The Jersey City Independent "

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As the 214th New Jersey General Assembly began its tenure in Trenton today, most of the faces from Hudson County were familiar, since five of the six Assembly members were re-elected from previous terms.

The one new face was Charles Mainor, a 42-year-old JCPD detective who will represent the 31st District, which covers Bayonne and part of Jersey City. He replaces L. Harvey Smith, who did not run for re-election after running for Jersey City mayor this May and then getting caught up in this summer’s federal corruption sting.

“It is an honor to have the opportunity to represent Hudson County in the General Assembly,” Mainor says in a statement. “I look forward to applying my experience in law enforcement and community advocacy to my work fighting for Bayonne and Jersey City residents in a government arena.”

Mainor is an active member of the Jersey City Chapter of the NAACP, the Absalom David Masonic Lodge #36 and the Hudson County Re-Entry Task Force, and he directs the JCPD’s “Safe Haven” program, which provides children ages 5 and older with free after-school programs and activities. In addition, he runs the department’s Anti-Gang Program and a first-time juvenile offenders program that provides mentoring for juveniles arrested for minor offenses.

“It is thrilling and humbling to be able to serve the residents of my district in another capacity to ensure our neighborhoods are safer and the needs of working and middle class families are met,” he says. “The issues that face Bayonne and Jersey City residents are the same issues that are faced by New Jerseyans across the state and I hope to forge a consensus with my legislative colleagues to bring about progress for New Jersey families, communities and businesses.”