Today, NJ State Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg announced her retirement at the conclusion of her current term. In acknowledgment of her myriad legislative achievements, NJ Citizen Action releases the following statement:

Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, New Jersey Citizen Action Executive Director:

“Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg has been New Jersey’s most committed and successful social justice champion of the past 30+ years. We are sad to contemplate doing the work without her steady support; the work of fighting for social, racial and economic justice will simply be harder without her. We are grateful to have the rest of her term to help her bring to fruition a few more social justice priorities.

In the 29 years of her legislative tenure, Senator Weinberg has played an instrumental role in fighting for women, working families, seniors, the LGBTQ community, and other progressive policies. She has been a steadfast and tenacious leader in worker protections, safe abortion access, gun safety, public health, and LGBTQ rights, just to name a few.

In one of her hallmark achievements, Senator Weinberg partnered with now-retired Republican Senator Diane Allen to pass one of the nation’s strongest equal pay laws, applying not only to gender-based discrimination but also race and other protected classes. The stunning victory was celebrated with a trip from Lilly Ledbetter, the national standard-bearer of equal pay.  She and the other legislative champions were honored by Governor Murphy who understood the significance of the bill by making it the first he signed after his inauguration.

We also greatly appreciated her stalwart leadership in demanding government transparency and accountability, most notably in her demand for the accountability of Governor Chris Christie for his role in Bridgegate. We praise her tireless crusades for funding for women’s health and transportation infrastructure. She took on all of the most important fights that mean so much to New Jerseyans and our democracy.

Senate Majority Leader Weinberg’s voice has always been one of the first to speak up when confronting injustice on the floor of the Legislature. The impact of her work will continue to be seen and felt throughout the state for decades to come. We will have so much more to say about her contributions to New Jersey in the months ahead and are grateful to have the opportunity to work with her during 2021 to secure further social justice priorities before her well-deserved retirement. We wish the Senator well, and we are excited to see what lies ahead in her next chapter. Thank you for fighting for us all Senator Weinberg.”

New Jersey Citizen Action is a statewide advocacy and social service organization that advocates for social, racial and economic justice for all while also meeting the pressing needs of low and moderate income New Jerseyans through education and direct service.