New Jersey

NJ Dem House candidate Sue Altman flip-flops on police and public safety in resurfaced social media posts

Published

1 year ago

September 19, 2024

NJ Dem House candidate Sue Altman flip-flops on police and public safety in resurfaced social media posts

New Jersey House Democratic candidate Sue Altman has disavowed several anti-law enforcement policies — including the “Defund the Police” movement — that she backed in past social media posts.

The former boss of the Garden State’s progressive Working Families Party has modified her past stances, telling NJ Spotlight News in an interview last week that she is “not in favor of defund the police.”

“I think it was a really silly hashtag from the middle of the pandemic that caught fire online,” she said. “I believe in a comprehensive vision for public safety that includes all stakeholders.”

But as her campaign to unseat Republican Rep. Tom Kean in New Jersey’s 7th District was heating up last fall, a Democratic campaign operative tweeted out a screenshot showing she supported defunding the police — a post that has since been deleted.

“NJ’s Sheriffs … are overwhelmingly white and male, snuggled in w[ith] our massive county government, and control HUGE budgets,” Altman posted on Twitter, now X.

“Those of us working on #DefundThePolice in Jersey might consider looking here,” she added.

The screenshot did not include a date, but the profile image matches Altman’s Twitter profile photo between 2019 and 2021, according to archived posts from her account.

Another post from the operative, Checkmate Advisors President Steve Ayscue, called Altman out for celebrating the release from prison of a convicted cop killer.

In July 2020, she said it was “awesome” that the Working Families Party was pushing to “fight to shift resources from policing to real community investments instead.”

Other posts from the same period before Altman’s run for office criticized the alleged “extra perks” available to “white male dominated professions like cops [a]n[d] firefighters.”

She also encouraged others to attend a “police reform rally” in June 2021 organized by a left-wing activist who supports reparations payments for black Americans, a policy for which she has also stated her support.

Another pro-police defunding group, Reproductive Freedom for All, endorsed Altman’s 2024 run earlier this year, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

Kean had an eight-percentage-point lead on both Altman and Democratic primary candidate Jason Blazakis in January, according to an internal campaign poll commissioned by the Blazakis campaign, before the state’s primary elections in June.

He still maintains a fundraising advantage against Altman, with the former recording a more than $3 million campaign war chest as of the second quarter 2024 filings and the latter listing $2.2 million cash-on-hand.

The 7th Congressional District is currently rated as a Republican toss-up by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, one of two dozen close races that will determine control of the House in November.

The Altman campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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New Jersey

NJ casino workers continue push to end smoking loophole

Published

3 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

NJ casino workers continue push to end smoking loophole

TRENTON, N.J. (WPVI) — New Jersey casino workers, who are pushing to permanently ban smoking in their workplaces, held a rally in Trenton on Monday.

A hearing was held to discuss a lawsuit that aims to close the smoking loophole in the Garden State.

For years, casino workers have been pursuing protections against secondhand smoke in their workplaces.

RELATED | Judge allows smoking to continue in Atlantic City casinos, dealing blow to workers

New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act largely bans indoor smoking, but casinos have a long-standing exemption.

The lawsuit filed last April by the United Auto Workers, which represents dealers at the Bally’s, Caesars and Tropicana casinos.

In August 2024, a judge ruled in favor of the casinos to allow smoking to continue.

“Casino workers are expected to clock in to work every day despite inevitably facing a toxic environment that could cause countless health issues, including cancer, heart disease, and asthma,” said Nancy Erika Smith, the lawyer representing Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) and the UAW on Monday.

“We’re asking the court to find the exemption in New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act unconstitutional and void it immediately. We hope this case will serve as a precedent for casinos across the country to close their smoking loopholes and stop poisoning their workers,” added Smith.

The casinos have warned that thousands of jobs and millions in gambling revenue and taxes could be lost if smoking was banned.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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New Jersey

11-Vehicle Crash Closes Turnpike, College Student Abducted: NJ Weekend

Published

15 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

11-Vehicle Crash Closes Turnpike, College Student Abducted: NJ Weekend

A teenager was shot to death in Jersey City, a woman was killed in a fiery crash with a dump truck in Ocean County, and a man is in critical condition after an SUV hit him in a Princeton crosswalk.

Here are the headlines from the weekend in New Jersey you may have missed.

Teen Shot Dead In Jersey City Apartment, Prosecutor Says

A 16-year-old boy was found shot to death in Jersey City on Friday night, prosecutors said.

Woman Killed In Fiery Head-On Dump Truck Crash In Ocean County

A woman was killed Friday when her van hit a dump truck head-on in Jackson and burst into flames, Jackson police said.

Evelin Villanueva-Detejeda, 43, of Perth Amboy, was killed in the crash that happened about 2 p.m. on Toms River Road (Route 571) near Osprey Place, Sgt. Edward Travisano said.

Six people sustained minor injuries in the collision late Friday afternoon, according to State Police Tpr. Christopher Postorino.

Read more: 11-Vehicle Crash, Overturned Truck Shut Down Turnpike In South Jersey: Police

NJ College Student Abducted From Campus, Sexually Assaulted By Armed Man, Police Say

A Union County man is facing a slew of charges after kidnapping a woman, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.

Akram Elsayed, 28, of Roselle, has been arrested after an investigation found that he’d kidnapped a woman and handcuffed her to the door of a car, police said.

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