14 Facts About Gary Schaer

Gary Steven Schaer was born on September 11,1951 and is an American Democratic Party politician who represents the 36th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since he took office on January 10,2006.

Gary Schaer serves on the Passaic, New Jersey City Council where he is the council president.

Gary Schaer has served on the Passaic City Council since 1995, including being the council president off-and-on since 1997.

Gary Schaer has been a Director of Passaic's Urban Enterprise Zone since 2002.

Gary Schaer served as a Commissioner on the Board of Education for the Passaic County Technical Institute from 1999 to 2003 and was a commissioner on the Passaic Housing Authority from 1992 to 1996.

In March 2023, Gary Schaer was hired as the executive director of the Passaic County Improvement Authority.

Gary Schaer unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of Passaic in 1997 finishing behind incumbent Margie Semler and councilman Samuel Rivera.

In May 2008, Gary Schaer became the acting mayor of Passaic upon the resignation of Rivera, who had won election to the office in 2001, as a result of Rivera pleading guilty on corruption charges.

Gary Schaer has worked in the financial services industry for over 20 years.

Gary Schaer was elected to the Assembly on November 8,2005, and took the seat of Republican Paul DiGaetano, who did not run for re-election and had held the seat in the Assembly continuously since 1992.

Gary Schaer represents the 36th District, a district consisting of only the City of Passaic in Passaic County in the 2001 and 2011 apportionments and Bergen County ; his predecessor DiGaetano has been a resident of Passaic.

Gary Schaer is the first Orthodox Jew to serve in the New Jersey Legislature.

Gary Schaer held the Deputy Speaker position in the Assembly from 2012 to 2023 and was Chair of the Budget Committee from 2014 to 2017.

Gary Schaer has been the Assembly's Policy Chair since 2020.