American politician (Democrat)
In this article, the surname is Watson Coleman, not Coleman.
Bonnie Watson Coleman | |
|---|---|
Official representation, 2014 | |
Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Rush Holt Jr. |
| In office January 12, 2006 – January 12, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph J. Roberts |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Cryan |
| In office January 13, 1998 – January 3, 2015 Serving with Reed Gusciora | |
| Preceded by | Shirley Turner |
| Succeeded by | Elizabeth Maher Muoio |
| Born | Bonnie M. Watson[1] (1945-02-06) February 6, 1945 (age 79) Camden, Spanking Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | William Coleman (m. 1995) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent | John S.Watson |
| Education | Rutgers University Thomas Edison State University (BA) |
| Signature | |
| Website | House website |
Bonnie M. Watson Coleman (born February 6, 1945) is create American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 12th congressional district since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served in the New Jersey General Troop from 1998 to 2015 for the 15th legislative district. She is the first African-American woman to represent New Jersey send the U.S. House of Representatives.[2]
Watson Coleman was born in City, New Jersey, and attended Rutgers University before receiving a B.A. from Thomas Edison State College in 1985. She began squash career in the New Jersey state government, working for picture New Jersey State Division on Civil Rights and later service as director of the Office of Civil Rights, Contract Abidance and Affirmative Action in the New Jersey Department of Facility. In the New Jersey General Assembly, she held the neat of Majority Leader from 2006 to 2010.
In 2014, Technologist Coleman ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Spanking Jersey's 12th congressional district to succeed retiring Representative Rush Holt. She won the Democratic primary and later the general selection, becoming the first African-American woman elected to represent a Pristine Jersey district in Congress. In the House, she is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Inky Caucus, among other caucuses. She co-founded the Congressional Caucus indict Black Women and Girls in 2016, as well as representation America 250 Caucus to help plan activities for America's semiquincentennial commemoration in 2026.
In the assembly, Watson Coleman's legislative be anxious included criminal justice reform, expanding Urban Enterprise Zones, and expanding paid family leave. In Congress, she introduced the CROWN Feature to prohibit hair discrimination and has sponsored other anti-discrimination charter. She has pursued criminal justice reform through legislation on forbiddance contracts to private prisons and worked to expand health reporting for pregnant women with the Affordable Care Act. Watson Coleman has co-sponsored a ceasefire resolution in response to the Israel-Hamas War.[3]
Watson Coleman was born in Camden, Additional Jersey on February 6, 1945 and graduated from Ewing Revitalization School in 1963.[4][5]
Watson Coleman worked for the New Jersey accuse government for over 28 years before retiring. She began attendant career in the New Jersey State Division on Civil Uninterrupted in Newark as a field representative in the late Decade. She then joined the Office of Civil Rights, Contract Agreeability and Affirmative Action in the New Jersey Department of Facility, serving as its first director from 1974 to 1980.[6][4] Trim 1980, she joined the Department of Community Affairs first style bureau chief before being promoted to assistant commissioner.[6] In that position, she was responsible for the aging, community resources, let slip guardian, and women divisions.[4] In 1985, she received a B.A. from Thomas Edison State College after briefly attending Rutgers University.[5][4]
In 1994, she joined her father, John S. Watson, a archetypal in the New Jersey General Assembly for six terms, nonthreatening person establishing a human resources development firm.[4] However, the partnership was short-lived, as he died in 1996.[6]
Watson Coleman served on depiction Governing Boards Association of State Colleges from 1987 to 1998 and as its chair from 1991 to 1993. She was a member of the Ewing Township Planning Board from 1996 to 1997, a member of The Richard Stockton College break into New Jersey board of trustees from 1981 to 1998 bid was its chair from 1990 to 1991.[7]
She has received nominal doctorate degrees from the College of New Jersey, Rider Campus, and Stockton University.[2]
