Moorestown Mayor Running For State Assembly
MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown Mayor Nicole Gillespie is running for State Assembly, as the candidate field to succeed Congressman-Elect Herb Conaway begins to take shape.
Gillespie announced her candidacy Monday for an assembly seat in New Jersey's 7th legislative district , which will become vacant when longtime Assembly Member Herb Conaway begins his term in Congress in January.
She is the second person to announced her candidacy. Burlington County Commissioner Balvir Singh, a fellow Democrat, is also running for the assembly seat, which Conaway has held for 26 years.
Gillespie, a former Naval officer, was first elected to Moorestown Council in 2018. She has served as mayor since 2020, when her fellow council members appointed her to the position. (Moorestown's mayor is a council member selected by the governing body every January.)
Gillespie touted several achievements in Moorestown, which include navigating the COVID-19 crisis without cutting government services to residents and implementing the township's first affordable-housing plan in more than 20 years.
She also touted a strong local economy that's reduced the taxpayer burden, including the redevelopment of Moorestown Mall with a larger Cooper Health facility and a future apartment complex.
"My career has been defined by service — from my time as a Naval officer to leading Moorestown through unprecedented challenges," Gillespie said Monday while announcing her candidacy .
Last year, then-Sen. Bob Menendez's corruption charges and eventual conviction created a domino effect. Rep. Andy Kim ran for his Senate seat and won. During the same election cycle, Conaway was elected to Kim's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Now, Conaway's seat is up for grabs.
Since Conaway is a Democrat and his district is in Burlington County, the county's Democratic Party can appoint a replacement at a January convention. District voters will have an assembly election in November 2025, when all State Assembly seats will be up for grabs.
New Jersey's 7th legislative district features 17 cities and towns in northwestern Burlington County: Beverly, Bordentown, Bordentown Township, Burlington, Burlington Township, Cinnaminson, Delanco, Delran, Edgewater Park, Fieldsboro, Florence, Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Palmyra, Riverside, Riverton and Willingboro.
