To read this year’s Top 30, click the links below:
To read the rest of the ROI Influencers: Power List 2021, click here.
Ras Baraka
Mayor (D)
City of Newark
Powerful and effective mayor expertly guided state’s largest city through social justice protests and pandemic.
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker
D-N.J.
U.S. Senate
Booker will chair the subcommittee on criminal justice and counterterrorism. He’s the first Black chair of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.
Asm. Speaker Craig Coughlin (T-#10)
D-Woodbridge
State Legislature
Longtime legislator has come into his own as strong and steady leader of the Assembly.
Steve Fulop
Mayor (D)
City of Jersey City
Continues to set the pace as a mayor in tune with both social and business initiatives. Few — anywhere in the country — do it better.
Sen. Vin Gopal
D-Ocean Twp.
State Legislature
A future leader in the Senate and in the state. Everyone sees him as a rising political star.
Sen. Bob Menendez (#6)
D-N.J.
U.S. Senate
Now that the Democrats control the Senate, some feel Menendez will be as powerful as any senators outside of the majority leader.
Sen. Steve Oroho
R-Sparta
State Legislature
He’s the Republican budget officer — but, more than that, he’s someone whose economic acumen is respected by all, especially Senate President Steve Sweeney.
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (#11)
D-6th Dist.
House of Representatives
He’s the longest-serving Democratic member of the New Jersey delegation, but everyone agrees he is the most powerful and influential.
Asw. Eliana Pintor Marin (T-#26)
D-Newark
State Legislature
Budget chair was one of the guiding forces when it came to getting the incentives package through the Legislature.
Sen. Paul Sarlo (T-#26)
D-Wood-Ridge
State Legislature
As the chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, Sarlo will have his work cut out for him in the coming months.
Sen. Troy Singleton
D-Moorestown
State Legislature
He is another member of the Legislature that everyone has pegged for bigger and better things.
Senate President Steve Sweeney (T-#10)
D-West Deptford
State Legislature
His power has waned during pandemic. It remains to be seen how much impact he can have overseeing of the state’s borrowing.
Sen. Loretta Weinberg
D-Teaneck
State Legislature
Majority leader already has said she will not run for reelection in the fall, but expect her to continue to challenge the governor to do what’s right.
Asm. Benjie Wimberly
D-Paterson
State Legislature
Deputy speaker has been and will continue to be front and center on all issues surrounding cannabis legislation.
