Donald Milford Payne Jr. (born December 17, 1958) is an American politician who has been the U.S. representative for since 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, Payne served as president of the Newark city council from 2010 to 2012. Following the death of his father, U.S. Representative Donald M. Payne, on March 6, 2012, Payne ran in the primary to succeed him in Congress. His father was first elected in 1988 and reelected 11 times without significant opposition. Payne Jr. won the June 5 Democratic

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 ...

, which is

tantamount to election A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinati ...

in the heavily Democratic district, and the November 6 general election.

Early life, education, and early career

Payne was born and raised with his two sisters, Wanda and Nicole, in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

. His father Donald M. Payne, served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1989 until his death in 2012. He was the first

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 ensl ...

to represent the state of

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 Delawa ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. His mother Hazel Payne (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Johnson), died in 1963 when Payne was five years old. As a teenager, he founded and was the first president of the Newark South Ward Junior Democrats. He studied

graphic arts A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional, i.e. produced on a flat surface.

Kean University Kean University () is a public university in Union and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Kean University was founded in 1855 in Newark, New Jersey, as the Newark Normal School. Initially establi ...

. He was an adviser at the YMCA Youth in Government program. Payne worked for the

New Jersey Highway Authority The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) is a state agency responsible for maintaining the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, which are two toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The agency is headquartered in Woodbridge Towns ...

from 1991 until he joined the Essex County Educational Services Commission in 1996, where he worked as the Supervisor of Student Transportation.

Newark Municipal Council

In 2010, Payne was reelected to the

Municipal Council of Newark The Municipal Council is the legislative branch of government for Newark, New Jersey. Newark was governed by a mayor and common council from 1836 to 1917 and then by a five-member commission until 1954. Effective as of July 1, 1954, the voters of ...

with 19% of the vote, serving from July 1, 2006 to November 6, 2012. Other candidates elected were Mildred C. Crump,

Luis Quintana Luis Joaquín Quintana Santos (December 25, 1951 – July 27, 2009) was a professional baseball player who played two seasons for the California Angels of Major League Baseball. Quintana was born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico.Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

stem cell research In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of ...

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...

and education funding. In July 2010, Payne was elected president of the Newark City Council, succeeding Crump. Payne's committee assignments included Health, Education and Recreation.

Essex County Board of Freeholders

In 2005, Payne was one of four candidates elected to the at-large seat, serving from January 1, 2006 to November 6, 2012. He finished first with 19% of the vote. In 2008, he was reelected to a second term with 20% of the vote. In 2011, he was reelected to a third term with 18% of the vote. ;Committee assignments * Budget Review * Finance Oversight * Health Care/Benefits (Chairman) * Hospital Center Oversight * Labor Union Oversight * Public Safety Panel * Recreation * Review the Essex County Code * Review Purchasing Procedures * Transportation Oversight (Chairman) * Turtle Back Zoo

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2012 special election

After his father's death, Payne declared his intention to run in two elections in 2012: the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to fill the remainder of his father's unexpired term, and the regularly scheduled election for the two-year term beginning in January 2013. The primaries for both elections were held on June 5, and the general elections on November 6. According to documents filed on May 24 with the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

, Payne both raised and spent more money than any other Democratic candidate. House Minority Leader

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

endorsed Payne on May 22. In the Democratic primary for the special election, Payne faced Ronald C. Rice (son of State Senator Ronald Rice) and Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith. He won the primary with 71% of the vote to Rice's 25% and Smith 5%. In the Democratic primary for the full term, Payne faced Rice, Smith, State Senator Nia Gill, Cathy Wright of Newark, and Dennis R. Flynn of Glen Ridge. He won with 60% of the vote, to Rice's 19%, Gill's 17%. Smith, Wright and Flynn combined for about 5% of the vote. After the election, Payne said, "I've said that I'm following a legacy and I'm not backing away from that."

2012

In the November 6 general election, Payne defeated

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee Brian C. Kelemen with 87% of the vote. He ran unopposed for the special election to fill the remainder of his father's term. The 10th is a heavily Democratic, black-majority district, and Payne had effectively assured himself election with his primary victory.

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

Tenure

Payne was sworn into office on November 15, 2012. He co-sponsored the

Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States federal law (Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, ) signed by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994. The Act provided $1.6 billion toward inves ...

and the

Paycheck Fairness Act The Paycheck Fairness ActH.R.7 is a proposed United States labor law that would add procedural protections to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Fair Labor Standards Act as part of an effort to address the gender pay gap in the United States. A C ...

, a bill aimed at expanding the scope of the

Equal Pay Act of 1963 The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a United States labor law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex (see gender pay gap). It was signed into law on June 10, 1963, by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Fro ...

and

Fair Labor Standards Act The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) is a United States labor law that creates the right to a minimum wage, and " time-and-a-half" overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week. It also prohibits employment of minors in "oppr ...

. Payne also co-sponsored H.R. 41, authorizing $30.4 billion from the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

's National Flood Insurance Program to victims of

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

. On March 24, 2014, Payne introduced the

Department of Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act (H.R. 4289; 113th Congress) The Department of Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act () is a bill that would require the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), within 120 days of the bill's enactment, to devise a strategy to improve communicati ...

a bill that would require the

United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-ter ...

(DHS), within 120 days of the bill's enactment, to devise a strategy to improve communications among DHS agencies. DHS would be required to submit regular reports to Congress on its progress and the decisions it makes.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Homeland Security ** Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications (Chair) ** Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management *

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works a ...

** Subcommittee on Aviation ** Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials

Caucus memberships

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...

* Congressional Caucus on Sudan and South Sudan * Congressional Small Business Caucus * Ports, Opportunity, Renewable, Trade, and Security (PORTS) Caucus *

Congressional Arts Caucus The Congressional Arts Caucus is a registered Congressional Member Organization for the US House of Representatives in the 115th Congress. History The Congressional Arts Caucus was created in the 1980s as a way for the various members of Congres ...

United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus The U.S. Congressional International Conservation Caucus, founded in September 2003, is a bipartisan congressional organization with the conviction that “the United States of America has the opportunity, the obligation and the interests to advanc ...

Blue Collar Caucus The Blue Collar Caucus is a Democratic Party (United States), United States Democratic Party congressional caucus that advocates for labor and working class priorities. It was founded in 2016 to focus the Democratic Party on blue-collar issues. ...

Electoral history

Personal life

Payne lives in Newark with his wife, Bea, and their triplets.

References

External links

Congressman Donald M. Payne Jr.
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Donald Jr. 1958 births 21st-century American politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American city council members in New Jersey County commissioners in New Jersey Kean University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Living people Members of the Municipal Council of Newark 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people