Assembly Woman Annette Quijano

Assemblywoman Annette Quijano has represented the 20th Legislative District since 2008 and has earned the reputation of a champion legislator, tackling the various issues people face in daily life. She understands the challenges middle-class families must overcome and works tirelessly to improve the lives of seniors, veterans, women, children and workers.

Assemblywoman Quijano is currently the Vice-Chairwoman of the Consumer Affairs Committee, and a member of the Housing and Labor Committees. She also serves as the first woman and Latina Speaker Pro Tempore and is a member of the New Jersey Legislative Latino Caucus.

Quijano is the prime sponsor of landmark legislation including the bill to legalize recreational cannabis and expunge criminal records, expand paid family leave, increase penalties for wage theft, remove the statute of limitations on sexual assault, and improve the business environment for insurers of law firms. No matter the issue, Quijano brings a thoughtful and empathic, yet commonsense approach to address the needs of today and tomorrow.

Quijano is a New Jersey native born to Puerto Rican parents. After a B.S. in Management from Rutgers University, she earned her Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers School of Law in Newark. She was later admitted to the bars in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Her career began as a teen advocate organizing a grassroots campaign to dispute a local cable company's decision to eliminate Spanish language programming. This led to a growing recognition and her election as the youngest board member of the Puerto Rican Congress of New Jersey (PRC). While in the PRC, she became their youngest Vice-President. 

Later in her career, Quijano served as Governor’s Counsel for Governors Codey, McGreevey, and Corzine. She was selected to the Assembly in 2008, and became Chairwoman of the Assembly Homeland Security Committee from 2011-2018. She also served as Vice Chair on the Board of Hispanic Caucus Chairs and Chairperson of the Hispanic Delegation on Racial Equity, an initiative of the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) funded by the Kellogg’s Foundation. She is a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the NJ State Bar Association, the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey, Latinas United for Political Empowerment (LUPE), and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). The Assemblywoman is also a Red Cross Volunteer, and an Honorary Girl Scout. 

Quijano has received much acclaim for an Emergency Preparedness Program that trains individuals to be ready for any kind of emergency.