor.[1][2][3] In 2021, Holley unsuccessfully challenged Cryan in the June 2021 New Jersey State Senate primary, losing by 29 points.
Jamel Holley | |
|---|---|
Holley in 2020 | |
| Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 20th District | |
| In office January 21, 2015 – January 11, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Cryan |
| Succeeded by | Reginald Atkins |
| Mayor of Roselle, New Jersey | |
| In office January 1, 2012 – January 21, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Garrett Smith |
| Succeeded by | Christine Dansereau |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jamel Curtis Holley September 13, 1979 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | |
| Website | www |
Early life
Holley graduated from Abraham Clark High School in Roselle in 1997, received a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from New Jersey City University in 2002, and earned a Master of Public Administration from Kean University in 2006.[2][3] In 2001, he was appointed as Chief of Staff to Neil M. Cohen of New Jersey's 20th Legislative District,[3] the youngest Chief of Staff for any of New Jersey's 120 legislators.
He works for Irvington as the Director of Public Works under Mayor Tony Vauss.[4]
Political career
On November 2, 2004, Holley won the General Election for Councilman at Large in the Borough of Roselle, becoming Union County's youngest Councilman at age 25. Commissioned by the New Jersey Democratic State Committee to serve as a committee member at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, he won re-election to his at-large seat following year.[3][2] He made history by officiating the first gay wedding in New Jersey "forever cementing himself into the annals of queer liberation."[5]
Elections
Mayor of Roselle
Holley was elected Mayor of the Borough of Roselle in November 2011, becoming Roselle's youngest mayor in its 117-year history.[3] He ran unopposed for mayor after defeating two-term Mayor Garrett Smith in the Borough's Democratic primaries in June,[1] despite Smith having the support of U.S. Congressman Donald M. Payne of New Jersey's 10th District.[6] Holley's running mates were then-Councilman-elect Randy Sandifer and then-Councilman Yves. F. Aubourg,[1][3] Mayor Holley began his term on January 1, 2012 and was officially inaugurated on January 6, at age 32.[1] He joined nearly 50 other Union County Democrats to endorse Newark Mayor Cory Booker for his bid for the U.S. Senate in 2013, and supported Raymond Lesniak's successful bid for senate reelection in New Jersey's 20th District.[7][8]
After the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin murder trial, Mayor Holley and Roselle's Borough Council submitted a formal plea to President Barack Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate alleged violations of civil rights relating to the 2012 fatal shooting. Roselle was the first Union County municipality to appeal to the Obama administration for further examination of the case after Zimmerman was found not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges.[9]
Same-sex marriage
On October 21, 2013, hours after a New Jersey Superior Court ruling allowing same-sex marriages to proceed, Holley officiated the wedding of Marsha Shapiro and Louise Walpin — the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit that brought marriage equality to New Jersey — at 12:01 AM at the home of State Senator Ray Lesniak in Elizabeth. The couple had been together for 24 years. The ceremony was among the first same-sex marriages performed in New Jersey history, and was photographed and reported on by The New York Times.[10]
New Jersey Assembly
Holley was unanimously chosen by Democratic committee members of the 20th district to fill the Assembly seat of Joseph Cryan, who resigned in 2015 to become the Union County Sheriff.[11] He has since won two additional two-year terms in the Assembly, serving with Democratic running mate Annette Quijano.[12]
Committees
2021 New Jersey State Senate election
Holley announced in January 2021 that he would challenge Joseph Cryan in the June 8, 2021 primary for New Jersey State Senate.[15] He lost the primary to Cryan.[16]
Political Positions
Vaccine choice and parental rights
In early 2020, Holley opposed New Jersey Assembly Bill A3818, which sought to eliminate religious exemptions from childhood vaccination requirements. Holley, who has stated that he personally supports vaccines as medicine, framed his opposition as a defense of parental rights and religious freedom, writing: "I do not believe that elected officials should be overreaching into the households of parents who are entitled to make informed medical decisions for their children."[17] He reported receiving more than 3,000 constituent emails opposing the bill and argued the legislature had not allowed sufficient public debate.[18]
Holley characterized a last-minute compromise amendment — which would have permitted private but not public schools to accept unvaccinated children — as an unconstitutional "segregation amendment" favoring wealthier families. He subsequently co-sponsored Senate bills S-1734 (requiring 48-hour advance disclosure of vaccine ingredients) and S-1791 (making the state liable for injuries from mandated vaccines), and traveled to Connecticut to speak alongside attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in opposition to similar legislation there.[19] Holley also maintains an active social media presence on the issue.[20][21]
Public Record
In August 2009, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office charged Holley by accusation with illegally filling out portions of absentee ballots belonging to at least 20 voters during the 2006 Democratic primary for Borough Council — a third-degree crime carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison.[22][23] The charges were resolved through a pre-trial intervention program, over the objections of the attorney general's office.[24][25] In 2016, his successor as Roselle Mayor, Christine Dansereau, accused him of harassment and intimidation in a police report;[26] Dansereau later resigned for health reasons in June 2020.[27]
Electoral history
New Jersey Senate
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joseph Cryan (incumbent) | 7,804 | 62.5% | ||
| Democratic | Jamel Holley | 4,176 | 33.5% | ||
| Democratic | Jason F. Krychiw | 502 | 4.0% | ||
| Total votes | 12,482 | 100.0% | |||
New Jersey Assembly
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Annette Quijano (Incumbent) | 13,173 | 40.75 |  4.65 | |
| Democratic | Jamel Holley (Incumbent) | 12,437 | 38.48 | 6.12 | |
| Republican | Charles Donnelly | 3,496 | 10.82 | 1.7 | |
| Republican | Ashraf Hanna | 3,218 | 9.96 | 1.7 | |
| Total votes | 53,372 | 100.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Annette Quijano (Incumbent) | 24,221 | 45.4 |  6.0 | |
| Democratic | Jamel Holley (Incumbent) | 23,790 | 44.6 | 6.8 | |
| Republican | Joseph G. Aubourg | 5,361 | 10.0 | 1.7 | |
| Total votes | 53,372 | 100.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Annette Quijano (Incumbent) | 12,061 | 39.4 | 3.9 | |
| Democratic | Jamel Holley (Incumbent) | 11,568 | 37.8 | 1.5 | |
| Republican | Stephen E. Kozlovich | 3,593 | 11.7 | 2.8 | |
| Republican | Roger Stryeski | 3,398 | 11.1 | 2.6 | |
| Total votes | 30,620 | 100.0 | |||