Excerpts from email sent Nov 8, 2017, by Lori Sackler, BID President

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We have reason to celebrate and rejoice on the outcome of yesterday’s state-wide elections. We won big and what a difference a year makes!

 

The victories we achieved last night, from New Jersey to Virginia and to New Hampshire, prove that our progressive movement is energized, locally-led, and unapologetic in rejecting Trump’s style of hate and fear-mongering.

 

Activism is working and Bergen Indivisible for Democracy is proud to be a part of it.  We are part of what the New York Times calls “a suburban rebellion, where more moderate voters rejected Mr. Trump and embraced Democrats.”

 

BID celebrates those victories and is particularly proud to have played its part in our neck of the woods.

 

6 out of the 12 candidates that we had endorsed got elected, a 50% success rate. Phil Murphy is the new Governor of NJ. Assembly members Valerie Huttle and Gordon Johnson and State Senator Loretta Weinberg of LD 37 have been successfully re-elected! Lauren Dayton and Jeff Grossman, both first time candidates, got elected to the Tenafly Town Council.

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Our friends from LD 39, Annie Hausmann and Jannie Chung, running for the State Assembly, although not victorious, made a serious dent in this republican stronghold, only 3% away from the republicans who won. The same applies to Linda Schwager, who ran for the State Senate and got an impressive 46% of the vote, while her republican opponent was elected with 53%. 

Aparna Mulchandani and Debra Sahler who ran for the Ramsey Town Council didn’t get enough votes to get elected, but, as their statement very accurately notes, they “were successful in getting our message heard and reclaiming Ramsey as a two-party town. The days of uncontested races in Ramsey are over.” 

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We are also very proud of our action packed month of election events.

We kicked-off the electoral season with an event hosting these candidates at the residence of Ret. Honorable Judge Ronny Jo Siegal, along with representatives of fellow activist groups, such as WEDO of Bergen County and representatives of the Phil Murphy campaign.

 We also organized phone banks for them, making over 600 calls in a few hours, and co-sponsored events with the Murphy campaign and the Democratic Committee of Bergen County, hosting Tammy Murphy, our next first lady, and entertainer and activist Chelsea Handler.

 

So, it is appropriate for all of us to give ourselves a pat on the shoulder for a job well done!!  It’s time now to roll up our sleeves and get ready for Election 2018! It’s not going to be an easy task. We need each and every one of you to stay the course, remain vigilant, active and dedicated. With our movement energized and ready to keep the pressure on, there’s no stopping us.

 

 Please stay tuned for our new action plan for 2018!  Our steering committee is already planning our next set of strategies as we enter the New Year. Together, we are stronger! 

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