Here we are.
End of the summer? Start of the school year? Sure. But for those of you obsessively following the conflict over tax subsidies here in Camden, you know what I’m talking about. The moment when the Murphy administration has to decide whether to sign or veto the extension of temporary tax credits because the Senate and Assembly are calling a quorum. If he does veto, we’ll get to see just how effective this whole gambit has been — will there be votes to override the veto? Will there be consequences for legislatures in the polls who do so?
But, of course, that won’t really tell us if the strategy was effective. Maybe we’ll know if Gov. Murphy gets reelected. Maybe we’ll know if, down the line, progressive policies like the millionaires tax make their way through the legislature. And maybe, just maybe, somewhere down the line a power shift in South Jersey will be traced back to the moment many of the issues we’ve been documenting for years finally hit the public consciousness.
But maybe not. And maybe we’ll never know.
That got me thinking. What is the legacy of other progressive moments since I’ve been here? Hard to believe it’s been six years — but here we are.
I thought first of Alex Law’s primary run for Congress against Don Norcross in 2016. At the time, the final numbers of Law’s race were seen as a big disappointment by progressives — Norcross rallied and soundly defeated him. But since then, Congressman Norcross has moved intentionally to the left, championing many of the policies Law touted (and simultaneously cutting the legs off of a potential challenge from the left). Not the win Law intended, but it’s been remarkable to watch Congressman Norcross become a champion of causes like raising the minimum wage — when local activists here tell stories of meetings where Norcross actively quashed those policies locally.
It’s less obvious how things played out in other elections, but I’m also struck by the big impact Ray Lamboy had on the political scene. Lamboy’s mayoral run was remarkably disappointing in the polls — but the organizing he did around community benefit agreements, and particularly his language around the “inclusive economy” has become standard talking points for city and county Democrats. At the RCA Pier ribbon-cutting, or the opening of 11 Cooper downtown, there was a distinct focus on inclusiveness, local hiring, local art and more. Lamboy’s campaign might have underperformed, but his ideas are mainstream.
Now, particularly in Lamboy’s case, you can argue that the embrace of this rhetoric hasn’t always led to a change in policy. It certainly hasn’t led to a change in leadership. But that’s oversimplifying things. There is more attention to these issues — even if it might be defensive — and that’s a “win” for progressive.
A lot more to unpack here, particularly with organizing around education and policing, but I think this pattern of “wins” is instructive. Maybe there is a long-term power shift coming in South Jersey. But it seems more likely that the way progressives will win in this fight is by being absorbed — having the ideas and policies adopted by more mainstream Democrats who are fending off criticism (and organizing) from the left.
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