( - promoted by noweeman)
UPDATE: PoliticsNJ is reporting that indeed, a South Orange woman - Bd. of Ed. Member, Mila Jasey - has locked up the seat in the 27th District. 1 down; 2 to go.
UPDATE #2: My 35th District sources were right: Meet Assemblywoman Elease Evans. That's 2 down; 1 to go.
When Democratic Committees in the 35th, 38th and 27th Districts meet this weekend and next week to choose replacements for the Assembly seats vacated by Alfred Steele and Mims Hackett, and a new candidate for the Senate race abandoned by Joe Coniglio, they'll have the opportunity to increase the number of Democratic women in the New Jersey legislature by three, further narrowing the gender gap there, and further demonstrating the diversity of the NJ Democratic party compared to the Republicans.
Proving there can be a silver lining to any cloud, we're already seeing both Sharpe James's and Wayne Bryant's seats about to go to women - the inspiring Senators-to-be Dana Redd and Teresa Ruiz. Maybe we've finally found the cure to women's underrepresentation in New Jersey politics: indict the men.
My predictions, and other musings, on the flip... |
| In the 35th District, the most likely to get the nod at the special convention tomorrow morning is Passaic County Freeholder Director, Elease Evans. (Truth-be-told, my sources say Evans is a lock.) She's a well-liked, charming, outspoken defender of Paterson, and it doesn't hurt that she's close with the County Chair. The real drama here will be deciding who gets her seat on the Freeholder Board. Stay tuned.
In the 38th District, it's still anyone's game. I've heard rumors that neither of the sitting assemblymembers is even being considered. But, that's a real shame. Assemblywoman Joan Voss is another exceedingly popular leader with roots in the labor movement. For a seat replacing Senator Coniglio - who, despite whatever comes of him now, has been a tireless advocate for labor - it would be only fitting to choose Voss. Since it's Bergen County, all eyes (and blame) will be on Chairman Ferriero. But, for heaven's sake, doesn't the Chairman want some good press for a change? Pick Voss, replace her with another independent-minded woman, and bask in some rare appreciation.
The 27th District is a little tougher. There is an open field of candidates - men and women - who could conceivably emerge on top. And, I don't know enough about all of them to say who should get the seat. But, a little zip around the internets did turn up one woman who sounds dynamite. Ivy-educated, community-involved, and civic-minded, South Orange Village Trustee Stacey Jennings seems to have it all. I have to think the Dems could do a lot worse than someone with the foresight to buy in the Montrose section of South Orange in 1991.
Who knows? By next week, there could be three more women moving up to/in the legislature. Add them to Redd, Ruiz, and the likely wins by soon-to-be women legislators in Hudson County, Senator-to-be Sandra Cunningham and Assemblywoman-to-be Carrie Rodriguez, and the exciting challenges around the state by other women, and New Jersey's legislature could be getting a long-overdue extreme female makeover next year. It's about time. |
