Carmelo Garcia

Carmelo G. Garcia is an American politician from the state of New Jersey. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the 33rd Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly.

Carmelo Garcia
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 33rd district
In office
January 14, 2014 – January 12, 2016
Preceded bySean Connors
Ruben J. Ramos
Succeeded byAnnette Chaparro
Personal details
Born (1975-04-05) April 5, 1975
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Margarita
Childrenthree
ResidenceHoboken, New Jersey
Alma materSeton Hall University (BS)
Stevens Institute of Technology (MS)

Garcia was born in 1975 and lived in Hoboken his entire life.[1] He is a graduate of Seton Hall University where he received a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and sociology and received a Master of Science from Stevens Institute of Technology in information systems and management. In 2002, he became a member of the Hoboken Board of Education, a position he continues to hold today.[2] After serving as director of human services under Hoboken mayor Dave Roberts, he was appointed to head the Hoboken Housing Authority in 2009.[3] He is the first Latino to hold the position.[2]

In 2013, Garcia ran for the General Assembly in the June Democratic primary election on a ticket with State Senator Brian P. Stack and Raj Mukherji but in April, was ruled ineligible to run for the seat. Judge Peter F. Bariso ruled that since the Hoboken Housing Authority received federal subsidies, Garcia was subject to the Hatch Act of 1939 banning those whose salary is paid primarily through federal funds from running in partisan elections.[4] An appellate court overturned Bariso's decision and allowed Garcia back on the ballot.[5] Garcia won the primary alongside Mukherji and won the November general election overwhelmingly.[6]

In the Assembly, he serves on the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee, the Human Services Committee, and the Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee.[2] He is not seeking a second term to the Assembly.[7]

On August 4, 2014, Garcia's contract at the Housing Authority was terminated during a meeting that featured numerous protests by residents and city council members.[8] Claiming his firing was the result of a feud with mayor Dawn Zimmer, he began a campaign for the Hoboken City Council from the 6th Ward in August 2015 forgoing another term in the Assembly.[1][9] He was defeated in the November 2015 non-partisan general election to the Zimmer-backed Jennifer Giattino.[10]


In 2020 Garcia was identified as Co-Conspirator #2 in the Federal indictment of Malik Frederick.[11] In the indictment Garcia as Executive Vice President of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (the “NCEDC”) and later as the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development for the City of Newark was alleged to have conspired to solicit bribes and kickbacks in exchange for him taking favorable actions to the bribe and kickback payers.[12]


Garcia is married to Margarita and has three children.[2] After his initial Assembly primary win in 2013, he and the others on the Democratic legislative ticket from his district endorsed Chris Christie in his successful bid for re-election to Governor of New Jersey.[13]

References
  1. Alfaro, Alyana (August 5, 2015). "Does Carmelo Garcia Transcend Hoboken's Divisions?". Politicker NJ. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  2. "Assemblyman Carmelo G. Garcia Bio Page". NJ Assembly Majority Office. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  3. Baldwin, Carly (May 15, 2009). "Carmelo Garcia chosen as Executive Director of the Hoboken Housing Authority". NJ.com. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  4. Pizarro, Max (April 19, 2013). "BREAKING: Judge rules Garcia ineligible to run for LD33 seat". Politicker NJ. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  5. Pizarro, Max (April 30, 2013). "BREAKING: Garcia wins appeal in LD33". Politicker NJ. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  6. Koeske, Zak (November 5, 2013). "Hudson County Dems Sweep District 33 Races". Patch Media. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  7. "Official List Candidates for General Assembly For PRIMARY ELECTION 06/02/2015" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. August 10, 2015. p. 39. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  8. Eisenberg, Amanda (August 4, 2015). "BREAKING: Carmelo Garcia fired by Hoboken Housing Authority". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  9. Torres, Agustin C. (August 8, 2015). "Hoboken's outgoing assemblyman wants to be wanted -- in the 6th Ward - Political Insider". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  10. Zeitlinger, Ron (November 3, 2015). "Zimmer-backed candidates win 4 seats in Hoboken City Council race". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved January 17, 2016. Another of Zimmer's incumbent candidates, Jennifer Giattino was a big winner over putgoing Assemblyman and former Hoboken Housing Authority Executive Director Carmelo Garcia -- by a 677 to 459 vote.
  11. https://hudsoncountyview.com/ex-hoboken-assemblyman-garcia-identified-as-co-conspirator-in-newark-corruption-case/
  12. https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/press-release/file/1329386/download
  13. Pizarro, Max (June 10, 2013). "Christie collects endorsements by Stack, his assembly ticket-mates and UC commissioners". Politicker NJ. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by
Sean Connors
Ruben J. Ramos		 Member of the New Jersey General Assembly for the 33rd District
January 14, 2014 – January 12, 2016
With: Raj Mukherji		 Succeeded by
Annette Chaparro


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