Luis A. Quintana (born January 29, 1960) is an American politician who served as Councilmember-at-Large of the Municipal Council of Newark, New Jersey, first elected in 1994.
[4] Quintana ran unsuccessfully in the 2003 primary[5] and 2007 election for New Jersey State Senator for the 29th Legislative District, which was won by Teresa Ruiz.
[9][10][11][12][13][14] While rules state that any Newark resident can be selected as interim mayor by a vote of the municipal council, convention calls for the president to ascend to the post.
[15] Payne's resignation led to a power struggle for the vacant council seat in which opponents contested Booker's appointment and an eventual judicial ruling left it vacant until a November 2013 special election.
[16][17][18][19][20] Quintana was the longest serving councilman and had allies on both sides of the political divide, which tends to fall along racial lines.
[21] He became acting mayor on October 31, 2013, and was sworn in on November 4, 2013, assuming the unexpired term of Booker,[22] which ended on June 30, 2014.
[31] As quoted in the Newark-based newspaper, the Star-Ledger, Rutgers University professor Clement Price characterized the election as the "first mayoral race after the long drama associated with the ending of Mayor Sharpe James' last term and the national ascent of Cory Booker" and "wonders whether the local and national attention in this campaign will be anywhere proximate to the life and times of Cory Booker and Newark.