Tuesday's Election Info and Wearing Orange

Tuesday, June 6^th, is Primary Election Day in New Jersey...

...where Democrats and Republicans elect candidates who they want to represent them on the ballot in November for these State and County positions:

NJ State Senate: Legislative position like the US Senate but at state level

NJ Assembly: Legislative position like the US Representatives but at state level – we elect two representatives for our district.

Hudson County Executive: Executive position like a Governor / Mayor but at the County level.

Hudson County Commissioner representing Hoboken / Jersey City: Legislative position like a US Representative/Ward Councilmember but at the County Level.

Often people do not fully appreciate the importance of State and County government. These are REALLY important positions because they provide critical services and resources – like social services, public transportation and education and infrastructure funding – that we all rely on every day. And they are the foundation and breeding ground for national policies.

In this newsletter I will provide info on the candidates and how to vote, but first I want to give you some important context about this election. So, this newsletter covers:

Democracy Charades in NJ

What State and County District Am I In?

Who Are the Candidates?

Vote for Candidates, Not Columns

Protesting John Allen for Assembly

How to Vote in this Primary

DEMOCRACY CHARADES IN NJ

As you read this newsletter, you will sense my frustration about how our elections for State and County offices across New Jersey give the appearance of democracy, but are anything but. This is somewhat unique to New Jersey and I feel strongly that you should know this, so that you can help support changes to make our elections in New Jersey more democratic in the future.

You see, candidates for State and County partisan elections are actually chosen by a small group of county level, political and party insiders and elected officials. Once chosen, candidates are then given advantageous positioning on the ballot by these insiders – grouped together on the ballot in a single column, endorsed by the political party machine. This is a practice commonly referred to as “the party line”. Approximately 95% of the time those “on the party line” are not only elected, but are elected by very large margins (although we did witness the exception here in Hoboken in the 2014 County Commissioner race).

Here is an example of what the "party line" looks like on the Primary ballot for Hoboken in 2021:

You can see visually how “the line” of candidates draws your attention (Column A for Dems on the left and Column G for Republicans on the right) and gives the impression that these are better candidates. And it also shows you how those candidates in what is often referred to as “ballot Siberia” seem less credible. Now compare this to what a normal ballot looks like (from another state) where there is no obvious grouping of aligned candidates to vote for:

New Jersey is the only state that uses this “party line” practice.

There has been much research about how these advantages of being “on the line” also discourage other candidates from running, frequently resulting in uncontested primary races like what you see on the ballot for this Primary Election. And, in places like Hudson County, which are heavily weighted by one political party – in this case Democrats - whomever wins the uncontested Primary race, will most often win the general election in November.

So, to recap:

Candidates for State and County partisan races are selected by political insiders.

The ballot structure discourages candidates from running.

No opposition on the ballot.

Does this sound like a Democracy to you? Maybe more like an oligarchy?

Nancy Solomon, award winning reporter for WNYC, wrote an article this week (that I am quoted in) about the impact this practice is having on this upcoming primary – in particular the lack of contested races across the state even though there are many open seats resulting from retirements. Little competition for NJ Legislature primaries, and ballot gives party favorites an edge - Gothamist

Some good news thought: a lawsuit was filed in 2021 challenging the constitutionality of this practice and it is being heard in federal court. You can read more about this below and also sign up to stay informed on this important issue:

Progressives File Suit to Eliminate the Party ‘line’ on Ballots - Insider NJ

Judge says lawsuit challenging organization lines may proceed - New Jersey Globe

Home | Abolish the Line New Jersey

Good Government Coalition of New Jersey (ggcnj.org)

WHAT STATE AND COUNTY DISTRICT AM I IN?

In 2022, not only did we see changes to Ward boundaries across Hoboken reflecting the new census data (the 2^nd Ward got smaller), but our state legislative and county districts changed as well.

