Joann Kagan Downey (born October 31, 1966) 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 represented the
11th Legislative District in the
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.
Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...
from 2016 to 2022.
Early life
Downey was born in
Jersey City, New Jersey. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
in 1988, where she studied Political Science and English, a
Juris Doctor from
New York Law School
New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include E ...
in June 1991 and a Masters of Social Work from
Boston University School of Social Work The Boston University School of Social Work (SSW), located in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the 16 graduate schools of Boston University.
Areas of study
BUSSW offers full and part-time programs leading to the Master of Social Work degree, with m ...
in 2005.
After graduating from
Freehold Township High School
Freehold Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Freehold Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, and is part of the Freehold Regional High School District. The school serves students ...
, Downey was accepted to the
New Jersey State Police, inspired by her father, who was a New Jersey State Trooper. Downey ultimately decided to pursue law school and prosecutorial work instead.
She went on to serve as Deputy State Attorney General, working in the Department of Children and Families. Downey cites this experience as the impetus that moved her to work toward her Masters in Social Work.
New Jersey Assembly
Downey was elected to the General Assembly alongside running mate Eric Houghtaling in November 2015. Their narrow victory was considered by many to be an unexpected upset. In July 2018 Downey and fellow Assemblyman
Eric Houghtaling accused fellow Assemblywoman
Serena DiMaso of violating the Truth-In-Caller ID while sending out robocalls.
In 2021, Downey and Houghtaling narrowly lost their reelection bids in an upset to Republican candidates Marilyn Piperno and Kim Eulner.
Committees
*Human Services
*Financial Institutions and Insurance
Electoral history
Assembly
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downey, Joann
1966 births
Living people
Freehold Township High School alumni
Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly
People from Freehold Township, New Jersey
Politicians from Jersey City, New Jersey
Politicians from Monmouth County, New Jersey
Rutgers University alumni
New York Law School alumni
Boston University School of Social Work alumni
21st-century American politicians