Shanique Speight

Shanique Davis Speight (born November 14, 1978) is an American Democratic Party politicians who represents the 29th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2018,^[2] succeeding Blonnie R. Watson, who chose not to run for reelection.^[3] Speight has served in the Assembly as the Deputy Parliamentarian since 2022.^[2]

Shanique Speight
Member of the New Jersey Assembly from the 29th Legislative District
Incumbent
Assumed office January 9, 2018 Serving with Eliana Pintor Marin
Preceded by	Blonnie R. Watson
Personal details
Born	(1978-11-14) November 14, 1978 (age 46)
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Andre Speight[1]
Children	4[1]
Residence(s)	Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma mater	Lincoln University
Website	Legislative web page

Speight served briefly on the Municipal Council of Newark after being nominated by then-Mayor Cory Booker in November 2012 to fill a vacant seat, but was forced to vacate the seat the following month after a judge ruled that Booker lacked the authority to cast a vote given the circumstances.

Early life and education

A resident of Newark, Speight graduated from Lincoln University with a Master of Arts in Human Services. An officer in the Essex County Sheriff's Office, Speight was first elected to the Newark Public Schools Advisory Board in 2007, and served as the board's vice chair from 2007 to 2012. She was an aide to Senator Teresa Ruiz from 2009 to 2010.^[2][1]

Political career

After Donald Payne Jr. vacated his at-large seat on the Newark City Council after being elected to succeed his father in Congress, Speight was nominated by Mayor Cory Booker at a contentious November 2012 council meeting and sworn in to fill Payne's vacant seat, resulting in what The Star-Ledger described as a "near-riot".^[4] After the nomination, residents charged the sitting council members and Speight was knocked down.^[5] In December 2012, a New Jersey Superior Court judge ruled that Booker did not have the power to cast a deciding vote under the circumstances that prevailed at the meeting in question, forcing Speight to vacate the seat.^[6][7] In July 2013, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division affirmed the decision that Booker did not have the authority to vote to nominate Speight; a special election to fill the vacant seat was to be held in November 2013, with the council left in a four-four deadlock on the nine-member council until the seat would be filled.^[8]

New Jersey General Assembly

In the November 2017 general election, with Blonnie Watson not seeking re-election, Speight (with 18,308 votes; 43.0% of all ballots cast) and her running mate, incumbent Eliana Pintor Marin (with 19,088; 44.8%), defeated Republican challengers Charles G. Hood (2,622; 6.2%) and Jeannette Veras (2,574; 6.0%) to win both Assembly seats from the district for the Democrats.^[9]

Committees

Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:^[2]

• Aging and Human Services (as chair)
• Regulated Professions (as vice-chair)
• Health

District 29

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.^[10] The representatives from the 29th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:^[11]

• Senator Teresa Ruiz (D)
• Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin (D)
• Assemblywoman Shanique Speight (D)

Electoral history

29th Legislative District General Election, 2023^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Eliana Pintor Marin (incumbent)	7,488	42.5
	Democratic	Shanique Speight (incumbent)	7,409	42.0
	Republican	Orlando Mendez	1,419	8.1
	Republican	Noble Milton	1,308	7.4
Total votes			17,624	100.0
	Democratic hold
	Democratic hold

29th legislative district general election, 2021^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Eliana Pintor Marin (incumbent)	19,919	49.14%
	Democratic	Shanique Speight (incumbent)	19,576	48.30%
	Salters For All	Debra Salters	1,037	2.56%
Total votes			40,532	100.0
	Democratic hold

29th Legislative District General Election, 2019^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Eliana Pintor Marin (incumbent)	7,957	40.73%
	Democratic	Shanique Speight (incumbent)	7,652	39.17%
	Republican	John Anello	1,545	7.91%
	Republican	Jeannette Veras	1,399	7.16%
	Jobs, Equal Rights	Yolanda Johnson	529	2.71%
	Jobs, Equal Rights	Nichelle Velazquez	455	2.33%
Total votes			19,537	100%
	Democratic hold

29th Legislative District general election, 2017^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Eliana Pintor Marin (incumbent)	19,088	44.8	5.6
	Democratic	Shanique Speight	18,308	43.0	0.1
	Republican	Charles G. Hood	2,622	6.2	2.3
	Republican	Jeannette Veras	2,574	6.0	0.5
Total votes			42,592	100.0
	Democratic hold