NJ State Legislative District:

Until December, we are in Legislative District 33 which is made up roughly 1/3 Jersey City, 1/3 Hoboken and 1/3 Union City (and smidge from Weehawken). Union City Mayor Brian Stack is also the NJ State Senator for LD33. Our LD33 Assembly representatives are currently Raj Mukherji and Annette Chaparro. In January, we will be switching to be in LD32 which will now be 2/3 Jersey City and 1/3 Hoboken and the winners of this year’s election will take office in January 2024.

Hudson County District:

We remain in County District 5, but the boundaries will change. It used to be 100% Hoboken plus some of Jersey City Heights. It will now be 100% Hoboken plus Jersey City’s Newport area along the waterfront (in chartreuse above). Anthony Romano is our current County Commissioner. The new boundaries will take effect in January 2024.

WHO IS ON THE BALLOT?

For the Democrat seats “on the party line”:

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop selects the candidate for NJ State Senate and one of the two NJ State Assembly candidates.
Hoboken Mayor Bhalla selects the other Assembly candidate and the County Commissioner candidate (with Fulop’s consent).
The County Executive is basically selected by a group that includes some of the Hudson County mayors.

For the Republican seats “on the party line”, these are selected by the Hudson County Republican Committee leadership. The progressive Democratic candidates are independent candidates who put their hand up to run and have worked together to build momentum around their “off the line” candidacy.

Candidates for the Democratic Primary:

NJ State Senate:

Raj Mukherji (Jersey City), Hudson County Democratic Organization (“HCDO”)
running unopposed

NJ State Assembly:

John Allen (Hoboken - yes, that John Allen, see below) – HCDO
running unopposed

NJ State Assembly:

Jessica Ramirez (Jersey City) – HCDO
running unopposed

County Executive:

Craig Guy (Jersey City), HCDO
Eleana Little (Jersey City), Progressive Democrats of Hudson County

County Commissioner:

Ron Bautista (Hoboken), Progressive Democrats of Hudson County
Anthony Romano (Hoboken), HCDO

Candidates for the Republican Primary:

NJ State Senate:

Ilyas Mohammed (Jersey City), Hudson County Republican Committee (“HCRC”)
running unopposed

NJ State Assembly:

Robert Ramos (Jersey City) – HCRC
running unopposed

NJ State Assembly:

Alex Garcia (Hoboken) – HCRC
running unopposed

County Executive:

no candidate running

County Commissioner:

Joseph Branco (Hoboken), HCRC
running unopposed

If other candidates not affiliated with either the Democrat or Republican parties are running for office, they do not participate in the primary, but will be on the ballot in November alongside the winners of this primary.

VOTE FOR CANDIDATES, NOT COLUMNS

Truth be told, I took this title from a really good article written by the editorial board of the Jersey City Times about the upcoming primary. But it is the right message. And another message I like is “You can hate the machine, but still like the candidate”.

I get asked repeatedly this time of year about recommendations for who to vote for in the upcoming election. First – I am a Democrat so will be voting in the Democrat Primary and this is what I will say about this election:

The State Senate and two State Assembly seats are uncontested – so your choice is to
- vote for these candidates, or
- vote in protest against either by writing in a candidate or not voting at all.

****Read more below about how to vote in protest against John Allen for Assembly.

For County Executive, which is an Executive Role and is being contested, I will be voting for Craig Guy. Running an organization as big as Hudson County with a $600+ million annual budget and broad departments that include a prison, public safety, family and social services, engineering and public works, parks and open space, to me, requires managerial and executive experience, which Craig has buckets of having worked in the County Executive’s office for over 20 years and as a police officer before that. He currently is Chief of Staff to our current County Executive Tom DeGise and always takes my call if I need anything and has been helpful to Hoboken and the residents of the 2^nd Ward. Is Craig part of the machine that I would like to see disassembled? Yes. Have he and I discussed this? Yes. And I still believe he is the best person for the role in this election. I do want to say that I have met his competitor Eleana Little, albeit briefly, and very much appreciate her effort and her progressive platform for change. I hope she continues to run for office and bring her important message to more people so we can see these changes in the future.

