Voting has opened at the first Essex County Democratic convention, where Democratic officials will endorse a candidate in the gubernatorial primary and the just-as-competitive 28th district Assembly primary.
Four of the six Democratic gubernatorial candidates are competing in the convention, though only the Essex-based candidates—Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller, and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair)—spoke Saturday morning. Former Senate President Steve Sweeney is competing in the convention but did not attend, according to Essex County Democratic Chair LeRoy Jones Jr.
Voting remains open until 2 p.m. in the George R. Newman Center at Caldwell University.
The Essex County Democratic screening committee voted earlier this month to recommend the endorsement of Sherrill for governor. The congresswoman also secured the endorsements of more than 100 Essex County officials.
In her convention speech, Sherrill said she is the strongest candidate to stand up against President Donald Trump and Republican gubernatorial candidates, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli and former radio host Bill Spadea. She said the leading Republicans are OK with cuts to benefits, which she argues Trump is spearheading.
“We’ve got Ciattarelli and Spadea, and they are both trying to be a bigger Yes Man to Trump and saying nothing about cuts to Medicaid, about cuts to the Department of Education, saying nothing about the cuts to Social Security,” she said.
Baraka, perhaps the most progressive candidate in the race, said he wants to bring a “spirit of courage” to the governor’s office and represent people who struggle to afford childcare or rent.
Spiller, the president of the New Jersey Education Association, said he’s seen his students struggling to get by and said a new approach to housing is needed in the state.
“We’re not needing developers to build hundreds and hundreds of luxury units, we’re building what we need,” Spiller said. “We’re building affordable housing, workforce housing, senior housing.”
Democratic officials in the 28th district are also voting to endorse two Assembly candidates.
Both current Assemblywomen, Garnet Hall (D-Maplewood) and Cleopatra Tucker (D-Newark), are running for re-election. But West Ward Democratic Municipal Chairman Chigozie Onyema is in the race and has proven to be a formidable opponent.
The 81-year-old Tucker touted her 17 years of experience in the Assembly and said she would continue her push for support for veterans and the ability for New Jerseyans 16 and older to vote in school board elections.
Onyema, who received an endorsement from the New Jersey Working Families Party, said the district needs a representative who understands the issues of housing, education, and affordability first-hand.
“This is about the conditions we face not only in our schools but in our communities, conditions that we can change and we can affect through our work in Trenton,” Onyema said.
Onyema and Hall received the endorsement of Union County Democrats earlier this week—one Union municipality, Hillside, is in the 28th district.