Walter Reed Gusciora (born March 27, 1960) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served as the 49th mayor of Trenton, New Jersey since 2018.

[14] Gusciora co-sponsored 69 pieces of legislation signed into law: Expanding municipal power to address abandoned properties,[15] permitting stem cell research in New Jersey,[16] and prohibiting unsolicited telemarketing sales calls to certain customers.

[20] Gusciora was the sponsor of 25 pieces of legislation that became law: "Electronic Waste Recycling Act",[21] establishing the Office of State Comptroller,[22] and providing alternatives to prison for certain drug offenses.

[32] Gusciora sponsored 12 pieces of legislation: Allowing construction of wind dependent energy facilities on piers within 500 feet of mean high water line of tidal waters,[33] allowing municipalities to reexamine municipal master plans every 10 years,[34] and requiring instructions for workers filing unemployment insurance claims.

Gusciora immediately announced that he would put his Princeton home on the market and move to Trenton, a city that he had represented for over 20 years, some 12 miles (19 km) away.

[40][41][42] Similarly, during this legislative session, Gusciora co-sponsored several key criminal justice reform bills: "The Opportunity to Compete Act" establishing certain employment rights for persons with a criminal record, requiring the New Jersey Department of Corrections to make reports containing information concerning treatment and reentry initiative participation, extending "Overdose Prevention Act" immunity provisions to certain professionals and professional entities, and permits needle exchange programs to obtain standing order for opioid antidotes.

Gusciora sponsored legislation to authorize medical marijuana for qualifying patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, require that certain inmates with detainers be provided access to drug treatment programs, and exempt homeless individuals from paying fees for non-driver identification cards.

[46][47][48] Gusciora co-sponsored "New Jersey Housing Assistance for Veterans Act," a pilot program to assist veterans with housing modification and rehabilitation as well as a bill to permit small, women-owned, or minority-owned businesses located in designated regional centers or planning areas to qualify for loans from the New Jersey Economic Development Agency (EDA) as if located in a designated urban center.

Gusciora sponsored legislation restricting the use of isolated confinement in correctional facilities,[51] requiring boards of education to include instruction that accurately portrays the political, economic, and social contributions of the LGBT community and persons with disabilities,[52] and reinstating the duration of certain UEZs (areas within Trenton, Plainfield, Newark, Camden, and Bridgeton that provide tax benefits to commercial properties).

The City of Trenton, in conjunction with the County of Mercer and Continuum of Care partners, accepted the pledge to prevent and end youth homelessness in 2020.

While most of the funding was used to pay back the city for past projects, the rest will go into public facility renovations and improvements for senior centers.

[65] In September 2019, Gusciora touted the results of Trenton's monthly public property auction as the largest and most successful in the city's history.

[69] Gusciora spearheaded the creation of a Real Time Crime Center, a partnership with the New Jersey State Police, to prevent future criminal activity.

[74] Gusciora's published a document "COVID-19: Trenton Testing Status Report," which outlined steps that his administration had taken to reduce the fatality rate of COVID-19 in the Capital City during the pandemic.

Gusciora outlined a set of proactive steps that the city had taken to increase the amount of testing, secure personal protective equipment, and coordinate with other governmental agencies.

[79] In January 2012, he was joined by Assemblyman Tim Eustace, the openly gay mayor of Maywood, who was elected to the General Assembly from the 38th District.

"[80][81] Christie responded, "What I said was I’m sure that civil rights advocates would have liked to have this as another option but it was not available to them, yet you have numbnuts like Reed Gusciora who put out a statement comparing me to George Wallace and Lester Maddox.