Steve has been a super helpful mentor in supporting me to think through the ways that I can further refine my writing. I’m going to take a page out of his extensive blogging handbook and focus quickly on something that super important coming up everyone should really be aware of: Election Day. I’ve written about the upcoming gubernatorial election so feel free to read up more on that here.
Voters in New Jersey will vote next Tuesday, November 7th in what will be one of two gubernatorial races in the country following the election of President Donald Trump. Many look to New Jersey and Virginia as a “political pulse” for the national sentiment of how well the President has been doing during his first few months in office. What comes out of next Tuesday both here and in Virginia will be a showing of America’s heart towards Washington – and you have a part to play in telling the rest of the country that story (I struggle a lot with thinking through what’s most important for people to learn about candidates to feel a stronger sense of obligation to vote – but I suppose that’s a follow up post). First, we’ll start state-level:
Kim Guadagno is the Republican candidate for Governor. She is the current Lieutenant Governor under Chris Christie and is running on what will look like another Christie administration with a few tweaks here and there, but overall the same type of conservative-in-a-blue-state Governor as Christie has been.
Phil Murphy is the Democratic candidate for Governor. A former Goldman Sachs executive and former Ambassador to Germany under President Obama. Murphy is oddly looking at using his less-than-attractive financial career to shake off the economic debris of the Christie administration through initiatives such as a state/public bank to make offering college loans more affordable and to fill holes in the general budget.
Also on the state-level ballot are the three Legislature seats – Camden falls within the Legislative borders of the 5th District. Nilsa Cruz-Perez is the Democratic incumbent running another term in the State Senate. Nilsa has been a part of the New Jersey Legislature for decades and many commend her recent efforts in the District to donate materials towards disaster relief in Puerto Rico. The Republican running against Senator Cruz-Perez is Keith Walker, a familiar face in Republican primaries as he has unsuccessfully challenged the Democratic incumbents of the District for the last three elections (six years). Walker is a proponent of stronger public safety measures as well as more open and transparent government officials.
Incumbents Arthur Barclay and Pat Jones are running for another term in the State Assembly. I’ve bumped into Arthur and Pat quite a bit this year at various events across both Camden and Gloucester counties and while I haven’t heard much about their legislative efforts, it really is a nice perspective to see how often they are connecting with their constituents. Kevin Ehret and Teresa Gordon are the Republicans running against the incumbents who have also shown similar stances on public safety as Walker; in fact, Ehret denounced the establishment of a County Police force back when he was running alongside Walker in 2015.
To the county, two Freeholder seats are up this year and Louis Capelli Jr. and Jonathan Young, Sr. are the Democratic incumbents. Capelli is the Director of the Board of Chosen Freeholders and has an extensive legal and political background in the county focusing on public safety, the opioid epidemic, and economic development (mainly in Camden City). Young has also been a part of Camden County for decades and has a background in the labor movement and is a proponent of “fair wages and labor practices throughout the region.” The Republicans running against Capelli and Young are Keith Cybulski and Nicole Nance, but I wasn’t able to find much on their political history or stances – maybe someone knows more than I do and could share!
And to the local level, the frontrunner and current City Council President Frank Moran has been everywhere across the city that he can be along with his other Democratic Line 1 teammates: Councilman Angel Fuentes (former Assemblyman for the 5th Legislative District and very well-known among quite a few communities throughout the city, Council Vice President Curtis Jenkins (most likely to assume Moran’s council president seat should all go well for that ticket next Tuesday), and Sheila Davis (current Vice Chair for the Camden Redevelopment Agency, the city’s economic development and capital investment arm). Surprisingly not surprising, there is no Republican opposition for any local candidates (Camden is deeply blue, so this makes sense, but it always calls me to dig deeper in where all the Republicans in the city went) but there are a few nomination-by-petition candidates for the Mayor’s seat. Tirson Lamberty is running under the slogan “Enough is Enough,” Jerome Taylor is running under the slogan “Accountability Betters Camden,” and Keith Benson, Sr. (who hasn’t officially made it on the ballot but is running on a write-in campaign) are contesting Moran by petition which is extremely interesting; I’m sure this is not the first time this has happened, but it is my first mayoral election here in the city so I’m still learning. Here is a link to a debate, produced by Camden One, between those three candidates that took place last week – hopefully that provides another layer of information before you head to the polls next Tuesday, November 7th.
Most people also don’t know that there are usually additional responses needed from the voter concerning what are called “state public questions” which pose referendum-style changes to state policy. This year there are two: one focused on increasing the amount of money (to $125 million) the state will allocate towards building, equipping, and expanding public libraries across New Jersey. The second public question is whether or not the State should dedicate money it receives due to natural resource damages towards repairing, replacing, or restoring those damaged natural resources. This is an interesting public question given the increase in debate around state natural resources being threatened here in South Jersey (i.e. a gasline through the Pinelands).
Would love to hear your thoughts about any of these candidates and public questions either ahead of or after Election Day – go vote!!!
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