Secaucus resident Pedro Mejia has been named to succeed former state Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto in the lower house, making him the first Dominican-American in the New Jersey Legislature.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I would like to thank the committee members and the Democratic leaders of Hudson County for their faith and confidence in my ability to represent my new constituents,” said Mejia said in a statement.
“This is a tremendous honor and I pledge to work as hard as I can to live up to it.”
Born in the Dominican Republic, Assemblyman-select Mejia immigrated to the United States at the age of 15 and became a naturalized citizen in 2000.
A successful small business owner in the residential real estate industry, Mejia is married with three children and he has lived in Secaucus for the last 11 years.
“Diversity is so important to making sure that we as elected officials represent the interests of our constituents well, so I am excited to welcome Pedro Mejia as the first Dominican-American to serve in the legislature,” added Sacco.
“I know that Pedro is a smart, talented person who will work extremely hard to represent the people and I look forward to working closely with him.”
Mejia has the support of Sacco, Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez (D-32), Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli and other mayors and leaders in the 32nd District, as well as Prieto, who remains Hudson County Democratic Organization chair until June.
Mejia was selected by the HCDO committee members that represent the 32nd Legislative District.
