There has been a lot of talk about the New Jersey governor's race...well at least in my corner of the Internet. And I have heard several people talk about how Rep. Sherrill was not their primary choice and I will do [insert their phrase of choice that indicates a lack of passion to make this vote].
However, one analogy that I have been thinking about more and more when I hear these conversations or when I have my moments of fear about New Jersey voting in another Republican Governor...really about New Jersey voting in a MAGA Yes Man that will add validity to the Trump Regime, is one used by feminist scholar Iris Marion Young. Young in her essay "Gender as Seriality," she talks about recognizing women as a series not a group. At one point, she gives an example of people at a bus stop coming together because their bus is late. Those waiting come from various backgrounds and everyone has a different destinations. However, for everyone to make it to their desired destination they must come together to figure out why the bus is late and to get the bus moving again. Once the issue of the late bus is solved everyone can get back on the bus and focus back to their original “purpose” or “destination.”
Getting back to New Jersey, for New Jersey or for Democratic and Progressive and Working Class New Jerseyans to get to their desired locations we need to work to take the Mikie route so that we can get further down the road closer to our different destinations.
To get to a New Jersey where the party bosses have less power like Steve Fullop fought for in the primary we need take the Mikie route.
To get to a New Jersey where Black and Latinos businesses receive greater support and opportunities from state capital and Trenton like Ras Baraka fought for in the primary we need take the Mikie route.
To get to a New Jersey where Southern Jersey gets additional infrastructure, attention and respect like Steve Sweeney fought for we need take the Mikie route.
To get to a New Jersey where we cut taxes for New Jersey families and make our state more affordable like Josh Gottheimer fought for we need take the Mikie route.
To get to a New Jersey where we bring education to the forefront like...(never mind...I'm still furious as a former teacher that the $2 a month that I gave to my former union to support candidates for four years basically only got spent on one candidate in that primary. Not a single mailer had that candidate with someone running for the NJ Legislature or a city council as was done in previous election cycles).
Keeping with the transportation language, at this juncture and especially considering the current national political climate from all three branches of government. The best move forward for New Jerseyians, especially those of diverse identities and backgrounds, is to vote Mikie Sherrill. A Sherrill/Caldwell administration gets you a opportunity to lobby for your specific issues with a greater probability for the desired results to be heard and granted.
Looking to the MAGA Yes Man, I admit that Jack has done a really really good job of "courting" the Black and Latino vote in New Jersey this cycle. BUT do not be fooled by these photo ops appearing in your Facebook and Instagram feeds. There are two missteps that this campaign has taken that highlight the fools gold or Trojan Horse nature of these overtures. The first is Blacks Back Jack.
Blacks Back Jack Landing Page
The rollout of this particular affinity group just shows the lack of sensitivity/understanding/nuance this campaign team has. In their defense, theBack Jack wording is the formula for several groups like First Responders Back Jack. However, there should have been some type of disclaimer that highlights this for the record. When I first saw Blacks Back Jack, after I stopped laughing that is, I admit that I liked that he used the word Black over African American in short because he doesn’t go with the "PC" or "safer" term for this racial group. That being said the rollout of this particular affinity group felt unfinished.
The second is courting the Latino community like you are a contestant on Flavor of Love or Rock of Love but then having a Spanish language site that is incomplete with bad Spanish and even bad Spanglish grammar. As I said on TikTok, my 10th grade Spanish II students from my first year of teaching Spanish would have created or translated that site better than this team did.
Two Screenshots from the “Spanish” Language Jack4NJ Site
And frankly I would have felt better seeing a badly translated but complete site over whatever I saw on the day I looked. En fin, if you can't take the time to do a Spanish website and do it well...JUST. DON'T. DO. IT. I used to tell my middle schoolers that más que 500 millones de personas hablan español y todos utilizamos palabras diferentes. But it is also true that more and more you can be a Latino in the United States and not speak Spanish. Having the site wasn’t necessarily needed. Again highlighting the lack of sensitivity/understanding/nuance by this campaign team.
Wrapping this up, please don't Back Jack because Jack doesn't really have your back. He will smile in your face, tell you what you want to hear, take a picture with you, and then act like you don't exist when you are not around.
Una cosita más, please don't write in a third party candidate (the ads are popping up now)...not for this one. And I’m saying this as someone who voted for Chris Daggett in the NJ Governor’s election that gave us Chris Christie.