Summary
Nelida “Nellie” Avila Pou[born May 20, 1956; is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in the New Jersey Senate since 2012, representing the 35th Legislative District. She previously represented the 35th district in the General Assembly. When Pou was sworn into the Assembly on January 29, 1997, to succeed Bill Pascrell, she became the first woman and the first Hispanic to represent the 35th district.
On August 29, 2024, Pou was selected to replace Rep. Bill Pascrell on the ballot as the Democratic candidate in New Jersey’s 9th congressional district following his death eight days earlier.
OnAir Post: Nellie Pou NJ-09
About
Source: Campaign Site
Born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey, Nellie Pou’s parents came to the Garden State from Puerto Rico in 1953 to start their lives and raise a family.
Nellie’s father, Teodosio, was a blue collar worker for the City of Paterson, and her mother Dominga, was a homemaker and the rock of the family. Dominga always had something simmering on the stove and an extra seat at the table to warmly welcome family and friends any day of the week. While her parents worked hard to make ends meet, they instilled in Nellie and her four siblings a strong work ethic and commitment to their community and public service that guides her to this day.
Nellie attended Paterson public schools and later attended Kean University, before returning to Paterson where she began her career in public service. Nellie served in various roles for the City of Paterson, ranging from Director of Human Resources to Business Administrator. During her tenure in the City of Paterson, she made history in 1997 as the first Latina elected to represent the 35th Legislative District in the State Assembly, succeeding the late Congressman Bill Pascrell after he was elected to Congress. In 2012, she was elected to the State Senate, where she currently serves as the New Jersey Senate Majority Caucus Chair.
Throughout her career in public service, Nellie has been committed to improving the lives of New Jerseyans. From fighting for better schools for our kids to more affordable healthcare, to criminal justice reform– Nellie has been at the forefront of some of New Jersey’s toughest fights.
Now she is running for Congress to humbly and proudly succeed the late Congressman Pascrell, and continue fighting for New Jersey families. As a mother and grandmother, Nellie knows what New Jersey families are facing and will continue to work to create good paying jobs and bring down costs. From housing to groceries, Nellie understands that families are being squeezed by corporate greed driving up costs and she is ready to take that fight head on in Congress. Nellie will also continue to stand up to defend a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions, not just here in New Jersey, but across the country.
Nellie has dedicated her entire life to the community that raised her, and in Congress she will do the same.
Nellie is married to Richard Freid, a retired State Superior Court Judge from the Passaic County Vicinage. She is a proud mother of two children, Edwin II and Taina Pou and has four beautiful grandchildren.
Web Links
Politics
Source: Wikipedia
New Jersey General Assembly
Pou was appointed to a vacant seat previously held since 1988 by Bill Pascrell in the New Jersey General Assembly on January 29, 1997. Pascrell resigned from his position after being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and sworn in on January 3, 1997. She was the Assembly’s Deputy Speaker from 2002 to 2005 and the Assistant Minority Leader from 2000 to 2001.
In the Assembly, Pou served on the Appropriations Committee (as Chair from 2006 to 2011), the Budget Committee, the Education Committee and the Joint Budget Oversight Committee.[4] Previously, Pou served on the Senior Issues Committee (as Chair), the Appropriations Committee (as Vice Chair) and the Education Committee.
New Jersey Senate
Instead of running for re-election to her Assembly seat in 2011, Pou ran for the State Senate seat from the district that long-time incumbent John Girgenti was vacating. She easily defeated former Haledon Mayor Ken Pengitore in the 2011 New Jersey Senate election, as expected, and was sworn in as Senator in January 2012. She was re-elected to the New Jersey Senate in 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2023.
Finances
Source: Vote Smart
New Legislation
More Information
Wikipedia
Nelida “Nellie” Avila Pou[1] (/poʊ/ POH;[2] born May 20, 1956) is an American civil servant and politician currently serving as the U.S. Representative from New Jersey’s 9th congressional district. Pou, a Democrat, previously served in the New Jersey Senate from 2012 to 2025 and the New Jersey General Assembly from 1997 to 2012, representing the 35th Legislative District. When Pou was sworn into the Assembly on January 29, 1997, to succeed Bill Pascrell, she became the first woman and the first Hispanic to represent the 35th district.[3]
Pou serves in the senate as the Majority Caucus Chair.[4] Pou has chaired the bicameral New Jersey Legislative Latino Caucus since 2006.[4] From 2022 to 2023, Pou was also president of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.[5]
On August 29, 2024, Pou was selected to replace Rep. Bill Pascrell on the ballot as the Democratic candidate in New Jersey’s 9th congressional district following his death eight days earlier.[6]
Early life and education
Pou was born on May 20, 1956.[7][4] She attended Kean College, Rutgers University, and the University of Virginia.[8] Pou is Roman Catholic.[9]
Career
Pou has spent most of her career working for the City of Paterson, where she has served as business administrator (2014–18), assistant business administrator (2003–2014, 1997–1998), director of human services (1986–1997), and CETA training and education coordinator (1975–1983).[4]
As of 2019 she was a project coordinator for the Paterson Parking Authority.[10]
She also served on the New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect (1997–2016) and on the Passaic–Bergen County HIV Health Services Advisory Council (1993–1997).[4] She was the coordinator of the Passaic County Youth Program from 1983 to 1985.[4]
New Jersey General Assembly
Pou was appointed to a vacant seat previously held since 1988 by Bill Pascrell in the New Jersey General Assembly on January 29, 1997. Pascrell resigned from his position after being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and sworn in on January 3, 1997.[11] She was the Assembly’s Deputy Speaker from 2002 to 2005 and the Assistant Minority Leader from 2000 to 2001.[4]
In the Assembly, Pou served on the Appropriations Committee (as Chair from 2006 to 2011), the Budget Committee, the Education Committee and the Joint Budget Oversight Committee.[4] Previously, Pou served on the Senior Issues Committee (as Chair), the Appropriations Committee (as Vice Chair) and the Education Committee.
