February 29, 2020, 6:53 pm | in

Madelyn

Hoffman, NJ Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020 released the following prepared statement prior to Saturday\’s  fundraiser for Congressman Donald Norcross.

What does it mean when Senator Cory Booker, Senator Robert Menendez, Governor Phil Murphy and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi all gather in Camden to support Representative Donald Norcross for a $2,800 a plate meal?

It means that big money controls this election cycle once again. What does it matter if there is a “D” or “R” next to your name when all that matters to these politicians is how many $2,800 plates and big donors attend to donate big money? This leaves little room for the voices of those not so wealthy; people dealing with issues of healthcare, making a living wage, addressing environmental concerns, and ending non-stop military spending.

Join the Green Party of New Jersey and Hoffman For Senate in a protest at Camden County College, 200 College Drive, Blackwood, New Jersey from 12pm to 2pm on Saturday, February 29th. Help raise awareness with the 99% on these issues and many more not being addressed by either mainstream party.

“The politicians who represent us are completely out of touch with the people they are supposed to represent,” said

Madelyn

Hoffman, NJ Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020, challenging Senator Cory Booker. “My campaign accepts no corporate money or PAC money. Instead I can fight for what the majority of people need — as I have all my adult life. It’s time for us to elect representatives who are dedicated to addressing the needs of the 99%.”

Kim Meudt, Co-Chair of Green Party NJ and life-long resident of Camden County said, “The Norcross Machine wants $2,800 per plate but what’s being served up to the residents of Camden?”

Craig Cayetano, Co-Chair of Green Party NJ said “We are inviting all our allies to come out, even those still associated with the Democratic Party, to stand up and say that this shouldn’t be the new normal. We denounce these dinners which leave the majority of the NJ electorate on the outside of policy-making and just pandered to as the election season ramps up.”

The Hoffman for Senate 2020 campaign will be at the protest and in a symbolic protest offer food and a drink for attendees at $2.80 to show that the interests of big money and the interests of the vast majority of people in this country are not the same! Instead, we need to:

Stop supporting endless wars.

Move the money into our communities and into public education, tuition-free   college and student debt forgiveness.

Move the money into Improved and Expanded Medicare for All.

Support a real Green New Deal that confronts the bloated military budget and creates sustainable jobs for all.

Increase grassroots democracy and stop allowing those with the big money to control the party interests.

Enact Rank Choice Voting to allow more voices a fair chance at being elected and abolish the corrupted “Line” currently used in New Jersey.

If you cannot attend, please consider sharing, volunteering and donating! Check out the Hoffman For Senate website, Facebook page, on Twitter and Instagram all year as we will be a progressive voice on the ballot on November 3rd!

https://www.hoffmanforsenate.com/

https://www.facebook.com/HoffmanforSenate2020/

https://twitter.com/hoffman4US2020

https://www.instagram.com/hoffmanforsenate2020/

Dear U.S. House Candidate:

As leaders of the Democratic Party, we respectfully request that you sign the following campaign pledge

t

o disavow support in any form from the corrupt Callaway organization in Atlantic City.

Craig Callaway has a long and shameful history of interfering in honest and fair elections. As Atlantic City Council President, he disgraced his office by taking thousands in cash bribes leading to a federal conviction and a 40-month prison sentence.

Then, one of Callaway’s political allies, former Camden City Councilman Ali Sloan-El, was

convicted of taking tens of thousands in cash in brown bags from an undercover FBI agent

in the same pay-to-play redevelopment scheme that rocked South Jersey.

Ali Sloan-El has since made new allies. Just last year he partnered with Susan Altman, who runs a Trenton dark money group that fights against disclosing secret donors. They, along with Kate Delany and other fake Democrats, tried infiltrating the Democratic primaries in South Jersey with Trump Republicans, convicted felons, deadbeats, and petition forgers. The County Prosecutor’s Office even investigated the petition forgeries, leading to disqualifications for some of Altman’s candidates.

Why would Altman recruit Republicans in a primary election against Democrats? Simple: because she was a lifelong Republican. This means Altman didn’t participate in primaries to support Al Gore for President, Jim McGreevey for Governor, Frank Lautenberg for U.S. Senate, Jon Corzine for U.S. Senate or for Governor, Cory Booker for U.S. Senate, Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for President, not including numerous other federal, state, county, and local Democrats seeking elective office. She didn’t even bother voting against Chris Christie for Governor. And even worse, she just bragged about showing support for Cory Booker’s primary opponent.

The story gets much worse for Craig Callaway. He was convicted in state court for blackmail and sentenced to three more years in prison in a repulsive scheme of arranging for a prostitute to provide sexual favors to his Council rival, an elderly widower, and videotaping the encounter in a rented motel room. He used the video footage to try to force his rival to resign from public office, but the plot backfired when his victim took the threat to law enforcement. It made national news.

Callaway’s syndicate of allies have even more documented instances of immoral, illegal, and reckless behavior that is unbecoming of our Party — from knife fights, assaults, harassment, threats, and stalking to outright voter fraud — strong-arming voters in poor communities of color to allow Callaway cartel soldiers to vote by mail on their behalf.

Unfortunately, this is not just behavior from many years ago. In 2017, Callaway staged his post-prison political comeback by masterminding the mayoral election of Frank Gilliam, an official who brought shame and disgrace to our region once again by stealing over $87,000 from a kid’s basketball program. That’s yet another Callaway associate led away in handcuffs, further contributing to the embarrassing legacy of Atlantic City mayors.

Like Craig Callaway, Altman wants to interfere with our primary selection process the same way they did last year.

We call on all candidates to disavow partnering with career criminals and fake Democrats like Susan Altman and Kate Delany in this primary.

