New Jersey
New Jersey parents fight Gov. Phil Murphy’s gag on schools from telling them kids are trans
A grassroots fight over parental and transgender children’s rights is brewing in New Jersey—right in Governor Phil Murphy’s backyard.
The dispute will explode in court next week, when New Jersey’s attorney general tries to block guidelines put in place by three school districts to tell parents if their child is changing gender identity.
Among the districts is Middletown, the Monmouth County town where Gov. Murphy, a father of four, lives.
The three districts’ new policies would require the school to notify parents if their children formally wanted to change their gender identity, pronouns or name, use different bathrooms, or change the gender of teams they play in.
The shift puts the districts, which between them have 18,000 students, at loggerheads with New Jersey state guidelines, which say “there is no affirmative duty for any school district personnel to notify a student’s parent or guardian of the student’s gender identity or expression.”
The state said the new guidelines will lead to children being “outed.”
But parents told The Post they are absolutely behind the disclosure policy, including Caterina Skalaski, a mother of 3 from Middletown, New Jersey, who spoke at a heated school board meeting on the policy on June 20 wearing a shirt emblazoned with an emphatic message: “Leave the Kids Alone.”
“I do not, will not ever co-parent with the government,” Skalaski told The Post.
“If Murphy wants to co-parent then he should pay up and split some bills for my kids. He wasn’t present in the delivery room when they were born.
“I firmly believe that teachers choosing to withhold this type of information about my child is morally wrong,” she said, noting the school needs parental permission to administer medicine, watch a movie or give a specific snack.
“But they won’t come to us when it matters most?”
Skalaski, whose children range from second to seventh grades, claimed many pro-trans demonstrators at the meeting did not have an association with Middletown, a kindergarten through 12 district on the Jersey Shore with approximately 9,000 students across 16 schools.
“A vast majority of them were coming from outside of the district and don’t even have children there. It was intense. It was scary to see these activists come there and push their agenda.”
Laura Abt, a Middletown mother of two, also spoke in favor of the change.
“Everyone says this is a political battle between the left and the right. I’m not a political activist. I’m a mother trying to protect my two kids,” said Abt adding, “This isn’t anti-trans legislation. This is about parents’ rights.”
The issue of parental rights around a myriad of issues including transgender students has been bubbling up in school districts across the nation since covid lockdowns gave parents a window into public education.
It led to rallies demanding schools reopen, resistance to the use of critical race theory in the curriculum, and campaigns to boot progressive school board members.
The tidal wave of angry parents even helped Republican Glenn Younkin win the Virginia governor’s race in 2021 after Loudon County’s school board was accused of covering up a sexual assault of a female student in a high school bathroom by “a boy in a skirt.”
New Jersey is the latest battleground.
Less than 48 hours after the Middletown vote, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed lawsuits against Middletown and two K-8 districts, Manalapan-Englishtown and Marlboro, that adopted similar guidelines that same night. Both are in Monmouth County.
Back in May, the state also sued Hanover Township, in Morris County, which voted for a change in parental notification policies.
“‘Outing’ these students against their will poses serious mental health risks; threatens physical harm to students, including risking increased suicides; decreases the likelihood students will seek support; and shirks the District’s obligation to create a safe and supportive learning environment for all,” Platkin alleges in the lawsuit.
A judge will hear Platkin’s bid for an injunction against the three boards next Tuesday, August 15. Both sides agreed to withhold implementing it until the case is heard on Tuesday, so no parents have been informed about transgender children under it.
Last month Murphy dismissed the dispute on CBS News’ Face the Nation as “complete culture war.”
“Obviously, parents are the- the existential reality in the upbringing of any child without question,” said the governor, whose children have all graduated high school.
“But let’s not violate the constitutional and civil rights of precious young folks in many cases, who are coming to grips with life as they grow up and grow older, let’s be respectful of that.”
Middletown School Board vice president Jacqueline Tobacco and president Frank Capone said they were surprised by the state’s legal action and activist backlash, and accused critics of not having read the policy.
Tobacco called them “compassionate and student centered,” and said it does not ask for parental consent for children to change gender identity.
They argued the change was for both parental rights, and to reduce the district’s liability should a transgender child take their life or injure themselves and the school did not disclose their new gender identity to the parents.
Tobacco said the issue began bubbling up about a year ago, when the board was told that the schools were using the new names of children who had changed gender identity, but altering standardized tests when they were sent home to use their birth names.
