ABOUT ASSEMBLYWOMAN BRITNEE TIMBERLAKE
Britnee N. Timberlake is the 34th District Assemblywomen representing Clifton, East Orange, Orange, and Montclair.
We first met Assemblywoman Timberlake when she was serving on the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders. In her role as President, she listened intently to NJCU members who shared their stories about the predatory practices of Wall Street banks and the toxic mortgages they peddled to low-income, working-class, communities of color. She expressed serious concern that Essex County had the highest rate of foreclosures in the state, and that New Jersey had the highest rate of foreclosures in the country. As a resident of East Orange, she understood the impact that the foreclosure crisis was having in our communities. Having heard directly from NJCU members, she did not hesitate to become a fierce advocate for us on the County Board, drafting a Responsible Banking Ordinance which requires banks to testify before the Board and show proof of their efforts to reduce foreclosures. This led to Essex County divesting from Wells Fargo. As an Assemblywoman, she has continued to champion housing justice by introducing legislation to protect homeowners from aggressive foreclosure practices and displacement.
Assemblywoman Timberlake serves as a member of the Education, Science, Innovation & Technology committee, and the Joint Committee on Economic Justice & Equal Employment Opportunity. During her time as an Assemblywoman, she has voted in favor of the common-sense gun legislation, equal pay for equal work for women, and earned paid sick days. She has also sponsored bills and resolutions regarding foreclosure prevention, special prosecutor mandates for public safety, student loan forgiveness, anti-sexual harassment, and free/reduced school meal program expansion.
Prior to being elected into the Assembly, Britnee served as the District Three Essex County Freeholder. At the time she was the youngest Freeholder elected in the State and the only African-American female President of a Freeholder Board during her term. She also spearheaded the Essex County Clean Jobs Initiative, a law that is expected to create both job training and placement for Essex County’s unemployed and underemployed residents in the highly specialized and lucrative trade of environmental lead, asbestos, and contamination remediation. In response to the rising cost of living and stagnant wages, Timberlake was the first elected official in New Jersey with the Freeholder Board to unanimously pass a Resolution in “Support of NJ State Raising the Minimum Wage to $15.00 an hour.”
Britnee TImberlake is the founding Executive Director of the Essex Community Land Trust, a non-profit affordable housing organization that strengthens communities by providing permanently affordable housing and financial empowerment opportunities for working families and individuals throughout Essex County.
Timberlake has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science a minor in Religious Studies and a Master’s degree in Public Administration all from Seton Hall University. She served as an AmeriCorps Member in Union County, was the housing chair of her local NAACP, and is a graduate of EmergeNJ.
Assembywoman Timberlake has been the recipient of many awards including the “Community Leadership Award” from HANDS; the “Community Development Champion Award” from the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ; the “Donald Payne, Sr. Award” from the Montclair NAACP; the “Breaking Glass Ceilings Award” from New Leaders Council; and the “Power of Dreams Award” from Danny Glover.
The members of NJ Communities United are proud to recognize Assemblywoman Britnee Timberlake as the 2019 Solidarity Award honoree for her leadership to hold banks accountable for their predatory lending behavior while she served on the Essex County Board of Freedholders, and for her work in the Assembly on housing justice policies intended to protect homeowners from aggressive foreclosure practices and to protect families from displacement.
Join the members of NJ Communities United at the 2019 Solidarity Awards & Cocktail Party on Wednesday, March 13th at 6:30 at Gallery Aferro in downtown Newark as we raise our glasses to toast Assemblywoman Britnee Timberlake! Get your tickets online at www.UnitedNJ.org/2019SolidarityAwards or consider becoming a sponsor, purchasing an ad recognizing Assemblywoman Timberlake’s leadership, or make a donation in her name in support of NJ Communities United!