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Campos-Medina jumps into Democratic Senate primary – New Jersey Globe

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Campos-Medina jumps into Democratic Senate primary – New Jersey Globe


Patricia Campos-Medina, a labor leader and longtime figure in New Jersey progressive circles, launched her campaign for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate today, joining a growing field of candidates vying to replace indicted Senator Bob Menendez.

“For the last couple of months, I’ve been speaking to voters across New Jersey, and leaders across the country, who want to see a woman of color with my record of fighting for working families and unions enter this race,” Campos-Medina told the New Jersey Globe. “I have over 25 years of advocacy on behalf of working families, and they want to see someone with a real record of advocating for middle-class jobs and for working families.”

Campos-Medina, who has long worked behind-the-scenes on campaigns but who has never before run for political office herself, emphasized that one of her key priorities is maintaining Hispanic representation in the Senate – something that’s been jeopardized by the federal charges against Menendez, the first and so far only Latino senator from New Jersey. 

“The senator has been a champion for many issues, but he’s no longer an effective representative given the accusations against him,” Campos-Medina said. “He will have the opportunity in the court of law to prove himself innocent… But this is not about him. This race is about the future of New Jersey, and about the future of political representation for Latinos in this state.”

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Menendez has not said whether he will try to run for another term this year, but he would be extraordinarily unlikely to win if he does. Instead, the two frontrunners for his Senate seat are First Lady Tammy Murphy and Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown); progressive activist Larry Hamm is also running, and now Campos-Medina has added her name to the list as well.

Campos-Medina was born in El Salvador and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. After graduating from Cornell, she quickly became involved with labor unions like UNITE and SEIU, and also held jobs on Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine’s 2009 re-election bid.

Now a resident of Hunterdon County, Campos-Medina serves in leadership roles in a number of New Jersey progressive groups, including the New Jersey Working Families Party, New Jersey Citizen Action, and Latina Civic PAC.

If elected, Campos-Medina said she would focus on many of the issues that she’s already advocated for in New Jersey: increasing the minimum wage, strengthening unions, building affordable housing, and protecting abortion access. She said that advocating for Black and Latino communities’ interests would also be a top priority; she would be just the second Latina to ever serve in the United States Senate if she were to win.

But Campos-Medina faces a tough path to the Democratic nomination. Democratic leaders in many of New Jersey’s largest counties have already said they’re supporting Murphy, who is likely to have the county organizational line in most of the state; Kim, meanwhile, has a big lead in publicly released polls and a major fundraising headstart.

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In order to level the playing field, Campos-Medina said that the county line should be eliminated, a call that’s been echoed by Kim (but, pointedly, not by Murphy).

“We need a fair and open primary,” she said. “New Jersey voters are disgusted by these backroom deals and the party line. The fact that the party bosses endorsed Tammy Murphy so early, trying to dissuade everybody else from running – that hasn’t happened. People are upset, organizations are upset about these backroom deals. And the power of the line is crumbling.” 

The line isn’t likely to go anywhere, though, and Campos-Medina said she’ll fight for county party endorsements wherever possible. Everywhere else, she said she plans to take the fight directly to the voters of New Jersey, with whom the outcome of the June 4 primary ultimately rests.

“I will speak to every Democratic voter and every county committeemember who wants to hear my message,” Campos-Medina said. ““I have been part of many campaigns. I have been a campaign manager, a campaign fundraiser, a field operative… I know how the sausage is made in policy and politics.”

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New laws could hold NJ parents accountable for teens involved with unruly crowds

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New laws could hold NJ parents accountable for teens involved with unruly crowds


The Garden State is turning up the heat on parents to help prevent unruly behavior by teenagers.

It’s been an ongoing problem that has played out in the past few years in several beach towns and other communities.

Two bills were signed into law this week by Gov. Phil Murphy that build on prior efforts to crack down on the type of disruptive and violent antics seen in towns throughout the state.

“I think it’s smart to try and, like, kind of corral this issue a little bit, because it’s definitely gotten worse as I’ve gotten older,” Ocean City resident Madelyn Adamson said. “Making sure the parents kind of control their kids a little more is probably the way to go.”

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One of the laws aims to hold parents and guardians more accountable by imposing consequences on them.

Any adults who have shown neglect or disregard for supervising their kids who incite public brawls could be charged with a disorderly persons offense.

The grown-ups could also get fined $1,000 for unruly behavior by teens that leads to property damage.

A second law requires the state Attorney General to create a crowd management training program for police in areas hit by more than one pop-up party or flash mob in the past year.

While public safety is at the heart of the new laws, officials say there’s an economic aspect to all of this as well, especially in shore towns that are highly dependent on tourism.

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“A Memorial Day weekend public brawl that’s all over the news? People don’t want to come down the shore the next weekend and that hurts all kinds of small business, large business,” NJ Senator Paul Moriarty said.



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New Jersey passes legislation to protect immigrants

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New Jersey passes legislation to protect immigrants


From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

On Monday, the final day of the current New Jersey legislative session, lawmakers in the General Assembly and state Senate passed three bills designed to strengthen public trust and safety in immigrant communities across the Garden State, and to protect them from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and roundups.

To become law, the legislation must be signed by outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy before he leaves office Jan. 20. New Jersey has the second-largest immigrant population in the country after California.

The Safe Communities Act requires the state attorney general to develop a plan for how sensitive locations such as public schools, health care facilities and houses of worship would interact with federal immigration authorities without deterring community members from seeking services or engaging with them.

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The act mandates that the commissioners of Community Affairs, Children and Families, Health, Human Services, Education and Corrections, as well as the administrative director of the courts, adopt the attorney general’s model policies, or policies to provide greater protection for community members, and to prominently display them in public-facing areas.

The Privacy Protection Act limits the collection and sharing of data by federal government and health care entities to ensure that Jersey residents are not discouraged from seeking necessary services.

The third measure codifies the attorney general’s Immigrant Trust Directive, which draws a clear distinction between state, county and local law enforcement officers — who are responsible for enforcing state criminal law — and federal immigration authorities, including ICE, who enforce federal civil immigration law. The bill limits the voluntary assistance that state law enforcement officers may provide to federal authorities. The directive, which is designed to foster trust between police and community members, has withstood legal challenges by state and federal courts since it was issued in 2018.



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New Jersey files public nuisance lawsuit against scrapyard operator EMR

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New Jersey files public nuisance lawsuit against scrapyard operator EMR


From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette have filed a public nuisance lawsuit against EMR, the operator of a metal scrapyard in Camden’s Waterfront South neighborhood.

The suit, filed Monday in Superior Court, alleges that at least 12 hazardous fires took place at the facility in the last five years, including a massive fire last February that prompted dozens of nearby residents to evacuate. The yard has been cited for numerous violations in the past.

Officials want EMR to take immediate action to end hazardous conditions at its facilities. They allege the fires were a result of EMR creating a high risk of fires on its lots, and that despite knowing about the risks, EMR failed to take corrective action.

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