New Jersey's 16th Legislative District is one of 40 in 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 ...
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, the district had a population of 233,626, of whom 183,325 (78.5%) were of voting age. The racial makeup of the district was 137,853 (59.0%)
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 11,606 (5.0%)
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 78 (0.0%)
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 10,118 (4.3%) from some other race, and 17,930 (7.7%) from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 25,020 (10.7%) of the population.
The district had 180,724 registered voters as of December 1, 2021, of whom 68,632 (38.0%) were registered as unaffiliated, 65,999 (36.5%) were registered as Democrats, 44,514 (24.6%) were registered as Republicans, and 1,579 (0.9%) were registered to other parties.
Home ownership was high as was the percentage of college graduates. District residents were comparatively wealthy, with high incomes and property values that have resulted in low municipal and other property taxes. The district has low numbers of
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
s, the elderly and poor children. Prior to the 2011 apportionment, registered Republicans outnumbered Democrats by a 2 to 1 margin. Throughout most of the district's history, Republicans held a strong grip in winning elections with the district electing only Republican legislators for over 40 years, one of two in the state (the 40th District is the other). However, the 2011 round of redistricting made the district significantly more Democratic. It gained the Democratic strongholds of Princeton and South Brunswick and lost Bridgewater, Mendham Borough and the
Somerset Hills
The Somerset Hills is known as the northern region of Somerset County located in the U.S. state of New Jersey and includes the municipalities of Bedminster, Bernardsville, Bernards Township, Far Hills, Peapack & Gladstone. The Morris County co ...
, all of which leaned Republican. The district elected its first Democrat,
Andrew Zwicker
Andrew P. Zwicker (born May 17, 1964) is an American physicist and politician who has served in the New Jersey Senate from the 16th Legislative District since 2022. He previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 16th ...
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...
by
Andrew Zwicker
Andrew P. Zwicker (born May 17, 1964) is an American physicist and politician who has served in the New Jersey Senate from the 16th Legislative District since 2022. He previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 16th ...
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 ...
by
Roy Freiman
Roy Freiman (born April 30, 1959) is an American Democratic Party politician who has represented the 16th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2018, replacing Jack Ciattarelli, who did not seek re-election to his seat ...
Sadaf Jaffer
Sadaf F. Jaffer (born February 19, 1983) is an American scholar and elected official who has represented the 16th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since taking office on January 11, 2022. She is a postdoctoral research as ...
12th
12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6.
It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...
congressional districts.
Apportionment history
When the 40-district legislative map was created in 1973, the 16th District consisted of all of Somerset County (except Franklin Township and Manville and included Readington in Hunterdon County, and Morris County's Chester
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
and
Township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
and Mendham Borough. Following the 1981 redistricting, the district largely remained the same with Rocky Hill and Millstone boroughs being shifted to the 14th District, Readington trading with East Amwell Township to be Hunterdon's lone municipality in the district, and the removal of the Chesters to add Mendham Township in the Morris County portion. Again, most of Somerset County remained a part of the 16th for the 1991 redistricting, but Franklin Township and its neighboring Somerset County boroughs were added to the district while Bound Brook, Warren Township,
Green Brook
Green Brook is a tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002.
Course
The Green Brook rises in the Watchung Mountains at an elevation of 410 feet in ...
,
Wharton Wharton may refer to:
Academic institutions
* Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
* Wharton County Junior College
* Paul R. Wharton High School
* Wharton Center for Performing Arts, at Michigan State University
Places
* Wharton, Ch ...
, and North Plainfield were shifted elsewhere; the only municipality outside of Somerset included in the District this decade was Mendham Borough. Changes to the district made as part of the New Jersey Legislative redistricting in 2001, based on the results of the
2000 United States Census
The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...
, added Bound Brook (from the 17th Legislative District) and removed Franklin Township (to the 17th Legislative District).
John Ewing chose not to run for re-election in 1997 after 30 years in the legislature. He was replaced in the Senate by Walter J. Kavanaugh, with Peter J. Biondi elected to Kavanaugh's former seat in the Assembly. Ewing remarked that "Dear Walter avanaughhas been waiting and waiting to take my place... he keeps threatening to push me in front of a bus". Kip Bateman moved up to the Senate to fill the seat vacated by the retirement of Walter Kavanaugh in the 2007 elections. Peter Biondi won re-election and was joined in the Assembly by
Denise Coyle
Denise Coyle (born June 22, 1953) is an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from January 2008 to January 2012, where she represented the 16th Legislative District.
In the Assembly, Coyle served on ...
, a member of the Somerset County
Board of Chosen Freeholders
In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the b ...
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 ...
. Accessed June 26, 2010.
Long-time Senator
Raymond Bateman
Raymond H. "Ray" Bateman (October 29, 1927 – June 25, 2016) was an American politician who represented Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County in the New Jersey Senate in the 1960s and 1970s and was the Republican candidate for Governor of ...
(who had previously served from the 8th District and the Somerset County district) ran for
Governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
in 1977, losing to
Brendan Byrne
Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American politician, statesman, and prosecutor, serving as the 47th governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982.
A member of the Democratic Party, Byrne started his career as a privat ...
, with John H. Ewing taking Bateman's seat in the Senate and Elliott F. Smith taking Ewing's former seat in the Assembly.
In 2011, Coyle declined to run for re-election as her Bernards Township home was moved out of the district and the seat was won by
Jack Ciattarelli
Jack M. Ciattarelli ( ; born December 12, 1961) is an American politician and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2011 to 2018, representing the 16th legislative district. He was also t ...
, a member of the Somerset County
Board of Chosen Freeholders
In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the b ...
. Peter Biondi died two days after winning re-election, and was replaced by two appointments of the Republican County Committee members of the 16th district: Ciattarelli was appointed for the remainder of the 2010–2012 session and Readington Township committeewoman
Donna Simon
Donna M. Simon (born March 25, 1960) is an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey New Jersey General Assembly, General Assembly, representing the New Jersey's 16th legislative distric ...
The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...
'', January 20, 2012. Accessed January 20, 2012.
Simon's appointment would only stand until a November 2012 special election; Simon faced Democrat Marie Corfield in the election to complete the remainder of the term. In the November 6 election which coincided with the general elections for President, U.S. Senate, and the House of Representatives, Simon defeated Corfield by just under 1,000 votes out of 91,000 ballots cast. Simon would be re-elected to a full term in 2013 with Ciattarelli but was defeated in 2015 in a close race by Democrat Andrew Zwicker in 2015. Initial counts showed Simon ahead of Zwicker on the night of the election (Ciattarelli was far enough ahead in first place to be ensured victory) but following the counting of
provisional ballot
In elections in the United States, a provisional ballot (called an affidavit ballot in New York) is used to record a vote when there are questions about a given voter's eligibility that must be resolved before the vote can count. The federal H ...