New Jersey Senate
Instead of running for re-election to her Assembly seat in 2011, Pou ran for the State Senate seat from the district that long-time incumbent John Girgenti was vacating. She easily defeated former Haledon Mayor Ken Pengitore in the 2011 New Jersey Senate election, as expected, and was sworn in as Senator in January 2012.[12] She was re-elected to the New Jersey Senate in 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2023.[13]
Committees
Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[4]
- Commerce (as chair)
- Judiciary (as vice-chair)
District 35
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.[14] The representatives from the 35th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[15]
- Senator Nellie Pou (D)
- Assemblywoman Shavonda E. Sumter (D)
- Assemblyman Benjie E. Wimberly (D)
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2024
On August 21, 2024, incumbent Congressman Bill Pascrell passed away.[16] On August 24, Passaic County Democratic committee members nominated Pou to run to represent New Jersey’s 9th congressional district, facing Republican Billy Prempeh in the 2024 election. Democratic leaders rapidly agreed to choose her to replace Representative Bill Pascrell, who died on August 21; the deadline for replacing Pascrell on the ballot was midnight that evening.[17]
In the 2024 election, the district shifted dramatically to the right, narrowly voting for Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump after having previously voted for Democrat Joe Biden over Trump by 20 points in 2020.
Pou, won by 5 points over the Republican Billy Prempeh, a much narrower margin than previous congressional races.[18]
Caucus memberships
Election history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Nelida Pou (incumbent) | 11,950 | 69.0 | |
| Republican | Christopher Faustino | 5,365 | 31.0 | |
| Total votes | 17,315 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Nelida Pou (incumbent) | 20,464 | 68.59 | |
| Republican | Kenneth Pengitore | 9,372 | 31.41 | |
| Total votes | 29,836 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Nellie Pou (incumbent) | 21,425 | 79.0 | |
| Republican | Marwan Sholakh | 5,698 | 21.0 | |
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Nellie Pou (incumbent) | 22,154 | 74.1 | |
| Republican | Lynda Gallashaw | 7,737 | 25.9 | |
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Nellie Pou | 14,386 | 74.7 | |
| Republican | Ken Pengitore | 4,867 | 25.3 | |
| Democratic hold | ||||
References
- ^ “Rep. Nellie Pou – D New Jersey, 9rd – Biography”. LegiStorm. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- ^ Baldwin, Tom. Dag Hammarskjold? Some ask ‘Who’s he?’ Corzine makes reference to late U.N. secretary-general”, Courier-Post, February 23, 2007. Accessed January 12, 2022, via Newspapers.com. “Odd that a copy of the Corzine address had Hammarskjold’s name spelled out phonetically, as was the name of Assemblywoman Nellie Pou, D-Passaic, whose name is pronounced like ‘Poe.'”
- ^ “Pou to Take Assembly Oath as First Woman, First Hispanic to Represent the 35th District”, The Italian Voice, February 13, 1997. Accessed April 7, 2008. “Nellie Pou took the oath of office Wednesday January 29th for the 35th District Assembly seat vacated by William J. Pascrell Jr., who was elected to Congress in November. Pou is the first woman and the first Hispanic to represent the 35th District in the Legislature.”
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Senator Nellie Pou, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2024.
- ^ Sen. Nellie Pou, National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators. Accessed April 17, 2024.
- ^ Houlis, Katie (August 30, 2024). “New Jersey Sen. Nellie Pou will replace late Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. on November ballot – CBS New York”. CBS News. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
- ^ Clunn, Nick. “GOP faults Dems on Paterson ties in 35th District”, The Record, October 26, 2011. Accessed September 11, 2015. “Nellie Pou (D); Age: 55; Hometown: North Haledon”
- ^ “District 35: Nellie Pou”. New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/pr_2025-01-02_faith-on-the-hill_member-list.pdf
- ^ “Nellie Pou nets Paterson parking agency job”. North Jersey. January 3, 2019.
- ^ Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey – Two Hundred and Eleventh Legislature (First Session) (PDF). Skinder-Strauss Associates. 2004. pp. 289–290. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
- ^ a b Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2011 General Election, New Jersey Department of State, December 14, 2011. Accessed January 22, 2012.
- ^ “Nellie Pou”. Ballotpedia. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ^ New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
- ^ Legislative Roster for District 35, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2024.
- ^ Wildstein, Joey Fox and David (August 21, 2024). “Bill Pascrell, 14-term congressman and son of Paterson, dies at 87”. New Jersey Globe. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
- ^ Blackburn, Zach (August 29, 2024). “Democrats officially nominate Nellie Pou to succeed Pascrell”. New Jersey Globe. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ Fox, Joey (November 20, 2024). “Nellie Pou, Trump-district congresswoman”. New Jersey Globe. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
- ^ “Caucus Members”. Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
- ^ “Official List, Candidates for State Senate for GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election” (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ^ “Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 06/08/2021 Election” (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ “Official List Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2017 Election” (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- ^ “Official List Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/05/2015 Election” (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 4, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
External links
- Senator Pou’s legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature
- New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms
- Assembly Member Nellie Pou, Project Vote Smart
- Appearances on C-SPAN
