American politician
Dawn Fantasia
is an American
Republican Party
politician serving as a member of the
New Jersey General Assembly
for the
24th legislative district
, having taken office on January 9, 2024. She also works as the principal of
Bergen Arts and Science Charter School
in
Garfield, New Jersey
.
[1]
Biography
[
edit
]
A resident of
Sussex County
for 30 years, Fantasia was raised in
Ogdensburg
and graduated from
Wallkill Valley Regional High School
before moving to
Franklin Borough
in 2011 where she currently resides. She graduated from
Davis and Elkins College
in West Virginia with a bachelor's degree in education. She would also later take classes at the
Rutgers University
Center for Effective School Practices and then earn a master's degree in educational leadership from
Capella University
.
[2]
She has three children and is a single mother.
[1]
Elective office
[
edit
]
Fantasia started serving in public office in Franklin Borough in 2014 as a member of the planning board, zoning board and economic development committee. She then served on the Franklin Borough council for three years, including one year as council president. She was elected to the Sussex County
Board of County Commissioners
in 2018.
[2]
[1]
Fantasia ran for the
New Jersey General Assembly
in 2023 after incumbents
Parker Space
and
Hal Wirths
announced their retirements. Space would later change his mind on retirement from the legislature and run for the district's State Senate seat after incumbent
Steve Oroho
, also the Republican Minority Leader in the State Senate, announced late that he would retire. In the primary election in June 2023, Fantasia and
Chester Borough
Mayor
Mike Inganamort
ran together
[3]
with the endorsements of Oroho, Space and Wirths
[4]
and defeated Jason Sarnoski, a
Warren County
Commissioner, and Josh Aikens, the President of the
Lafayette Township School District
Board of Education (who ran together) as well as
2022
candidate for
New Jersey's 11th congressional district
Rob Kovic.
[5]
Fantasia and Inganamort easily defeated Democrat Alicia Sharma and independent Veronica Fernandez in the general election on November 7 in the solidly Republican district.
[6]
She became the first woman to represent the 24th legislative district since Assemblywoman
Gail Phoebus
left office in January 2018 and was also the only new Republican woman elected to the Assembly in
2023
after seven (
Claire Swift
,
Bethanne McCarthy-Patrick
,
Beth Sawyer
,
Kimberly Eulner
,
Marilyn Piperno
,
Vicky Flynn
and
Michele Matsikoudis
) were elected in the previous
Assembly election in 2021
.
Committee assignments
[
edit
]
Committee assignments for the
2024?2025 Legislative Session
are:
[7]
- Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture
- Education
- Aging and Human Services
District 24
[
edit
]
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
.
[8]
The representatives from the 24th District for the
2024?2025 Legislative Session
are:
[9]
Electoral history
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"About Dawn"
.
Parker, Dawn and Mike
. Retrieved
January 10,
2024
.
- ^
a
b
"Board of County Commissioners: Dawn Fantasia"
.
Sussex County, New Jersey
. Retrieved
January 10,
2024
.
- ^
David Wildstein
(January 18, 2023).
"Fantasia, Inganamort running together for open 24th district Assembly seats"
.
New Jersey Globe
. Mayfair Media
. Retrieved
January 10,
2024
.
- ^
David Wildstein
(March 9, 2024).
"Oroho and Wirths endorse Space for Senate, Fantasia and Inganamort for Assembly"
.
New Jersey Globe
. Mayfair Media
. Retrieved
January 10,
2024
.
- ^
Fox, Joey (June 6, 2023).
"Fantasia, Inganamort win close Assembly primary in LD24"
.
New Jersey Globe
. Mayfair Media
. Retrieved
January 10,
2024
.
- ^
Official List Candidates for General Assembly for General Election November 7, 2023
,
New Jersey Department of State
, December 6, 2023. Accessed December 23, 2023.
- ^
Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia (R)
,
New Jersey Legislature
. Accessed January 11, 2024.
- ^
Article IV, New Jersey State Constitution (1947).
- ^
Legislative Roster for District 24
,
New Jersey Legislature
. Accessed January 11, 2024.
- ^
"Candidates for General Assembly - For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election"
(PDF)
.
New Jersey Department of State
. Retrieved
December 6,
2023
.