Maria Rodriguez-Gregg (born September 29, 1981) is a former American Republican Party

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served 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 ...

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

from 2014 to 2018 representing the 8th Legislative District. She succeeded Scott Rudder to become the first Republican Hispanic woman to be elected to the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

Early life and education

Rodriguez-Gregg is of Puerto Rican descent. She grew up in Willingboro Township and

Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a city in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,743. Burlington was first incorporated on October 24, 1693, and was r ...

. Both of her parents served in the military. Rodriguez-Gregg served as president of the Burlington County

Young Republicans The Young Republican National Federation, commonly referred to as the Young Republicans or YRNF, is a 527 organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization ...

. She worked in the dental field as a

dental assistant Dental assistants are members of the dental team. They support a dental operator (such as a dentist or other treating dental auxiliary) in providing more efficient dental treatment. ''Dental assistants'' are distinguished from other groups of d ...

, was an instructor in the dental assisting program at the

Burlington County Institute of Technology The Burlington County Institute of Technology (BCIT) is a county-wide public school district that serves the vocational and technical education needs of students at the high school and post-secondary level in Burlington County, New Jersey, Uni ...

and managed dental offices. She serves on the

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

for

Burlington County College Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC) is a Public university, public community college in Burlington County, New Jersey. Main facilities are located in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, Mount Laurel with other campuses in Mount Holly, New Jersey, Mo ...

, was on the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

for

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a Ch ...

of Burlington County for two years, and is a member of the

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...

. In 2013, she graduated from

Rutgers University-Camden 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 ...

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

Career

The Burlington County Republicans suggested to Rodriguez-Gregg that she should run for the Assembly in the 2013 elections to succeed Scott Rudder, who was retiring. She and

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

Christopher J. Brown were endorsed by the Republican Party and defeated two challengers affiliated with the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defi ...

in the June

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

. Rodriguez-Gregg and Brown both won in the general election in November, and she became the first Republican Hispanic woman to serve in the

. In the

2016 United States Presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...

, Rodriguez-Gregg, then New Jersey's only Republican Hispanic state lawmaker, declined to endorse Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, stating, "I think it's my whole life experience that leads me to not being able to support him."

Arrest and aftermath

On April 28, 2017, Rodriguez-Gregg was arrested following a traffic accident in which her car, while stopped at a traffic light, was struck in the rear bumper by another vehicle. Rodriguez-Gregg was charged with driving while intoxicated (marijuana and/or alcohol), obstruction of justice (for refusing a field sobriety test), reckless driving and a marked lanes' violation. The other driver was charged with careless driving. Both drivers were treated for minor injuries. Four months after her arrest, Rodriguez-Gregg withdrew from her campaign seeking re-election in the upcoming November 2017 New Jersey election. The following month, local media outlets obtained and released body camera video footage of the arrest. Rodriguez-Gregg has maintained her innocence. No marijuana or alcohol was found by police in her vehicle. According to her attorney, Rodriguez-Gregg's blood test showed "some indication of alcohol", or a presence of alcohol, but no marijuana. In December 2017, the court denied Rodriguez-Gregg's motions to suppress evidence collected by the police and dismiss the charges against her. In January 2018, Rodriguez-Gregg claimed that she was a survivor of domestic abuse that had been occurring at the time of her arrest. In a Facebook post and several media interviews, Rodriguez-Gregg shared details of her alleged abuse and photographs of her face with multiple bruises and urged support for pending legislation that strengthened penalties for domestic violence. In response, some local media outlets described Rodriguez-Gregg as "courageous" for publicly discussing her domestic violence abuse. In 2022, Governor

Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American financier, diplomat, and politician serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since January 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the United States ambassador to Germa ...

appointed Rodriguez-Gregg as a Republican member of the

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) is a regulatory authority in New Jersey "with authority to oversee the regulated utilities, which in turn provide critical services such as natural gas, electricity, water, telecommunications and ca ...

, but the nomination was withdrawn after a hold was placed on it in the State Senate.

Personal life

Rodriguez-Gregg lives in

Evesham Township, New Jersey Evesham Township is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 46,826, an increase of 1,288 from the 2010 census count of 45,538, ...

. She is a player for a

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...

team called the "Dishonor Roll" and She-Devils Travel Team in the Penn Jersey Roller Derby league, where she goes by the name "Honeybee".

References

External links

*
Assemblyman Maria Rodriguez-Gregg's legislative web page
,

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez-Gregg, Maria 1981 births Living people Puerto Rican people in New Jersey politics Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Latino conservatism in the United States Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly People from Burlington, New Jersey People from Evesham Township, New Jersey People from Willingboro Township, New Jersey People of the Civil Air Patrol Place of birth missing (living people) Politicians from Burlington County, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni Women state legislators in New Jersey 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New Jersey Driving under the influence