First Progressive, Justice Democrats in the 32nd district

In the 32nd district of North New Jersey, the June 4th Democratic primary election for State General Assembly will be a contest of the entrenched ideas and practices of incumbents, Anjelika Jimenez and Pedro Mejia, who are said to be heavily influenced by Nicholas Sacco of North Bergen versus two new unencumbered candidates, Roger Quesada and Mahmoud Mahmoud, running on the People, Transparency & Action campaign, whose primary focus is on saving the environment and other social justice issues. The 32nd district represents North Bergen, Guttenberg, West NY, Fairview, Edgewater, Seacaucus, Harrison, Kearny and East Newark.

Mayor Sacco actually tweeted today, https://twitter.com/NicholasJS... that Jimenez and Mejia are "his running mates", making the claim that they are on "his team" when in fact, the legislature and the Mayor's office are separate entities and Sacco is not heading the Senate ballot in this election.

The Quesada/Mahmoud campaign has made climate crisis one of their issues of primary concern. Longtime activists, they have attended all of the environmental rallies in the district and have been endorsed for their efforts by the Sierra Club who endorsement was covered in an Insider New Jersey article http://bit.ly/InsiderNJSierraC...

“We support and strongly endorse Roger Quesada and Mahmoud Mahmoud for state assembly because they are a green team who support a strong environmental agenda. We need leadership in Trenton when it comes to dealing with climate change, dealing with toxic sites, and getting lead out of water. This district has succumbed to harmful air quality and environmental justice issues that need to be taken care of. There is a laundry list of environmental issues that need to be fixed and we believe both candidates are up for the task,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club."

Quesada/ Mahmoud have also been endorsed by Food &Water Action http://bit.ly/InsiderNJFoodNWa... for their commitment to environmental issues.

Conversely, Jimenez and Mejia have not attended any rallies nor have they responded to surveys by political groups asking for their stances on the issues. They have not made any statements on the Meadowland power plant which has been strongly protested by residents of the area, where NJ air pollution is one of the worst in the country.
The current legislators' view on the power plant is not clear, Sacco has clearly stated his opinion that he feels that the power plant would bring additional tax revenue to the area and that he is not concerned about the potential for raising greenhouse gas emissions. Will Jimenez and Mejia take their lead from him? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOr9FvC6Ckg

Roger Quesada stated,"My top legislative priority will be to divest from fossil fuel, and I would fast-track Governor Murphy's renewable energy goals - because 2050 is too far. We need a green energy economy within the next 10 years. We already spend a lot subsidizing fossil fuel and nuclear, so it's about shifting priorities and investing in the proper infrastructure. I'm hoping that by 2020, we'll have a more progressive federal government willing to work with NJ on funding these important projects."

The Quesada/ Mahmoud campaign is a grassroots campaign, whereas the incumbents have the Hudson County Democratic party backing. It will be a difficult struggle but their election would be hugely impactful both for the Democratic party and for their potential progressive legislature.

"I believe we need to return to our founding principles of "a government BY the people, FOR the people". We need a people-driven political system.
I realize this is an uphill battle, but it is a righteous one and I'm proud to be running with Mahmoud Mahmoud" -- Roger Quesada

This a truly a race where the all aspects of the democratic system will play out. Go out and Vote!