The board was told, “We have to do that. We’re not allowed to let parents know,” Tobacco said.
At another meeting, the administration said that if a transgender child needs mental health services and does not want their parents to know, the parents were told it was “anxiety or depression,” which Tobacco called “duplicitous.”
While writing the new policy, they cited recommendations by famed transgender psychologist Erica Anderson. And Tobacco spoke to her personally.
“She has lived it as a trans woman, and she counsels kids. Her position that to eliminate parents from the situation is one of the most injurious things you can do for the child,” Tobacco said.
Tobacco said they also work with the Society for Prevention of Teen Suicide. “Their number one advice to reduce teen suicide is parental involvement.”
The school, under the new rules, will meet with the student, give them a chance to tell their parents on their own and “make every effort to ensure any disclosure is made in a way that reduces or eliminates the risk of harassment.” That can include counseling to “facilitate the family’s acceptance and support of the student’s transgender status.”
Marc Zitomer, an attorney for Marlboro School District, said the state’s guidelines made many parents “uncomfortable,” and that dozens of districts were watching the case.
“I’m a school board attorney and represent 50 plus districts. I have a multitude of clients waiting in the wings to do exactly what Middletown did,” he said.
One common refrain among critics of parental notification is that it can put transgender children at risk for suicide.
“You will have blood on your hands should a trans student takes their life because of this,” parent Michelle Collins told the board meeting in June NJ.com reported.
Capone, who has five children, four of whom attend Middletown schools from 1st through 12th grades, reiterated the importance of parental involvement and said: “It’s so disheartening to hear we are trying to hurt kids. The state is divorcing the parent from the child.”
Skalaski said she’s speaking for not only herself but for many parents, who quietly root her on and fear speaking out themselves.
“Teachers’ responsibilities are to teach social studies, math, English and reading to my children. Schools should teach,” Skalaski said. “And parents should parent their children.”
Wakefern Food Corp. and ShopRite continued their support of the Special Olympics New Jersey Summer Games that took place from June 6 to June 8 at The College of New Jersey.
More than 500 volunteers, including team members from Wakefern and local ShopRite stores and their families, volunteered throughout the event, extending a nearly 40-year tradition of involvement with the event.
Wakefern and ShopRite, two of the biggest employers in New Jersey, provided more than 15,000 meals to athletes, families and volunteers over the course of the weekend. Volunteers helped distribute snacks and organize activities and gift giveaways for athletes and their families to enjoy during their downtime.
“It’s a privilege to partner with Special Olympics New Jersey – an organization that celebrates the strength, determination and spirit of these remarkable athletes,” said Mike Stigers, president of Wakefern Food Corp., the retailer-owned supermarket cooperative and distribution and merchandising arm for ShopRite stores. “We are honored to play a role in creating a fun experience for everyone involved and look forward to cheering on our own ShopRite associates who are competing in the Games.”
The event began on June 6 with the 42nd annual Law Enforcement Torch Run, which raises awareness and funds for the Special Olympics movement. The torch run stops at nearly 50 ShopRite locations across New Jersey, where ShopRite associates provide refreshments to support participants.
New Jersey
It’s the economy, estúpido: New Jersey governor’s race tests Democrats’ efforts to win back Latinos – WTOP News
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A congresswoman and former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot secured the endorsement of the highest-ranking Hispanic official…
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A congresswoman and former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot secured the endorsement of the highest-ranking Hispanic official in her state. A mayor highlighted his arrest by immigration officials. A congressman campaigned at a Latino supermarket. And another mayor decided to put his self-taught Spanish to use on the trail.
The New Jersey gubernatorial primary has emerged as a crucial test for Democrats seeking to regain Latino support nationally. It highlights the challenges in traditionally blue areas where the party’s loss of support among Hispanics in 2024 was even more pronounced than in battleground states. President Donald Trump slashed Democratic margins in New Jersey and New York, even flipping some heavily Latino towns he had lost by 30 and 50 percentage points in 2016.
The Democratic primary for governor features an experienced field of current and former officeholders: U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Mikie Sherrill, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, New Jersey Education Association president and former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney.
Although Trump made closing U.S. borders a central promise of his campaign, his economic message hit home with Latinos. More Hispanics saw inflation as the most important concern last fall than white voters, AP VoteCast showed. That lesson has been taken to heart in this year’s campaign, with strategists, unions, organizers and politicians pivoting away from immigration and putting pocketbook concerns at the forefront of their appeals.
