When Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-Newark) died in April of this year, there was enough time for a special election to be scheduled to succeed him, meaning that Democratic primary voters were able to weigh in on the race before party leaders unilaterally selected a new member of Congress. Their choice: Newark Council President LaMonica McIver, who is heavily favored to win Payne’s seat in September.
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson)’s death earlier this week, on the other hand, gives primary voters no such opportunity. There’s no time to schedule a special primary, so Democratic county committeemembers in the 9th congressional district will have complete and total say over which candidate will appear on voters’ ballots in November as the new Democratic nominee.
So far, four candidates – State Sen. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter (D-North Haledon), Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson), and Paterson Mayor André Sayegh – are declared candidates, and others like Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese (D-Cliffside Park) and Bergen County Commissioner Tracy Silna Zur (D-Franklin Lakes) are considering campaigns as well.
Each of their fates will rest with the few hundred county committeemembers from Passaic, Bergen, and Hudson Counties who show up for a hastily scheduled convention next week to pick a new nominee. That doesn’t mean voters have to be completely disengaged from the process, however.
Though most voters may not know much about their local county parties, county committeemembers are elected officials; each voting district in the state has the opportunity to elect two Democrats to their county party organization (though some seats are vacant). Almost all of the 191,823 registered Democrats who live in the 9th district, then, are represented by at least one person who will have a vote at next week’s convention.
So, the New Jersey Globe’s advice for anyone in the 9th district who wants to have a say at the convention: reach out to your local county committeemember, an elected official who is accountable to voters like you! Party leaders can certainly influence their county committeemembers, but input from constituents is – or at least should be – a factor in how they vote as well.
If you don’t know who your county committeemember is, contact your town’s municipal clerk, who can provide that information. (County committee districts are so small, there’s a decent chance you may already know one or both of them.)
Party machinery in New Jersey can often feel esoteric, especially in circumstances like this, where state law gives party organizations near-total power. But those organizations ultimately have to answer to their voters, so it can’t hurt to make your voice heard.