Angel Fuentes (born August 2, 1961) is an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician who was elected to serve in the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

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from 2009 until June 2015, where he represented the 5th legislative district. Fuentes was the president of the city council in Camden, New Jersey's seventh-largest city, serving from 2000 to 2010, stepping down to take the Assembly seat. He resigned from his Assembly seat in June 2015 in order to become a deputy

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

for Camden County.

Early life and education

Fuentes was raised in Camden, where he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. He then attended St. John Vianney College Seminary in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

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, earning a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in philosophy. He then successfully pursued certification by the state of New Jersey as a social worker.

Camden City Council

Fuentes represented Camden's Fourth Ward, which includes Downtown Camden, the

Camden Waterfront The Camden Waterfront, also known as the Central Waterfront, is a commercial and entertainment district in Camden, New Jersey, on the Delaware River south of the Ben Franklin Bridge and north of Port of Camden. The district is characterized by it ...

, and the North Camden, Cramer Hill, and Cooper Grant neighborhoods. He resides in the Cramer Hill neighborhood. As a city councilman, Fuentes was a major proponent of youth and

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

s' programs, efforts toward social justice, and anti-crime efforts. During his tenure on the council, Fuentes helped to create or spearheaded the creation of a Citizen Public Safety Council, Ethics and Municipal Human Relations Commissions, a Taxicab Commission, a Public Safety Council, and an Asian American Advisory Board. Notably, Fuentes has led a crusade against

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

in the city of Camden, which included the establishment of an anti-graffiti task force, the implementation of an anti-graffiti curriculum in local schools, and a related hotline. Favoring efficiency and accountability in government, Fuentes published a Ten Point Plan for city government reform. Fuentes enjoys close ties with the Save Our Waterfront in North Camden organization and the Cramer Hill Neighborhood Advisory Board.

Other activities

Beyond the city council, Fuentes serves on the Strategic Planning Committee for the

United States Hispanic Leadership Institute Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...

. He is a member of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. He also serves on the boards of directors for the Camden County Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Greater Camden Partnership, and the Cooper's Ferry Development Board. In 1997, he was recognized by the Camden County Office of Hispanic Affairs & Community Development as an Outstanding Community Leader. Since then he has received addition public service awards from the American Red Cross, the Peace Troopers of Camden City, and the faith-based initiative Christian Quarterly, Inc., among others.

New Jersey General Assembly

In 2009, both incumbent Democratic Assembly members,

Nilsa Cruz-Perez Nilsa Cruz-Perez (born January 21, 1961) is an American Democratic Party politician who was sworn into office to represent the 5th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate on December 15, 2014, to fill the vacant seat of Donald Norcross. ...

and Joseph J. Roberts announced their retirements from the Assembly. In the general election, Fuentes and running mate

Donald Norcross Donald W. Norcross (born December 13, 1958) is an American politician and labor leader who is the U.S. representative for in South Jersey. A member of the Democratic Party, Norcross was first elected to this congressional seat in 2014, follow ...

soundly defeated the Republican nominees, Brian Kluchnick and Stepfanie Velez-Gentry. Norcross would be appointed to a vacant Senate seat about a week after being sworn into the Assembly; Gilbert "Whip" Wilson would become Fuentes's 5th District Assembly partner for the remainder of his time there. After being re-elected in 2011 and 2013, Fuentes again won the Democratic nomination for an Assembly seat in 2015 before being tapped to become a deputy clerk for Camden County Clerk Joseph Ripa. Though under state law he would not have to resign to take the position, he submitted his resignation effective June 30. The Camden and Gloucester County Democratic Committees will name his replacement on the 2015 general election ballot and nominate a person to fill the remainder of Fuentes's Assembly term.

District 5

Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 5th District for the legislative sessions in which he served are:Legislative Roster 2014-2015 Session
New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 17, 2014. *Senator

(D), Senator

(D) *Assemblyman

(D), Assemblyman Gilbert "Whip" Wilson (D)

References

External links

Legislative web page
New Jersey Legislature *''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms''
2012201120102009

Camden, New Jersey {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuentes, Angel 1961 births American Red Cross personnel Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New Jersey American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Living people Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey city council members People from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico Politicians from Camden, New Jersey Woodrow Wilson High School (New Jersey) alumni 21st-century American politicians