Nellie Pou


Nelida "Nellie" Pou is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in the New Jersey Senate since 2012, representing the 35th Legislative District. She previously represented the 35th district in the General Assembly. When Pou was sworn into the Assembly on January 29, 1997, to succeed Bill Pascrell, she became the first woman and the first Hispanic to represent the 35th district.

Education and Non-legislative Career

Pou attended Kean College, Rutgers University and the University of Virginia.
She worked most of her career for the City of Paterson, where she has served as Business Administrator, Assistant Business Administrator, Director of Human Services, and CETA Training and Education Coordinator.
Currently, she is a Project Coordinator for the Paterson Parking Authority.
She also served on the New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect and on the Passaic-Bergen County HIV Health Services Advisory Council. She was the Passaic County Youth Program Coordinator from 1983-85.

Legislative Career

New Jersey General Assembly

Pou was appointed to a vacant seat in the New Jersey General Assembly on January 29, 1997. The seat had previously been held by Bill Pascrell, who had served in the General Assembly since 1988. Pascrell resigned from his position after winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives, to which he was sworn in on January 3, 1997. She was the Assembly's Deputy Speaker from 2002–2005 and the Assistant Minority Leader from 2000–2001.
In the Assembly Pou served on the Appropriations Committee, the Budget Committee, the Education Committee and the Joint Budget Oversight Committee. Previously, Pou served on the Senior Issues Committee, the Appropriations Committee and the Education Committee.

New Jersey Senate

Pou elected not to run for re-election to her Assembly seat in 2011, instead choosing to run for the State Senate seat from the district that long-time incumbent John Girgenti was vacating. She defeated former Haledon, New Jersey mayor Ken Pengitore in the general election and was sworn in as Senator in January 2012.
In the Senate, she serves as the Chair of the Commerce Committee, as the Vice Chair of the Judiciary Committee, and as a member of the Joint Committee on Economic Justice and Equal Employment Opportunity.

New Jersey Legislative Latino Caucus

Pou has chaired the bicameral New Jersey Legislative Latino Caucus since 2006.

District 35

Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature elects one member of the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The Assembly representatives from the 35th district for the 2018–2019 Legislative Session are: