Former Assemblyman Alberto Coutinho, a prominent member of the Portuguese-American community in the Ironbound section of Newark who served two stints in the New Jersey State Assembly, died this morning in a car accident. He was 56.
As a lawmaker, Coutinho served as chairman of the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee and had been a member of the Assembly Budget Committee. He advocated for prisoner re-entry reforms, expanding parks and open space, and job creation. Coutinho was a vocal opponent of budget cuts by a Republican governor that led to police layoffs in Newark.
Coutinho was first elected to the Assembly in a May 1997 special election convention at age 27 to fill the unexpired term of Jackie Mattison, who had resigned. He was not a candidate in the June primary and was succeeded by William D. Payne. He left office in January 1998.
He ran again for the Assembly in 2007 on a ticket with Grace Spencer with the support of the Essex County Democratic organization. He defeated six-term incumbent Wilfredo Caraballo (D-Newark) in a landslide – a 5,478-vote margin. Payne did not run again that year.
He was re-elected twice by spectacular margins.
Coutinho served on the Newark Central Planning Board from 1996 to 2006, and on the Zoning Board from 1993 to 1993. From 1992 to 1998, he was a commissioner of the Essex County Utilities Authority.
A prominent businessman, he had worked for his family business, Coutinho’s Bakery, and led several other companies.
He resigned from the Assembly in the fall of 2013 after a legal issue and after suffering a heart attack the previous spring. Democrat Eliana Pintor-Marin succeeded him. Gov. Phil Murphy pardoned him earlier this year.
Arrangements are pending.