PROTESTING JOHN ALLEN FOR ASSEMBLY

Sometimes your only voice in an election is a protest vote. For John Allen’s candidacy for one of the NJ Assembly seats, I will be voting in protest and would ask that you do the same. Although John will ultimately win, let’s see how many protest votes we can log against his candidacy. You can do this by either

writing in your own name, or anyone else’s for that matter in the far, right column on the ballot or

just not casting a vote for him at all.

John is known for bullying and transacting with potential candidates to try to get them not to run for office against team Bhalla (in fact Mayor Bhalla thanked him for making sure he ran unopposed in the last mayoral election). John is currently the subject of an ethics complaint being investigated by the Office of Attorney Ethics of the Supreme Court of NJ regarding, among others, using his position as attorney for the City of Hoboken when he was chief of staff for Mayor Bhalla to trade favors for financial benefits for himself and his friends. One example, while employed by the city, John gained a financial interest in McSwiggans and then helped set policy and craft legislation that was uniquely favorable to his and his friends’ financial interest in McSwiggans - all at the expense of Hoboken residents. Additionally, in the face of 60 or so residents who called in to the Hudson County Planning Board meeting to oppose the proposed Story Dispensary, as a Planning Board commissioner, John voted ‘yes’ choosing to protect Mayor Fulop’s financial interest in the dispensary over the interests of Hoboken residents.

Although John was chosen to be the “on the party line” candidate for Assembly out of all the 12,000 or so Democrats in Hoboken, including our current Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro who is a lifelong Hoboken resident, I believe that John does not work for Hoboken, he only works for himself and his friends and he does not deserve to be rewarded with such an important role or your vote. Hoboken residents deserve better.

HOW TO VOTE IN THIS PRIMARY

WHO CAN VOTE?

Every state is different. In NJ, only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in the primary. If you are not affiliated with any party, then you can vote in either the Democrat or Republican primary, but will need to register with that party when you are voting. If you do register for one of the parties at the polls in order to vote in this primary, you can always change your registration affiliation after the election. If you are registered for any party – for example, the Libertarian or Green party – you cannot change your party at this point to participate in this primary election.

HOW AND WHEN CAN YOU VOTE?

At the Polls on Election Day June 6th: Like November’s general election, all 42 polling locations city wide will be open from 6am to 8pm. You can click here to find your polling location: NJ DOS - Division of Elections - Polling Place Search . If you were sent a mail in ballot, but didn’t send it back, you will not be able to vote in the machine. But you will still be able to vote using a provisional ballot at the polls on Election Day. This is effectively filling out a ballot by hand.

Today and Tomorrow via Early Voting: The state law changed recently that instituted early, in-person voting. You can do this ONLY at City Hall and only for two more days – today (Saturday) until 8pm and tomorrow (Sunday) from 10am to 6pm.

Vote By Mail: Those who have applied for a vote by mail ballot, have been able to vote for the past few weeks. If you have your ballot, you can either drop it in the mail, or drop it in one of the following secure drop box locations in Hoboken:

City Hall, Newark St. Entrance
Stevens Gateway Bldg., Hudson & 6th

Yesterday was National Gun Violence Awareness Day and this entire weekend is "Wear Orange" Weekend for a future free from gun violence. Wearing Orange won't end gun violence. But the more people who sign up to participate in actions like this, to show those in elected office that they must do more, the better. Because #morevoicesarealwaysbetter.

Guns are the leading cause of death in children with 19% of all children's deaths last year caused by guns. So far this year, 576 were children and teens, many from suicide. Yes, it's the people with the guns. But what if that person only had access to a knife? Or a gun that only shot a handful of bullets at a time before having to be refilled? Would as many children be killed? We will never be able to address and / or solve every issue behind every person who buys and uses a gun violently. But we can solve limiting access to the kind of guns who kill children. If we wanted to. Simple solutions to save lives - childrens' lives.

As always, please share this with everyone you know who may be interested and reach out any time on any issue important to you: 201-208-1764 or [email protected].