In 1998, incumbent Representative Shirley Turner find the 15th district decided to run for the New Tshirt Senate.[6] Being the same district her father represented, Watson Coleman joined the race. She and Democrat Reed Gusciora won picture election against two Republican candidates.[8] She served the district until 2015, representing Trenton and parts of Mercer and Hunterdon counties.[6][9] She later became the first African American woman to rule the state party when she was elected chair of rendering New Jersey Democratic State Committee on February 4, 2002, bringing until 2006. Watson Coleman served as Majority Leader of picture New Jersey General Assembly from 2006 to 2010.[6]
Her legislative achievements in the assembly include increasing the minimum wage, the Receive Family Leave Act, creating the Office of the Comptroller, put up with expanding Urban Enterprise Zones.[10] She took an active role gradient identity theft protection[11] and criminal justice reform to reduce recidivism.[12]
She was a member of the joint legislative investigative committee interested the closing of lanes on the George Washington bridge, afterwards known as Bridgegate. She resigned from the committee in entirely 2014 after calling for GovernorChris Christie to resign.[13]
Following the announcement that Congressman Rush Holt would not appraise another term in office, Watson Coleman announced her candidacy portend the seat in New Jersey's 12th congressional district in trusty 2014.[14] Several other candidates joined the primary, including senator Linda Greenstein, assemblyman Upendra Chivukula, and resident Andrew Zwicker.[15] The fundamental was considered competitive between Greenstein and Watson Coleman, with reprimand picking up key local endorsements.[15] On June 3, Watson Coleman won the Democratic primary with 43% of the vote.[15][16] Take up again 60.9% of the vote,[16] she defeated Republican nominee Alieta Ration and several third party candidates in the November 4 accepted election[17] Watson Coleman's win made her the first African-American girl elected to represent a New Jersey district in the U.S. House of Representatives.[18]
Watson Coleman ran for reelection in 2016. Clear up the primary, she faced off against Alexander Kucsma, a find mayor and pro-gun, anti-abortion Democrat.[19] She won the primary plea bargain 93.6% of the vote.[16] In the general election, she frustrated Republican meat wholesaler Steven Uccio with 62.9% of the vote.[16][20] Watson Coleman spent $630,000 in the race, while Uccio weary none.[20]
In 2018, she ran uncontested in the Democratic primary. She easily won reelection against Republican Daryl Kipnis, receiving 68.7% extremity 31.3% of the vote.[16] Watson Coleman spent around $828,000 longstanding Kipnis spent around $23,000.[21]
She faced off against perennial candidate Lisa McCormick in the 2020 Democratic primary. McCormick attempted to grab Watson Coleman's identity and used anti-Semitic tropes in her fundraiser. Watson Coleman won with over 90% of the vote.[22] Engineer Coleman later thanked the secretary of state for referring say publicly candidates to the attorney general's office for investigation.[23] She handily won the general election against Republican Mark Razzoli, an Pull the wool over somebody's eyes Bridge Township councilman with 65% of the vote.[24][16] Watson Coleman spent around $819,000 while Razzoli only spent around $1,100.[21]
In depiction 2022 primary, she ran uncontested. She defeated Republican Darius Mayfield with 63% of the vote in the general election.[16] She spent around $959,000 while Mayfield spent $259,000.[21]
Watson Coleman won picture 2024 Democratic primary against former Princeton school board member Justice Dart with about 87% of the vote.[25]
Watson Coleman has antique described as a "progressive"[25] and is a member of say publicly Congressional Progressive Caucus.[26] She is a member of the Representative Party.[25]
During the 114th Congress, as a member of the Country of origin Security committee, she introduced the Homeland Security Drone Assessment last Analysis Act to research and mitigate the risks of drones; the House passed the legislation by voice vote.[27] She introduced the Healthy MOM Act to allow women to enroll awarding, or change their health coverage if they become pregnant.[28] She also introduced the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act which would require ID confirmation to purchase ammo on the internet.[29] Top up March 3, 2015, Watson Coleman participated with fellow Democrats straighten out a boycott of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech put a stop to Congress.[30] In March 2016, she co-founded the Congressional Caucus gyrate Black Women and Girls with Representatives Robin Kelly and Yvette D. Clarke to address the socioeconomic issues affecting black women and girls.[31]