“At the end of the day, if you’re worried about paying your bills and being safe at night, everything else is secondary,” Rep. Gottheimer said in an interview. “I think that is front and center in the Latino community.”
Warning signs for Democrats
Laura Matos, a Democratic National Committee member from New Jersey and board member of Latina Civic Action, said the party is still finding its way with Hispanic voters, warning that support can’t be taken for granted even when Democrats win most of it.
While there was a big rightward swing among Hispanics in Texas and Florida in 2024, it was similarly pronounced in blue states like New Jersey and New York. Here, 43% of Latino voters supported Trump, up from 28% in 2020. In New York, 36% of Latino voters supported Trump, up from 25% in 2020, according to AP VoteCast.
Understanding that all Latino voters don’t think or vote alike helps. Compared to the 2020 election, Trump gained significantly with Dominican voters, where he went from 31% to 43% of support. Of the 2 million Latinos in New Jersey, more than 375,000 are Dominican, making up the second largest Hispanic group in New Jersey, after Puerto Ricans, a group where Trump also increased his support from 31% to 39%, the survey showed.
But sometimes candidates overthink such targeted appeals.
“The November election results in parts of New Jersey should serve as a big warning sign that Democrats need to think about how they’re communicating with some of these voters,” Matos said.
Sherrill’s campaign manager acknowledged in a memo to supporters last month that “there is a real risk of a Republican winning in November.” New Jersey tilts Democratic in presidential and Senate elections, but Republicans have won the governorship in recent decades.
Focusing on the economy
Strategists, organizers, union leaders and some candidates agree that what they are hearing from Latinos is consistent with the concerns of other working class voters.
Ana Maria Hill, of Colombian and Mexican descent, is the New Jersey state director of the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, where half of the members are Hispanic. Hill says raising the minimum wage and imposing new regulations to cap rent increases are popular among those she has been calling to support Newark Mayor Baraka. She says Democrats lost ground by not acknowledging real-world struggles that hit Latinos hard after inflation spiked following the pandemic.
“I think where we lost voters last year was when workers asked ‘What’s going on with the economy?’ We said ‘the economy is great.’ And it could be true, but it’s also true that eggs cost $10, right? It’s also true that a gallon of milk costs $6.”
Taking that lesson to heart, Gottheimer held a press conference at a Latino supermarket in Elizabeth, a vibrant Latino hub south of Newark, against a backdrop of bottles of a corn oil used in many Hispanic kitchens. Sherrill headed to a Colombian restaurant, also in Elizabeth, on Saturday for a ‘Get Out the Vote’ rally.
One of her advisers, Patricia Campos-Medina, a labor activist who ran for the U.S. Senate last year, said candidates who visit Latino businesses and talk about the economic challenges the way Sherrill has done show they get it.
“She has a message that covers a lot of big issues. But when it comes to Latinos, we’ve been focusing on the economy, affordable housing, transportation, and small business growth,” Campos-Medina said.
When state Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz, the state’s highest-ranking Hispanic official, endorsed Sherrill last week, she cited her advocacy for affordable child care directly, for instance.
A candidate’s arrest
Trump’s four months in office have been defined by his aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration. That gave Baraka a chance to seize the spotlight on a non-economic issue as an advocate for immigrant residents in Newark. He was arrested while trying to join an oversight tour of a 1,000-bed immigrant detention center. A trespass charge was later dropped, but he sued interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba over the dropped prosecution last week.
“I think all this stuff is designed to be a distraction,” he said recently. “But I also think that us not responding is consent. Our silence is consent. If we continue to allow these people to do these things and get away with it, right, they will continue to do them over and over and over again.”
In one of his final campaign ads in Spanish, he used footage from the arrest and the demonstrations to cast himself as a reluctant warrior, with text over the images saying he is “El Único,” Spanish for “the only one,” who confronts Trump.
Confident Republicans
Former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli is making his third bid for governor, and Trump’s backing may help. But Chris Russell, a Ciattarelli campaign consult, said Democrats’ habit of misreading of Latino voters might matter more.
“Democrats believe the key to winning these folks over is identity politics.” He added: “They’re missing the boat.”
Ciattarelli faces four challengers for the GOP nomination in Tuesday’s primary.
During a telephone rally for Ciattarelli las week, Trump called New Jersey a “high-tax, high-crime sanctuary state,” accusing local officials of not cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
But Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, another contender for the Democratic nomination, said he is not entirely convinced the Democratic party will keep losing support in New Jersey. He thinks the gubernatorial race will be a referendum on current Gov. Phil Murphy. Immigration and the economy may enter some Hispanic voters’ thinking, but how that plays out is anybody’s guess.
