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Nilsa Cruz-Perez
Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 5th district
Incumbent
Assumed office December 15, 2014
Preceded by	Donald Norcross
Chairman of the New Jersey Senate Economic Growth Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office January 9, 2018
Preceded by	Raymond Lesniak
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 5th district
In office February 27, 1995 – January 12, 2010
Preceded by	Wayne Bryant
Succeeded by	Angel Fuentes Donald Norcross
Deputy Majority Leader of the New Jersey General Assembly
In office January 8, 2008 – January 12, 2010
Leader	Bonnie Watson Coleman
Preceded by	Position Established
Succeeded by	Position Abolished
Personal details
Born	(1961-01-21) January 21, 1961 (age 63) Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Barrington, New Jersey
Alma mater	University of Puerto Rico (BA) University of Maryland
Occupation	Director of Constituent Services, Camden County
Website	Legislative web page Senate Democrats Website
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1981–1987
Rank	Sergeant

Nilsa Cruz-Perez (born January 21, 1961) is an American 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. She had previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1995 to 2010 and is the first Latina woman to serve in the Assembly.

Early life

Cruz-Perez born on January 21, 1961, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. She was a member of the Popular Democratic Party during her youth. Attended the University of Puerto Rico earning a degree in political science, Big Bend Community College Army Quartermaster School and the Temple University Overseas Division. Cruz-Perez served in the United States Army from 1981 to 1987, she was stationed in Mainz, Germany and attained the rank of sergeant. Cruz-Perez works as a part-time community development specialist for the Camden County Improvement Authority. Formerly a resident of Camden, she now resides in Barrington.

Career

New Jersey Assembly

Cruz-Perez was selected in February 1995 to fill the vacancy created by resignation of Assemblyman Wayne R. Bryant, when Bryant was selected to fill the Senate seat vacated due to the death of Senator Walter Rand on January 6, 1995. She was sworn into the Assembly on February 27. Serving in the Assembly until 2010, representing the 5th District for the entire time she was serving, she was the Assistant Majority Leader from 2002–2005 and Deputy Majority Leader from January 2008 to January 2010. In 2009 she announced that she would retire after her current term in the legislature.

Cruz-Perez was the primary sponsor of Bill S2599 which seeks to change the legal term of “illegal alien” to “undocumented foreign national."

New Jersey Senate

Following the election and swearing in of State Senator Donald Norcross to the United States House of Representatives in 2014, the Democratic committees of Camden and Gloucester counties (the two counties within the 5th district) appointed Cruz-Perez to the vacant Senate seat. She will serve until a special election in 2015 in which she is running. While in the Senate, she is serving on the Economic Growth, (vice-chair), Military and Veterans' Affairs, and Transportation committees and Joint Committee on the Public Schools. In addition to her legislative duties, she is also a Vice-Chair of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee (since 2015) and a member of the Rutgers University–Camden Board of Directors (since 2014). Between her legislative stints, she was the Democratic Vice-Chair of the 2011 New Jersey Apportionment Commission, the committee delegated to redraw the state legislative districts following the 2010 Census.

Committees

Committee assignments for the current session are:

• Economic Growth (as chair)
• Military and Veterans' Affairs (as vice-chair)
• Budget and Appropriations

District 5

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The representatives from the 5th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:

• Senator Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D)
• Assemblyman Bill Moen (D) , and
• Assemblyman William Spearman (D)

Electoral history

New Jersey Senate

2017 New Jersey Senate election for the 5th Legislative District

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Nilsa Cruz-Perez (Incumbent)	29,031	66.1	33.9
	Republican	Keith Walker	14,463	32.9	N/A
	Challenge Promise Fix	Mohammad Kabir	454	1.0	N/A
Total votes			'43,948'	'100.0'

2015 Special New Jersey Senate election for the 5th Legislative District

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Nilsa Cruz-Perez (Incumbent)	19,150	100.0	42.1
Total votes			'19,150'	'100.0'

New Jersey Assembly

2007 New Jersey General Assembly election for the 5th Legislative District

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Roberts (Incumbent)	17,554	32.2	13.2
	Democratic	Nilsa Cruz-Perez (Incumbent)	15,978	29.3	13.2
	Republican	Edward Torres	9,136	16.8	N/A
	Republican	Jonathan Mangel	9,070	16.6	N/A
	Green	Richard L. Giovanoni	1,419	2.6	2.5
	Green	Mark Heacock	1,381	2.5	2.7
Total votes			'54,538'	'100.0'

