Gonzalez Running for Mayor of Perth Amboy

Retired Municipal Court Judge Kenneth Gonzalez wants to be the next mayor of Perth Amboy.

He announced his intention on Facebook today to run in the Democratic Primary.

His formal announcement:

“I humbly ask registered Democrats to vote for KEN GONZALEZ for Mayor of the City of Perth Amboy on June 4, 2024. With your support, we SHALL move our beloved City back into the right direction! If you’re not registered to vote yet, please contact me via messenger here on Facebook!! Thank you for your support!!”

Mayor Helmin Caba is Democratic Party incumbent, having defeated Wilda Diaz in 2020.

Gonzalez’s resume, via his law office’s website:

A resident of the City of Perth Amboy since the age of five, Kenneth L. Gonzalez, is the senior attorney at the Law Offices of Kenneth L. Gonzalez & Associates and also serves the community as a city council member. 

Mr. Gonzalez graduated with honors from Perth Amboy High School in 1987.  After high school, Mr. Gonzalez graduated Magna Cum Laude  from Kean University of New Jersey where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1992.  While studying at Kean, Mr. Gonzalez served as president of the Pre-Law Club, president of the Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society, and president of the Political Science Student Association.  During his college years, Mr. Gonzalez also did two internships.  The first, for one summer in Washington, D.C. at the Federal Trade Commission, and the second, for one semester at the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office in New Brunswick, N.J.  During his college years, Mr. Gonzalez also served as a part time Legislative Aide to Assemblyman Ernest L. Oros, who represented the 19th District in the State Assembly.

After graduation from college, Mr. Gonzalez studied law at Rutgers University School of Law at Camden where he attended on scholarship.  During law school, Mr. Gonzalez served as president of the Association for Public Interest Law, as an officer of the Latino Law Students Association, and as a teaching assistant instructing first year law students in legal research and writing.  In the summer of 1993, Mr. Gonzalez interned once again at the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.  From 1994-95, Mr. Gonzalez was employed as head law clerk at the Law Offices of Ballen, Gertel & DiCintio in Camden, N.J.  In 1995, Mr. Gonzalez graduated from Rutgers earning his Juris Doctor degree.

After law school, Mr. Gonzalez served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Hector E. DeSoto, J.S.C. who was responsible for adjudicating juvenile delinquency cases in Essex County Superior Court.  From 1996 until 2001, Mr. Gonzalez worked as an attorney associated with the Law Offices of Rabb, Hamill & Stillman in Woodbridge, N.J. where he handled predominantly personal injury cases and municipal court matters. 

In 2001, Mr. Gonzalez formed the Law Offices of Kenneth L. Gonzalez & Associates in Perth Amboy, N.J.  In addition to serving as the firm’s managing attorney, Mr. Gonzalez personally concentrates in assisting clients in the areas of personal injury cases, real estate transactions, and municipal court matters.  In 2004, the Puerto Rican Association for Human Development named him their “Outstanding Professional” of the year. 

In addition to practicing law, Mr. Gonzalez has remained active in the community of Perth Amboy and Middlesex County.  Over the past few years, he has served as a community volunteer to several organizations.  He is a past president of the Perth Amboy Housing Development Corporation which administered funds to assist low income residents and senior citizens in purchasing or repairing homes.  He is a past vice-president of the Kiddie Keep Well Camp which provides camping experiences to underprivileged children and senior citizens of the County of Middlesex.  He has also served as a Commissioner on the Perth Amboy Redevleopment Agency which identified areas of the City in need of redevelopment consistent with Mayor Joseph Vas’ Focus 2000 plan.

Mr. Gonzalez was elected to the Perth Amboy Board of Education in 1999 and currently serves as the Board’s Vice-President.  He also has served as chairperson to the Board’s Building & Grounds Committee, Parent Relations Committee and Negotiations Committee.  He is also a member of the Personnel Committee of the Board.

Mr. Gonzalez is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA – NJ) and the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey. 

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