With a week-long campaign to succeed the late Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) underway, the New Jersey Globe will host a virtual candidate forum next Monday, August 26 at 8 p.m. for candidates to make the case for why they should be selected to replace Pascrell on the November general election ballot.
The forum is sponsored by the New Jersey Globe, On New Jersey, and the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University and will be streamed on the New Jersey Globe, On New Jersey, Facebook Live, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.
Laura Jones, the host of “New Jersey Politics with Laura Jones,” a weekly public affairs show for MeTV-WJLP New Jersey/New York, will serve as the debate moderator. Panelists will include New Jersey Globe political reporter Joey Fox, New Jersey Globe editor David Wildstein, and Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute.
Pascrell died on August 21 at the age of 87, and Democratic county committeemembers in the 9th district will meet next week – likely on August 27 or 29 – to determine his replacement. Democratic voters won’t have an opportunity to directly weigh in, so candidates must instead appeal to the few hundred county committeemembers in the district.
Monday’s forum is an opportunity for them to do just that. The forum will also provide an opportunity for voters themselves to see the candidates in action – and then reach out to their county committeemembers, who are elected officials beholden to them, to share their thoughts.
So far, Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson), Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter (D-North Haledon), State Sen. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), and Paterson Mayor André Sayegh have accepted invitations to the forum and will participate.
Invitations have also been extended to Bergen County Commissioner Tracy Silna Zur (D-Franklin Lakes) and Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese (D-Cliffside Park), who are considering campaigns but have not yet officially announced their plans. If other serious candidates enter the race, the Globe will extend invitations to them as well.
This story was updated at 5:44 p.m. with Pou’s acceptance of the forum invitation, and again at 10:47 p.m. with Sayegh’s acceptance.