Reed Gusciora

Walter Reed Gusciora (born March 27, 1960) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served as the 48th mayor of Trenton, New Jersey since 2018.

Gusciora was born in Passaic, New Jersey and raised in Jamesburg, where he attended public schools and graduated from Jamesburg High School in 1978.

Gusciora's father, Walter, worked at the New Jersey Department of Health in Trenton and the city was an integral part of his childhood.

As a teenager, Gusciora worked for his family's company, Aardvark Pest Control, and in his free time, he spent time visiting Trenton's prominent museums and restaurants.

He received a B.A. from The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Politics/International Relations and worked his way through college by working at the Library of Congress.

After graduation, he worked on Capitol Hill in the congressional offices of U.S. Representatives Andy Ireland (D-FL) and the late Mike Synar (D-OK).

Gusciora was awarded a J.D. in 1988 from the Seton Hall University School of Law.

He also served as the prosecutor for Lawrence Township, Hopewell Borough, and Princeton.

In 1995, Gusciora beat Joseph Constance, a former Mercer County Freeholder and deputy police chief of Trenton Police Department, who received support from the National Rifle Association of America and campaigned against New Jersey's teachers' union.

At the time, Republicans outnumbered Democrats 53 to 27 in the New Jersey State Legislature, and Constance received the momentum of the State's shift towards moderate Republicanism under popular Governor Christine Todd Whitman.

He previously served from 1996 to 2018 in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 15th Legislative District.

Gusciora was the Deputy Majority Leader between 2008 and 2018, and was the Assembly's Assistant Minority Leader from 1998 to 2001.

He served as Chairman of the Assembly Regulatory Oversight, Federal Relations, and Reform Committee and the Environment and Solid Waste Committee; he was a member of the Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance and Assembly Labor Committees.

Gusciora authored the "Paramount Safety" Law that changed the legal standard in child custody cases to protect the health and well-being of the child when abuse has occurred.

He is the author of a law that streamlines services for people with developmental disabilities through the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education.

He is also the original prime sponsor of legislation that would allow patients to sue HMOs for malpractice and the "Senior Gold Prescription Discount Act," which expanded the state's prescription drug program for seniors.

Gusciora sponsored 4 pieces of legislation signed into law by Governor Christine Todd Whitman and Governor Donald DiFrancesco: “The Emergency Management Assistance Compact Act,” establishing new procedures for the application for services provided to the developmentally disabled, and appropriating funding to a no-kill animal organization.

Gusciora served as the co-sponsor of 80 pieces of legislation signed into law including legislation that prohibits leaving an animal unattended under inhumane conditions in a vehicle, enacts the “FamilyCare Health Coverage Act,” creates the Neighborhood Revitalization State Tax Credit Act, and the “Senior Gold Prescription Discount Act.

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Gusciora sponsored 35 pieces of legislation signed into law: Prohibiting firearm possession by persons convicted of serious violent crimes, making changes in the law concerning the cleanup of hazardous substances (environmental remediation), and appropriating millions in funding for local government open space acquisition and park development projects.

Gusciora co-sponsored 69 pieces of legislation signed into law: Expanding municipal power to address abandoned properties, permitting stem cell research in New Jersey, and prohibiting unsolicited telemarketing sales calls to certain customers.

Gusciora sponsored 39 pieces of legislation that became law including the "New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act" which prohibits smoking in indoor public places and workplaces, legislation that established a state rental assistance program patterned after section 8 housing with the allocation of funds under the Fair Housing Act to program as permitted purpose, and legislation that requires hospital and satellite emergency departments to provide care to sexual assault victims and information about emergency contraception.

Gusciora was the sponsor of 25 pieces of legislation that became law: "Electronic Waste Recycling Act", establishing the Office of State Comptroller, and providing alternatives to prison for certain drug offenses.

Gusciora was the co-sponsor of 56 pieces of legislation that became law: Eliminating the death penalty in New Jersey, requiring boards of education to offer students instruction in gang violence prevention, enhancing penalties for possessing illegal guns.

Gusciora sponsored 37 pieces of legislation: Appropriating funding to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for clean water environmental infrastructure projects, legalizing medical marijuana through the "New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act", and established the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program.

Gusciora co-sponsored 25 pieces of legislation: Permitting wind and solar energy facilities in industrial zones, prohibiting individuals from purchasing more than one handgun in a calendar month, and authorizing the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to provide grants for combined heat and power production, energy efficiency projects and programs promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Gusciora sponsored 12 pieces of legislation: Allowing construction of wind dependent energy facilities on piers within 500 feet of mean high water line of tidal waters, allowing municipalities to reexamine municipal master plans every 10 years, and requiring instructions for workers filing unemployment insurance claims.

Gusciora co-sponsored 21 pieces of legislation: The "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act", allowing students with disabilities to bring service animals to school, and authorizes companies under BPU jurisdiction to bill customers electronically upon their request.

The redistricting plan adopted following the 2010 U.S. Census moved Gusciora's residence out of the 15th district and into the heavily-Republican 16th.

Gusciora immediately announced that he would put his Princeton home on the market and move to Trenton, a city that he had represented for over 20 years, some 12 mi away.

In the 2014-2015 legislative session, Gusciora sponsored 14 bills and co-sponsored 34 bills.

Gusciora co-sponsored legislation creating the option to make a voluntary contribution for the support of local libraries on gross income tax returns, establishing a program to provide assistance to qualified veterans in in-patient and out-patient treatment programs to travel to in-state medical counseling, and requiring school bus drivers and school bus aides to attend a training program on interacting with students with special needs.

Similarly, during this legislative session, Gusciora co-sponsored several key criminal justice reform bills: "The Opportunity to Compete Act" establishing certain employment rights for persons with a criminal record, requiring the New Jersey Department of Corrections to make reports containing information concerning treatment and reentry initiative participation, extending "Overdose Prevention Act" immunity provisions to certain professionals and professional entities, and permits needle exchange programs to obtain standing order for opioid antidotes.

Gusciora's victory maintained New Jersey's 15th Legislative District as a Democratic stronghold.

Trenton was the largest city in the old 15th district and remained the largest city in the newly configured 15th district.

In the 2016-2017 legislative session, Gusciora sponsored twenty-eight bills and co-sponsored thirty-nine bills for a total of sixty-seven bills which were signed into law.

Gusciora sponsored legislation to authorize medical marijuana for qualifying patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, require that certain inmates with detainers be provided access to drug treatment programs, and exempt homeless individuals from paying fees for non-driver identification cards.

Gusciora co-sponsored "New Jersey Housing Assistance for Veterans Act," a pilot program to assist veterans with housing modification and rehabilitation as well as a bill to permit small, women-owned, or minority-owned businesses located in designated regional centers or planning areas to qualify for loans from the New Jersey Economic Development Agency (EDA) as if located in a designated urban center.

Despite only serving in the New Jersey Legislature for the first six months of the 2018-2019 legislative session, Gusciora was the primary sponsor for 12 pieces of legislation and co-sponsor of 25 pieces of legislation that became law.

Gusciora sponsored legislation restricting the use of isolated confinement in correctional facilities, requiring boards of education to include instruction that accurately portrays the political, economic, and social contributions of the LGBT community and persons with disabilities, and reinstating the duration of certain UEZs (areas within Trenton, Plainfield, Newark, Camden, and Bridgeton that provide tax benefits to commercial properties).