Allowing the Callaway Crime Cartel and their Trenton dark money allies to determine the man or woman to run against traitor Jeff Van Drew cannot be an option.

Their conduct does not belong in our party and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms. Sign this pledge affirming that you will not accept direct or in-kind donations, organizational support, endorsements, or provide payments to them or their affiliated entities.

Please post this signed pledge on your social media sites.

Thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Wyatt Earp – Ocean

Brendan Sciarra – Cape May

Steve Caltabiano – Salem

Steve Errickson – Cumberland

James Beach – Camden

Fred Madden – Gloucester

Joseph Andl – Burlington

Campaign Pledge

I, the undersigned candidate for Congress in New Jersey\’s 2nd Congressional District, sign this pledge affirming that I will not accept direct or in-kind donations, organizational support, endorsements from, or provide payments to, Craig Callaway or his affiliated entities.

Action for Opportunity Coalition Presses Candidates on Records on Economic Opportunity for Low-Income Americans

The Action for Opportunity Coalition, representing more than 30 non-profit organizations, unions, and advocates across the country have received from all presidential candidates, other than President Trump, written plans to address poverty and increase economic opportunity in the United States.

All candidates for president as well as several former candidates have written responses to the following questions:

What are the top five specific ways that you, as president, would increase economic opportunity for low-income Americans and decrease poverty, hunger, and homelessness?

What is your single greatest concrete career accomplishment to date that has increased economic opportunity for low-income Americans and/or decreased poverty, hunger, and homelessness?

As president, how would you staff and structure the development, leadership, and daily management of your economic opportunity, poverty, hunger, and homelessness initiatives in your White House, Cabinet, and Administration?

Responses from Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Mike Bloomberg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, and Elizabeth Warren can be found on the Action for Opportunity website:

https://actionforopportunity.org/

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President Trump’s campaign was repeatedly asked to respond, but has not yet done so.

Ninety-three million Americans – nearly a third of the U.S. population – live near or in poverty, and many middle class Americans fall into poverty one or more times in their lives. From 2016-2018, one in eight U.S. households were food insecure. This includes one in six children, nine percent of working adults, and nearly eight percent of older Americans (ages 60+), according to Hunger Free America’s

2019 United States Hunger Atlas

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The Action for Opportunity Coalition is led by Hunger Free America and A Place at the Table with major support from the Worcester County Food Bank. Other groups in the Coalition include the Communication Workers of America, South Carolina Appleseed, Bread for the World, Low Country Food Bank, the National Diaper Bank Network, Feeding Texas, the National Association of Social Workers-South Carolina Chapter, Corporation for Supportive Housing, Feast, Feeding the Carolinas, Food Research & Action Center, Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger, California Association of Food Banks, Mississippi Delta Grassroots Caucus, Swipe Out Hunger, WhyHunger, First Focus Campaign for Children, Sue-Ham Entertainment, Gary Hair Solutions, City Harvest, Alliance for Period Supplies, Kean University Human Rights Institute, and the Progressive Policy Institute.

Chef, TV host, and food activist Tom Colicchio, co-founder of A Place at the Table said, “We must highlight the concerns and questions of low-income and working class Americans in the 2020 presidential election in order to have a more equitable society in the future. In our democracy, all Americans — not just the ones who can pay lobbyists — deserve to have their voices heard.”

Said Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Fee America: “Here’s a startling statistic: In the primaries and general elections of 2008, 2012, and 2016, there were more than 50 Presidential candidate debates, yet not a single question on poverty, hunger, or homelessness was asked. We want to ensure that the road to the White House must pass through a very robust, fact-based discussion on how to slash poverty, hunger, and homelessness, rebuild the middle class, and restore the American dream.”

NJBIA President and CEO Michele N. Siekerka, Esq. issued the following statement regarding Gov. Phil Murphy\’s proposed FY 2021 budget today.

\”NJBIA appreciates Governor Murphy\’s efforts to prepare a state budget that makes investments in New Jersey\’s future, particularly given our state\’s considerable fiscal challenges. We support investments in NJ TRANSIT and workforce development proposed today, and await more details on potential public health benefits savings.

\”Unfortunately, this proposed budget continues along the well-worn path of more taxation and spending without truly addressing the structural issues that leave New Jersey with an ever-increasing mountain of debt.

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\”Today\’s proposal increases New Jersey\’s overall budget by 5.4% compared to last fiscal year and 17.6% from FY 2018. To balance this additional spending, the governor is again looking to place an even greater burden on our already overtaxed residents and job creators whose slim profit margins have been reduced amid costly mandates and onerous regulations.

\”The question we need to ask ourselves today is: How can tax increases be justified at a time of a budget surplus, built largely on the backs of business, and when spending on discretionary items is going up by hundreds of millions of dollars?

\”New Jersey has experienced a net loss of $30.1 billion in adjusted gross income over the last 14 years of available data. This is indisputable. Broadening the base for the top gross income tax rate will do nothing to reverse this trend. It will make more top earners pay the second highest top income rate in the nation. It will also not bring about meaningful property tax relief.

\”True relief for the middle class will only be found when our policymakers stop their tax-first approach and embark on a reform agenda that comprehensively addresses underfunded pensions.

\”Without that fiscal discipline and political resolve, New Jersey will continue along the path of ballooning budgets and ever-escalating taxes. And our affordability crisis will worsen as we wonder what new or increased tax will be proposed next year to fund the pension system.

\”We hope that during this budget season, Governor Murphy and the Legislature can work together on a comprehensive strategy that addresses our unsustainable obligations and gives our great state the opportunity to grow our economy through responsible, sound investment.\”