38 Facts About Reed Gusciora

Reed Gusciora previously served from 1996 to 2018 in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 15th legislative district.

Walter Reed Gusciora was born on March 27,1960 in Passaic, New Jersey and raised in Jamesburg, where he attended public schools and graduated from Jamesburg High School in 1978.

In 1988, Reed Gusciora received a Juris Doctor degree from Seton Hall University School of Law.

In 1995, Reed Gusciora was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly from the 15th legislative district, a Democratic stronghold, over former Mercer County Freeholder and Trenton Police Department deputy chief Joseph Constance, who received support from the National Rifle Association of America and campaigned against the state's teachers union, and Gloria Teti, a Lawrence Township businesswoman.

Reed Gusciora immediately announced that he would put his Princeton home on the market and move to Trenton, a city that he had represented for over 20 years, some 12 miles away.

Reed Gusciora was Assistant Minority Leader from 1998 to 2001 and Deputy Majority Leader between 2008 and 2018.

In 2012, Reed Gusciora gained national attention for his support of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New Jersey which was opposed by Governor Chris Christie.

Reed Gusciora sponsored 35 pieces of legislation signed into law: Prohibiting firearm possession by persons convicted of serious violent crimes, making changes in the law concerning the cleanup of hazardous substances, and appropriating millions in funding for local government open space acquisition and park development projects.

Reed Gusciora co-sponsored 69 pieces of legislation signed into law: Expanding municipal power to address abandoned properties, permitting stem cell research in New Jersey, and prohibiting unsolicited telemarketing sales calls to certain customers.

Reed Gusciora was the sponsor of 25 pieces of legislation that became law: "Electronic Waste Recycling Act", establishing the Office of State Comptroller, and providing alternatives to prison for certain drug offenses.

Reed Gusciora was the co-sponsor of 56 pieces of legislation that became law: Eliminating the death penalty in New Jersey, requiring boards of education to offer students instruction in gang violence prevention, enhancing penalties for possessing illegal guns.

Reed Gusciora sponsored 37 pieces of legislation: Appropriating funding to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for clean water environmental infrastructure projects, legalizing medical marijuana through the "New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act", and established the Court Appointed Special Advocate program.

Reed Gusciora co-sponsored 25 pieces of legislation: Permitting wind and solar energy facilities in industrial zones, prohibiting individuals from purchasing more than one handgun in a calendar month, and authorizing the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to provide grants for combined heat and power production, energy efficiency projects and programs promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Reed Gusciora sponsored 12 pieces of legislation: Allowing construction of wind dependent energy facilities on piers within 500 feet of mean high water line of tidal waters, allowing municipalities to reexamine municipal master plans every 10 years, and requiring instructions for workers filing unemployment insurance claims.

Reed Gusciora co-sponsored 21 pieces of legislation: The "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act", allowing students with disabilities to bring service animals to school, and authorizes companies under BPU jurisdiction to bill customers electronically upon their request.

Reed Gusciora co-sponsored legislation creating the option to make a voluntary contribution for the support of local libraries on gross income tax returns, establishing a program to provide assistance to qualified veterans in in-patient and out-patient treatment programs to travel to in-state medical counseling, and requiring school bus drivers and school bus aides to attend a training program on interacting with students with special needs.

Reed Gusciora sponsored legislation to authorize medical marijuana for qualifying patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, require that certain inmates with detainers be provided access to drug treatment programs, and exempt homeless individuals from paying fees for non-driver identification cards.

Reed Gusciora co-sponsored "New Jersey Housing Assistance for Veterans Act," a pilot program to assist veterans with housing modification and rehabilitation as well as a bill to permit small, women-owned, or minority-owned businesses located in designated regional centers or planning areas to qualify for loans from the New Jersey Economic Development Agency as if located in a designated urban center.

Reed Gusciora sponsored legislation restricting the use of isolated confinement in correctional facilities, requiring boards of education to include instruction that accurately portrays the political, economic, and social contributions of the LGBT community and persons with disabilities, and reinstating the duration of certain UEZs.

Reed Gusciora defeated businessman Paul Perez to become Mayor of Trenton in 2018, earning 52 percent of the vote in a runoff election on June 12 since no candidate won the 50 percent threshold or more in the May 8 election.

Reed Gusciora convened the first youth council since the Doug Palmer administration a decade prior, consisting of students between eight grade and high school seniors, representing each of the four wards, who provided counsel to Reed Gusciora.

Reed Gusciora's administration hired a record number of city youth for summer employment and expanded summer programming for city students.

Reed Gusciora stated that $6 million in Community Development Block Grants, from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, was in the process of being unfrozen.

On January 21,2020, Reed Gusciora stated that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development had decided to release funds to the Capital City because of Reed Gusciora's re-hiring of key positions needed for the appropriate management of federal funds.

In September 2019, Reed Gusciora touted the results of Trenton's monthly public property auction as the largest and most successful in the city's history.

In December 2019, legislation that Reed Gusciora designed and advocated for authorizing sidewalk cafes without City approval and the distribution of alcohol for brunch on Sunday mornings was passed by the City Council.

On October 15,2019, Reed Gusciora announced that the city had been awarded $85,000 from the US Department of Homeland Security through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's 2019 Port Security Grant Program.

Reed Gusciora spearheaded the creation of a Real Time Crime Center, a partnership with the New Jersey State Police, to prevent future criminal activity.

In 2022, Darrell L Clarke and members of the Philadelphia City Council met with Gusciora to learn about Trenton's crime reduction strategies after Trenton went three summer months without a homicide.

In November 2019, Reed Gusciora shared that the City of Trenton's Department of Health had won a $95,000 grant "Strengthening Local Public Health Capacity Grant Operations" from the New Jersey Department of Health.

Reed Gusciora launched Trenton's first Neighborhood Health Clinic, which provides free vaccinations for city residents and is expected to provide primary services in the future.

Reed Gusciora's published a document "COVID-19: Trenton Testing Status Report," which outlined steps that his administration had taken to reduce the fatality rate of COVID-19 in the Capital City during the pandemic.

Reed Gusciora outlined a set of proactive steps that the city had taken to increase the amount of testing, secure personal protective equipment, and coordinate with other governmental agencies.

One of Reed Gusciora's policies, created a business loan program for city small businesses, who could apply for up to $20,000 in emergency loans.

In November 2019, Reed Gusciora collaborated with veteran Willie Smith and a student leader at Trenton Central High School to win Governor Murphy's "We Value our Veterans Community Award" to help Trenton veterans access medical care, find employment, and locate permanent housing.

In July 2019, Reed Gusciora announced that he had been selected as one of 40 mayors to participate in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative.

Reed Gusciora is a supporter of gay rights and same-sex marriage.

In December 2006, Reed Gusciora publicly acknowledged his homosexuality, thereby becoming the first ever openly gay member of the New Jersey Legislature.