Donna Simon

Donna M. Simon (born March 25, 1960) is an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 16th legislative district from January 30, 2012, until January 12, 2016. Prior to her Assembly career, she served on the Readington Township Committee. She lost her race for a third term in the Assembly to Democrat Andrew Zwicker in the November 2015 election.

Donna Simon
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 16th district
In office
January 30, 2012 – January 12, 2016
Preceded byDenise Coyle
Succeeded byAndrew Zwicker
Personal details
Born (1960-03-25) March 25, 1960
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMichael
Children2
Residence(s)Readington Township, New Jersey
Alma materUnion County Technical Institute, Kean College

Biography

Simon was educated at Kean College and the School of Cardiac Technology at Union County Technical Institute. She is trained as a cardiovascular specialist.[1]

Simon joined the Readington Township Board of Health in 2009.[1] She first ran for elected office in November 2010 for a seat on the Readington Township Committee and began her term in January 2011.[2]

In November 2011, Peter J. Biondi died two days after he was re-elected to his Assembly seat representing the 16th legislative district.[3] Simon was selected on January 19, 2012 as his replacement by a Republican Party convention of district delegates from Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset counties. She was sworn in on January 30, 2012 to serve for one year.[4]

A November 2012 special election was held to fill the remaining year of Biondi's term. Simon ran against the Democratic candidate, Marie Corfield, a Raritan Township art teacher who achieved fame for facing off against Governor Chris Christie at a 2010 town hall meeting.[5] On November 7, a day after the election, unofficial results showed Simon leading Corfield by 1,700 votes, but Corfield refused to concede until all outstanding ballots were counted.[6] On November 30, Corfield conceded after final results showed Simon winning by about 1,000 votes.[7]

Simon was re-elected in 2013. In the 2015 election, Simon and fellow incumbent Republican Jack Ciattarelli faced a strong challenge from Democrats Andrew Zwicker and Maureen Vella. Election night results indicated that Ciattarelli placed first and was re-elected, Vella placed fourth, and the race for the second seat between Simon and Zwicker was "too close to call."[8] Three days after the election, Zwicker held a 67-vote lead over Simon with some provisional ballots remaining to be counted.[8][9] On November 9, 2015, the final provisional ballots were counted, with Zwicker finishing with a 78-vote lead over Simon.[10] On November 16, 2015, Simon conceded the race to Zwicker and Republican officials stated that no recount will be requested.[11]

While in the Assembly, she served on the Assembly Education and Telecommunications & Utilities committees in addition to the Joint Committee on the Public Schools.[12] Simon and her husband Michael and two children reside in Readington Township.[1]

References
  1. "Assemblywoman Donna Simon". New Jersey Assembly Republicans. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  2. "Readington's Donna Simon chosen to take the late Peter Biondi's 16th District Assembly seat". Somerset Messenger-Gazette. January 20, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  3. Megerian, Chris (November 10, 2011). "Assemblyman Peter J. Biondi (R-Somerset), dies at 69, days after re-election". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  4. Wright, Terry (January 31, 2012). "Donna Simon of Readington is sworn in to State Assembly seat that Pete Biondi had held". Hunterdon County Democrat. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  5. Duffy, Erin (October 21, 2012). "Assembly candidates duke it out over taxes in 16th District". The Times. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  6. Brill, Douglas B. (November 7, 2012). "New Jersey Assembly race - Donna Simon-Marie Corfield - remains too close to call". The Express-Times. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  7. Friedman, Matt (November 30, 2012). "Donna Simon wins tight 16th District Assembly race after opponent concedes". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  8. "Elections 2015: Assembly race in 16th Dist. Not called". 4 November 2015.
  9. "New Jersey Politics | NJ Politics".
  10. http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/2015/11/09/donna-simon-andrew-zwicker-election-results/75450134/ (subscription required)
  11. Curran, Philip Sean (November 16, 2015). "CENTRAL JERSEY: Assemblywoman Donna Simon officially concedes 16th Legislative District race". Packet Media Group. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  12. "Assemblywoman Donna M. Simon (R)". New Jersey Legislature. Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
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