‘People have to know who you are’
Quijano’s relationship with NJ State PBA
is more like a friendship
n BY JOSHUA SIGMUND
As PBA members rocked the vote for the State Legislature Primary
Election on June 2 by flocking into the State PBA headquarters in
droves to run phone lines in an effort to ensure (re-)election for
those legislators who support law enforcement,
such dedication did not
go unnoticed. Assemblywoman Annette Quijano
made sure of that.
“I stopped by because I wanted to thank the individuals that are
helping me out when I needed help,” explained Quijano, who is facing challengers in the 20th Legislative District in Union County in
the November general election. “They came and made hundreds of
phone calls and it was wonderful that they did that. I actually got
emotional when I walked in the room. I appreciate that they believe
in me; I appreciate that my friends helped me.”
Why wouldn’t they help her?
Whether speaking up for unions at the 2011 rally in Trenton, fighting for PBA members’ pensions (“The state should honor their
word. That’s what we teach our children and anything less than that
is unacceptable,” she demanded), or even advocating for the tinting
of officers’ patrol car windows for their protection, Quijano has
proven time and time again that her support for New Jersey law
enforcement is solid and unwavering. This is a position she can
trace back to 2003 when she was working in the offices of the Governor’s Counsel, assigned to the Department of Labor, and a group
of police widows walked through the door, frustrated over an
archaic law keeping them from collecting the full benefits due to
them.
“I saw from the widows’ perspective how hard (law enforcement
officers) worked and they opened my eyes to the dangers of the job,”
Quijano recalled. Unfortunately at the time, the bill stalled.
When she was selected to fill a vacancy in the General Assembly
in 2008, Quijano met again with these widows, because, “who
knows the issue better than someone who worked on it before?” she
proposed. “They didn’t have to convince me.”
In June 2013, the bill was finally shepherded through both houses
and signed into law. The new law provides surviving spouses of certain fire and police personnel who die in line of duty with workers’
compensation for the entire period of survivorship.
“These widows showed me how you really lo