District 16 Assembly Primary Candidate: Faris Zwirahn

DISTRICT 16, NJ — New Jersey General Assembly Legislative District 16's preliminary election on June 8 has five candidates running for two open seats on the assembly. Faris Zwirahn, 40, is one of three Democratic candidates running.

Zwiahn has been a teacher for 15 years and currently teaches Arabic literature and language at Princeton University.

Zwiahn's parents still live in Syria, and since fleeing the war, his nine siblings live all over the world. His partner, Deanna Dyer (age 36) is a gender and social justice policy attorney and activist.

Zwiahn has a BA from Damascus University, an MA from CUNY Graduate Center, MA and is working on a M.Phil from University of Pennsylvania.

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Faris Zwirahn

Campaign website

www.zwirahn.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I grew up in Syria and became a political activist fighting against Assad's brutal regime at a young age. After being arrested many times, I finally made my way to the U.S. on a Fulbright Scholarship. Fearing for my life if I returned to Syria, I applied for and was granted political asylum in 2012. Five years later, I became a US citizen within months of Trump's coming into power, and only weeks before my family was banned from the country as part of the "Muslim ban".

Having grown-up in a corrupt dictatorship, I was surprised to learn about challenges in democracy here in the U.S., and here in New Jersey specifically. The more I learned about New Jersey politics and the immense influence that a handful of powerful individuals have over our elections, the more impassioned I became to return to my activist roots to fight against corruption in politics, encourage transparency, and promote government representation of marginalized communities in my new home.

I am now running to be the first Arab-American and Muslim to serve in the NJ legislature. I am seeking elected office to put the issues that matter on the table, and get us all to think about the best way forward. My platform centers around three issues: (1) well-being of working families; (2) equity; and (3) government reform.

The single most pressing issue facing our state is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The most pressing issue facing New Jerseyans is the fallout of COVID-19. Our state is suffering from the highest per-capita death toll in the nation from the virus, nearly 66 percent above the national average. Additionally, three out of 10 businesses, including mom-and-pop shops that have been in families for generations have closed. New Jersey has the eighth highest (7.7 percent) unemployment rate in the country. Furthermore, drug overdose deaths have significantly increased - over 3,000 New Jerseyans lost their lives to an opioid overdose in 2020 alone. We know the fallout of these challenges, and so many other issues, disproportionately impact low-income families and people of color due to systemic inequities that long predate the pandemic. I intend to create COVID-19 relief policies that center around those most marginalized to address these issues. This includes:

• Enacting legislation to provide fully government-funded child care subsidy programs, as the current subsidies are woefully insufficient. This will help pull more women, especially in low-income families and families of color, into the labor market, particularly those who were already forced to leave their jobs to take care of their children.
• Establishing programs to solve the opioid crisis in LD 16 and NJ.
• Supporting hazard pay for frontline workers.
• Introducing summer school programs for students to catch-up as many kids from low-income families and families of color fell behind due to COVID.
• Introducing smart taxation to support health & redefine the poverty-line, such as a Special Windfall Profit Tax on pharmaceuticals and health insurance companies in NJ to expand Medicare and resolve the opioid crisis; and taxes on stock transactions in NJ to support giving tax credits to small family businesses.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am running an entirely grassroots campaign and am not funded by large corporate donors, unlike my opponents. I am also the only candidate endorsed by the Good Governance Coalition of New Jersey (GGCNJ) for my dedication to strengthening democracy by bringing greater transparency, accountability, and participation to our state and local governments. Notably, I am the only candidate who has spoken out against New Jersey's voter disenfranchisement issue: our primary ballot design, that gives an automatic 35 percent advantage to candidates hand-selected by "party bosses."

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

Even though there are two Assembly seats and only one incumbent running, I did not decide to "challenge the incumbent" nor did I decide to "run for the empty seat." To me, there are two open seats and voters get to decide who are the best two candidates to fill these seats and represent the Democratic party in the general election. This is the entire purpose of a primary, despite the power political bosses hold in manipulating who wins the primary. Nonetheless, the voting history of incumbent Roy Freiman does not always reflect what he claims.

Not only is Freiman unwilling to advocate for Better Ballot Reform to return the power of the vote to the people and away from party bosses, he aligns himself in favor of party power brokers even amongst public outcry of corruption. Many New Jerseyans remember very well the "Norcross Scandal" in 2019 in which George Norcross, a prolific Democratic fundraiser and power broker, engineered a new tax break program specifically designed to benefit him personally. Nearly two thirds of $1.6 billion in tax incentives in his hometown of Camden, New Jersey, went to Norcross' own company, business partners, political allies and clients of his brother. Not only did Roy Freiman fail to stand-up against this corruption, he actually wrote a bill to support the "Norcross Scandal." Roy Freiman has proven throughout his time in the Assembly that when push comest to shove, his alliance is with "party bosses" and not working families.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Paramount to my campaign is a desire to build a government reflective of the communities it serves. If elected, I would propose legislation to create a non-partisan public to support candidates who otherwise do not have the financial backing to run a campaign. Not only would this reduce the impact of big money in New Jersey politics, but it would also allow more candidates from historically unrepresented and marginalized communities to run for public office in NJ.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I grew up in Eastern Syrian in a village without running water or electricity. I not only have the lived experience of extreme poverty, I now have the experience of being an Arab-American immigrant in a country fraught with inequity. These experiences give me an in-depth understanding of the struggles of marginalized communities and working families, making me especially well-suited to elevate these voices in government.

Throughout my 15 years as a teacher and volunteering as a translator for Arab speakers in hospitals, courts, and airports, I have been fortunate enough to work with and learn from people from all walks of life. Moreover, my choice to pursue an M.Phil degree in moral and political philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania was primarily affected by our political system’s fractures today. I believe that the most significant changes can come from the bottom-up, starting with local and community activism. Altogether, these experiences and academic expertise uniquely equip me with the skills needed to create a legislative agenda that meets those most marginalized needs.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

When I was six years old, my mom, who does not know how to read or write, asked me about my first few days in school. When I began to complain about the long five-mile walk to school, she said something that stuck with me for the rest of my life. She said, "education and working hard is your only way to a better life and being able to afford a chair to sit on, instead of this old rug." This advice propelled me out of poverty and into activism through my dedication to education, and is ultimately the reason I am running for office- to fight for the well-being of working families, equity for marginalized communities, and reforming our government.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

As a new candidate running in the New Jersey political system, which enormously advantages political insiders and has an abysmal track record with people of color, I did not receive the preferential placement on the ballot that automatically gives candidates a 35 percent advantage. If all who don't get the "party line" drop from the race, voters in primary elections are left with "choose two" out of two candidates. That is not democracy. That is not the country I fought so hard to join, and what I want for my home country. Of 240 primary legislative races this year, only about 25 are competitive. Only 25 races, about 10 percent, are a real democracy where your vote matters. I am running to push progressive policies that center well-being, equity, and reform. And to make our Assembly vote in LD16 matter.

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