L. Grace Spencer
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 29th Legislative District district
In office
January 8, 2008 – June 30, 2016
Serving with Eliana Pintor Marin
Preceded byWilfredo Caraballo
William D. Payne
Succeeded byBlonnie R. Watson
Personal details
Born (1968-03-15) March 15, 1968
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materRutgers University–Newark
Rutgers School of Law–Newark
OccupationAttorney
WebsiteAssemblywoman Spencer's legislative webpage

L. Grace Spencer (born March 15, 1968) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly where she represented the 29th Legislative District from January 8, 2008, to June 30, 2016. Since July 2016, she serves as a judge of the New Jersey Superior Court.

Biography

She served the City of Newark, New Jersey as Assistant Corporation Counsel from 1997 to 1999 and as a special prosecutor from 2000 to 2003.[1]

Spencer graduated from Queen of Angels grammar school in Newark and is a 1986 graduate of Mount Saint Dominic Academy in Caldwell, New Jersey.[2] In 1992, she graduated from the Rutgers University–Newark College of Arts and Sciences with a major in business management and was awarded a J.D. from the Rutgers School of Law – Newark in 1996. She is admitted to practice law in New Jersey and before the United States Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.[3] She was formerly a partner at Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman and Goggin, handling matters arising in professional-liability-law having practiced there since 2003.[3]

She is a resident of the South Ward of Newark having lived there since 1979.[3]

Legislative career

Spencer and running mate Alberto Coutinho received the endorsements of the Essex and Union County Democratic Committees in the June 2007 primary for the General Assembly election from the 29th district. The two defeated incumbent Wilfredo Caraballo.[4] She has been re-elected to two-year terms since that year.

Spencer served in the Assembly on the Environment and Solid Waste Committee (as Chair), the Appropriations Committee (as vice-chair), and the Women and Children Committee. She was a member of the Intergovernmental Relations Commission.[1]

Spencer was nominated by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in May 2016 to serve as a judge of the New Jersey Superior Court and was confirmed by the New Jersey Senate.[5] After Spencer resigned from office on June 30, 2016, Blonnie R. Watson was selected to fill the seat and was sworn into office on July 21.[6]

Spencer sponsored a bill, A3221, which would establish rules for requiring pet restraints in passenger automobiles.[7]

District 29

Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 29th District for the 2014-15 legislative session are:[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Assemblywoman Spencer's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed September 21, 2015.
  2. ↑ Career Day Archived 2017-10-26 at the Wayback Machine, Mount Saint Dominic Academy. Accessed October 25, 2017. "Additional alumnae and associates were present to share in the day:... Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer ’86, New Jersey General Assemblywoman 29th Legislative District"
  3. 1 2 3 Duthie, J. (January 8, 2008). "Assembly Democrats: 12 new Democratic Assembly members take oaths of office". Politicker NJ. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Official List Candidate Returns for General Assembly For June 2007 Primary Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. July 20, 2007. p. 29. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  5. ↑ Johnson, Brent. "N.J. Assemblywoman becomes judge, leaves seat open", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, July 1, 2016. Accessed August 21, 2016. "Grace Spencer, who has represented New Jersey's largest city for eight years in the state Assembly, has been confirmed to become a state Superior Court judge in Essex County.... Gov. Chris Christie nominated Spencer (D-Essex) — whose legislative district includes Newark, the most populous municipality in the state — to the bench last month. She was confirmed by the state Senate on Thursday."
  6. ↑ "Watson Sworn-In to Represent 29th Legislative District" Archived 2016-08-28 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Assembly Democrats, July 21, 2016. Accessed August 21, 2016.
  7. ↑ Grace Spencer: Profile of Sponsored Bills
  8. ↑ Legislative Roster 2014-2015 Session Archived 2017-11-08 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed September 21, 2015.
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