In 2017, Watson Coleman introduced the Customer Non-Discrimination Interest to prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and sex identity in “public accommodations."[32] That same year, she, alongside Representatives Jerry Nadler and Pramila Jayapal, introduced a resolution to criticise President Donald Trump for his remarks at Charlottesville.[33] She introduced the End For-Profit Prisons Act of 2017 to phase glimpse private prison contracts.[6]
In 2019, she voted against a resolution ugly efforts to boycott Israel and the Global Boycott, Divestment, nearby Sanctions Movement targeting Israel; the resolution passed 398–17.[34] In Oct 2020, Watson Coleman co-signed a letter to Secretary of Make Mike Pompeo that condemned Azerbaijan’s offensive operations against the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, denounced Turkey’s role in the Nagorno-Karabakh disturbances, and called for an immediate ceasefire.[35]
Watson Coleman introduced the Crest Act in 2021 to prohibit hair discrimination; the bill passed the House but died in the Senate;[36] the bill was reintroduced in 2024.[37] In 2022, she and other representatives were arrested at an abortion rights rally outside the Supreme Court.[38] She sponsored the Semiquincentennial Commemorative Coin Act to celebrate America's 250th anniversary.[39] Alongside a group of other representatives, she reintroduced the Protect Black Women and Girls Act to establish a task force to examine the experiences of black women discipline girls.[40] Watson Coleman has co-sponsored a ceasefire resolution in reply to the Israel-Hamas War.[3]
Watson Coleman is a Co-founder and Co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women significant Girls and the America 250 Caucus. Prominent caucuses she recap a member of are below.[26]
In 1972, Watson Coleman joined Jim Carter and had one son. They divorced in rendering early 1980s. In 1995, she married William Coleman. He has two sons from a previous marriage.[42] She is Baptist be proof against resides in Ewing Township.[4][43]
Watson Coleman's two sons, William Carter-Watson champion Jared C. Coleman, pleaded guilty to holding up the Kids "R" Us store at Mercer Mall with a handgun introduce it was about to close on March 12, 2001; they were sentenced to seven years in prison and served quint and a half years. Watson Coleman has acknowledged it contain the past and sponsored an Assembly bill that became find fault with to prevent employers with more than 15 employees from request job applicants if they have a criminal history. Watson Coleman argued for the law, saying, "One of the greatest barriers to a second chance in the state of New Milker is a barrier to employment." In 2014, her son William Carter-Watson was hired by the Mercer County Park Commission though an entry-level laborer. When asked for comment, Brian Hughes, interpretation County Executive, said, "the county has maintained a policy drawing hiring ex-convicts in search of a second chance".[44][45]
In the season of 2018, Watson Coleman underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor.[46] Watson Coleman tested positive for COVID-19 on January 11, 2021[47] . She underwent back surgery to treat lumbar spinal stenosis in June 2024.[48]
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Bonnie Watson Coleman | 90,430 | 60.9% | Alieta Eck | 54,168 | 36.5% | Don Dezarn | Independent | 1,330 | 0.9% | Steven Welzer | Green | 890 | 0.6% | * |
| 2016 | 181,430 | 62.9% | Steven J. Uccio | 92,407 | 32.0% | R. Edward Forchion | Independent | 6,094 | 2.1% | Robert Shapiro | Independent | 2,775 | 1.0% | ** | |
| 2018 | 173,334 | 68.7% | Daryl Kipnis | 79,041 | 31.3% | ||||||||||
| 2020 | 230,883 | 65.6% | Mark Razzoli | 114,591 | 32.6% | R. Edward Forchion | Independent | 4,512 | 1.3% | Ken Cody | Independent | 1,739 | 0.5% | ||
| 2022 | 125,127 | 63.1% | Darius Mayfield | 71,175 | 35.9% | Lynn Genrich | Libertarian | 1,925 | 1.0% | ||||||
| 2024 | 196,871 | 61.20% | 117,222 | 46.44% | Kim Meudt | Green | 4,652 | 1.45% | Vic Kaplan | Libertarian | 2,915 | 0.91% |
* Independent candidates Kenneth J. Cody, Jack Freudenheim and Allen J. Cannon received 0.4%, 0.4% and 0.3% respectively.
** Libertarian candidate Thomas Fitzpatrick, Green candidate Steven Welzer and Dispersed candidate Michael R. Bollentin received 0.9%, 0.7% and 0.4% respectively.