2005 New Jersey General Assembly election for the 5th Legislative District

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Roberts (Incumbent)	29,893	45.4	12.9
	Democratic	Nilsa Cruz-Perez (Incumbent)	27,955	42.5	12.0
	Green	Richard L. Giovanoni	3,429	5.2	N/A
	Green	Mark Heacock	3,386	5.1	N/A
	Libertarian	Kevin Ferrizzi	1,131	1.7	N/A
Total votes			'65,794'	'100.0'

2003 New Jersey General Assembly election for the 5th Legislative District

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Roberts (Incumbent)	21,608	32.5	10.5
	Democratic	Nilsa Cruz-Perez (Incumbent)	20,260	30.5	9.6
	Republican	Jeffrey R. Kugler	12,467	18.7	1.8
	Republican	Eddie Torres	12,165	18.3	N/A
Total votes			'66,500'	'100.0'

1999 New Jersey General Assembly election for the 5th Legislative District

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Roberts (Incumbent)	18,429	43.6	0.1
	Democratic	Nilsa Cruz-Perez (Incumbent)	16,398	38.8	0.6
	Republican	William E. Spencer	7,438	17.6	1.6
Total votes			'42,265'	'100.0'

1997 New Jersey General Assembly election for the 5th Legislative District

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Roberts (Incumbent)	31,898	43.5	9.3
	Democratic	Nilsa Cruz-Perez (Incumbent)	28,918	39.4	7.9
	Republican	Joe Smiriglio	11,744	16.0	1.6
	Republican	No nomination made	777	1.1	15.5
Total votes			'73,337'	'100.0'

1995 New Jersey General Assembly election for the 5th Legislative District

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Roberts (Incumbent)	20,618	34.2	0.5
	Democratic	Nilsa Cruz-Perez (Incumbent)	19,006	31.5	3.4
	Republican	David Brodecki	10,635	17.6	2.1
	Republican	Jose Delgado	10,000	16.6	1.8
Total votes			'60,259'	'100.0'

References

1. "New Jersey Legislature Committees and Membership 2018-2019 Legislative Session". njleg.state.nj.us. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
2. ^ Senator Nilsa I. Cruz-Perez (D), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 21, 2024.
3. ^ Caffrey, Michelle (December 15, 2014). "First Latina legislator in N.J. Cruz-Perez steps into new role in state Senate". South Jersey Times. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
4. Ott, Dwight (January 28, 1995). "Latino Woman Likely To Join Assembly - A First Camden's Nilsa Cruz-perez Would Replace Wayne R. Bryant. He Will Fill Walter Rand's State Senate Seat". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
5. ^ "New Jersey Apportionment Committee - Commission Membership". Retrieved July 3, 2015.
6. McCarthy, Pete. "Seat opens in 5th District", Gloucester County Times, March 18, 2009. Accessed November 15, 2016. "Assemblywoman Nilsa Cruz-Perez, the first Hispanic woman elected to the Legislature, announced she will not seek re-election after 14 years in Trenton."
7. "NJ Legislature".
8. "Unofficial List Candidates for State Senate For PRIMARY ELECTION 06/02/2015 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. June 3, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
9. New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 21, 2024.
10. Legislative Roster for District 5, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 21, 2024.
11. "Official List, Candidates for State Senate for GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
12. "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 06/08/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
13. "2017-official-general-election-results-state-senate.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
14. "2015-official-ge-results-nj-senate.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
15. "2007-official-general-election-tallies(ga)-12.12.07.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
16. "05831236.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
17. "2003g_a_candidate_tally.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
18. "2001-general-elect-gen-assembly-tallies.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
19. "1999-general-elect-gen-assembly-candidate-tallies.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
20. "1997-general-election-results-state-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
21. "1995-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Retrieved 24 March 2019.

External links

• Senator Cruz-Perez's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature
• New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms
  • 2015 2014 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
• Nilsa I. Cruz-Perez, Project Vote Smart

• 1961 births
• American politicians of Puerto Rican descent
• Living people
• Democratic Party New Jersey state senators
• Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly
• Politicians from Camden, New Jersey
• People from Barrington, New Jersey
• People from Bayamón, Puerto Rico
• Temple University alumni
• United States Army soldiers
• University of Puerto Rico alumni
• Women state legislators in New Jersey
• Women in the United States Army
• Puerto Rican people in New Jersey politics
• Hispanic and Latino American women in politics
• Puerto Rican women in the military
• 21st-century American women politicians
• Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New Jersey
• 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature