OPINION
In 1964, Norman Rockwell painted The Problem We All Live With. It depicts Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old Black girl, being escorted by U.S. Marshals as she integrates an all-white school in New Orleans. The image is stark: a child, stoic and determined, surrounded by the graffiti and violence of a country struggling to live up to its own ideals.
Rockwell didn’t name the painting after Ruby. He called it The Problem We All Live With – a deliberate choice to show that the problem wasn’t hers. Segregation, racism, and inequality weren’t her burden to carry alone. They were, and still are, problems that belong to all of us. Shared problems. National problems.
That painting is a snapshot of a nation in progress. It is painful to look at, but important – because it reminds us that even in the face of resistance, change is possible. That progress is never pretty, never easy, but always necessary.
Today, I believe our Democratic Party is in a similar moment. We’ve just completed convention season across the state, and like that painting, the picture it painted is complicated. There were moments of real democratic engagement. There were also moments of frustration, disappointment, and systemic failures.
Some counties, like Hunterdon, showed us what a fair process can look like – no chair endorsements, no exclusive screening committees, real notice for delegates, and open access to make our case. It was transparent. It was humbling. And in a place where no one expected us to compete, a kid from Newark came in second. That’s what democracy looks like.
But other counties fell short. Conventions were hastily scheduled. Information was withheld. Chairs endorsed candidates before votes were cast. Delegate lists were sometimes impossible to obtain. In some cases, the process was far more gatekeeping than democracy.
Let me be clear, this is not about any one candidate in the race. Just as Rockwell’s painting wasn’t about one little girl, this moment in our party is not about any one of us running for office. It’s about something bigger.
We are in a moment of transformation. The party is evolving – sometimes reluctantly, sometimes unevenly – but evolving nonetheless. For the first time in decades, we have a real gubernatorial primary in New Jersey without a county line. Six credible candidates. No coronations. No guarantees.
This is the kind of shift that challenges long-held power structures. It forces us to confront the question: are we truly the Democratic Party, or just a party called “Democratic”? Because the answer cannot just be rhetorical. It has to be reflected in our actions, our rules, and our processes.
We can’t afford to preach democracy while practicing exclusion. We can’t denounce voter suppression in other states around the nation, then turn a blind eye to suppression of participation in our own party structures. Non-binding conventions with no transparency do not reflect our values. Backroom decisions and information hoarding do not strengthen us – they weaken us.
What we need now is a uniform, statewide convention process – one that sets a clear standard for fairness, transparency, and accessibility. The rules should be the same whether you’re in Bergen or Burlington. Every candidate and every committee member deserves to know what to expect and how to participate.
At time when the Republican Party is actively rolling back rights and undermining democratic norms, we have to be the counterexample. We have to be better. We have to lead, not just in rhetoric, but in practice.
I’m grateful to have gone through this process, even with its flaws. I’m grateful to the committee members across the state – the folks who give up their evenings and weekends, who knock on doors and show up to meetings, who are the heart of this party. We owe them to be better. We owe them a party that reflects their commitment to democracy.
That’s why I stayed and participated, no matter the individual process for any single county. Not just to win, but to show my respect for our committee members and be part of a broader movement to push our party forward. Because this isn’t just my problem. It’s our problem. And if we face it together – with honesty and courage – we can build a party, and a democracy, worthy of the people we serve.