“The Latino community is two things in New Jersey. It is growing significantly, and it is a jump ball. There’s nobody that has an absolute inside track.”
—-
Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Copyright
© 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
The leader of the national Democratic Party stood on a porch in Somerset County on Saturday — seven miles away from the president’s golf club — to hammer home a message.
“Stopping Donald Trump starts right here in New Jersey,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin told a few dozen local party leaders, candidates, and voters at a private residence in Basking Ridge — three days before the primary in the massive race for the Garden State’s next governor.
Martin was on hand for a final-weekend push for votes and painted Jersey as ground zero for American elections right now. It’s one of only two states, along with Virginia, to hold a gubernatorial race this year. And it’s seen as an early litmus test on Trump’s first year back in the Oval Office.
Republicans are trying to win back the governor’s office after eight years of term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Trump, who lives part of the year at his golf club in Bedminster, even held a phone call last week to stump for Republican frontrunner Jack Ciattarelli, stressing the goal is to turn the blue-leaning state red.
“New Jersey is ready to pop out of that blue horror show and vote for somebody that’s gonna make things happen,” Trump said.
Martin admitted Saturday the Democratic Party is trying to shake off a lull after Republicans retook the White House and both houses of Congress. To boot, New Jersey hasn’t elected one party to three straight terms in the governor’s office since 1961.
“I think what most people want to see is if our Democratic Party will get up off our asses and fight,” Martin told the audience that stood on the lawn outside the house in the rain to hear him speak. “Why have we lost ground with so many people? Because they believe we’re not gonna fight. They believe we’re weak. They believe we’re spineless.
“Let’s get out there and fight.”
Six candidates are running in Tuesday’s primary for the Democratic nomination to succeed Murphy. And all signs show it’s a very tight race.
The five-man Republican primary is different: Ciattarelli, a former state Assemblyman who came within about 3 percentage points of upsetting Murphy in 2021, has led big in all polls and has Trump’s critical endorsement.
Though there are still 800,000 more registered Democrats in New Jersey, Republicans have gained ground and Trump shrank his margin of defeat in the state last year.
On Saturday, Martin said Republicans’ “best opportunity to stop us” is in Jersey — and even noted Ciattarelli is well liked.
“While Jack may be a nice guy, Donald Trump is not and you can expect (Ciattarelli) to fall in line,” the DNC chair said.
“At some point, we have to remind Americans who we are,” Martin added. “Donald Trump goes around talking about making America great again, but he ignores the values that built this country.”
Next year is big for Jersey, too. Democrats believe one of the seats key to retaking the U.S. House in Trump’s midterms lies in the state’s purple 7th congressional district, home to Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. Martin’s stop Saturday took place there, and several Democrats hoping to unseat Kean were on hand.
The six Democrats running in the gubernatorial primary are: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller, and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney. All of them have repeatedly promised to combat Trump.
Last week, Trump called the Dem contenders “literally lunatics.”
The DNC has not endorsed a candidate. Martin praised all of them.
“We’re going to make sure we’re investing a lot of time, energy, and money to keep this state blue,” he told reporters after his speech. “And I think we’ll prevail in the end. You’ve got six great candidates.”
He said they all “represent the great diversity in our party — the ideological diversity, the geographical diversity.”
Asked how much money the national party will pour into the general election, Martin said: “It will be a significant seven-figure investment in this state.”
He noted the president was back at his Bedminster club this weekend and is slated to attend a UFC event in Newark on Saturday night.
“They’re very bullish on their chances here,” Martin said of Trump and Republicans. “He’s going to put a lot of his own time and personality and money and effort in this state.”
Trump also reiterated his support of Ciattarelli on social media Saturday afternoon.
Also running in the Republican primary are contractor Justin Barbera, state Sen. Jon Bramnick, former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac, and former radio host Bill Spadea. Barbera, Kranjac, and Spadea are Trump supporters. Bramnick has been willing to criticize the president.
Early in-person voting runs through Sunday.
The 11 candidates running for New Jersey governor (linearly from top left): Jon Bramnick, Mikie Sherrill, Steven Fulop, Ras Baraka, Mario Kranjac, Josh Gottheimer, Jack Ciattarelli, Justin Barbera, Steve Sweeney, Bill Spadea, and Sean Spiller.Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @johnsb01.
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