Linden Mayor Derek Armstead is “calling on Governor Phil Murphy and the Union County Democratic Committee to designate a minority to be the next Surrogate, replacing the late James LaCorte, who served admirably in that role since 1999.”
“Like many of my neighbors throughout New Jersey, I was truly saddened to learn about the passing of Union County Surrogate James LaCorte, who was a friend of mine for many years,” Armstead said. “While well-qualified candidates should be considered for their ability to do the best job, we must also be mindful of diversity, inclusion, and representation of people whose communities have been historically denied opportunities for advancement.”
“The promise of America is that everyone has a chance to succeed no matter where they start, but limited economic mobility and persistent inequalities call that promise into question.”
The Linden Mayor went on to say that “despite more than twenty-five years of full Democratic Party control, our top Union County government officials are not representative of the diverse county in which we live.”
“Union County has the second largest proportion of African American residents and the third greatest share of Hispanic or Latino population in New Jersey; but none of our constitutional officers belong to any ethnic minority,” said Armstead. “Although progress was made when the first female, Joanne Rajoppi, was elected to the County Clerk’s position, no other minority has secured a top position since. Filling the Surrogate vacancy with a member of our minority population is a perfect opportunity to improve upon Union County’s record of diversity, inclusion and representation.”
Despite more than 25 years of full Democratic Party control, all five of the Union County government’s top officials—Prosecutor William A. Daniel, County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi, County Manager Edward Oatman, Sheriff Peter Corvelli, and the late Surrogate James S. LaCorte—are all White.
“Democrats cannot claim to be representing the people of Union County if our government does not look like the people of Union County,” said Armstead, who is one of only four Black mayors in the county’s 21 municipalities. “With full understanding of the wide-ranging benefits of diversity in positions of power and influence, I respectfully urge Governor Murphy and all our Democratic leaders to select a person of color as the next Union County Surrogate.”
About one-quarter of the county’s population is Black or African American, while Hispanic or Latino residents comprise almost 30 percent of the population, none of the government’s top officials have ever come from those ethnic groups.
“Moving the County forward requires embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion principles when there is an opportunity to broaden those who hold power,” said Armstead. “We have not always witnessed officials doing the right thing, but we want to keep hope alive and remind those responsible about their obligation to serve all the people, and to redress historic injustices with affirmative action aimed at bringing justice to life for all Americans.”
Armstead said he would be in contact with Governor Murphy’s office, reaching out to members of the Union County Democratic Committee, and networking with organizations such as the NAACP, Latinas United for Political Empowerment (LUPE) and the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey to recruit a qualified minority to be the next Surrogate.
Less than one year ago, Salaam Ismial, director of the National United Youth Council, complained that of the 27 Superior County judges in Union County, only one Black man was selected since 2013.
In addition to the Deputy County Manager Amy Wagner, Public Safety Director Andrew Moran, Administrative Services Director Laura Scutari, Recreation Director Ronald Zuber, Public Works Director Joseph A. Graziano Sr., and Tax Administrator Christopher Duryee are also all White.
Human Services Director Debbie-Ann Anderson and Finance Director Bibi Taylor are both African-American, but Taylor is not a resident of Union County.
None of the county’s high-ranking government officials are Hispanic.
Four of the nine current county commissioners are White, while two are Hispanic and three are African-American but in recent years, at least a dozen of the Black county legislators have been unceremoniously dumped by party bosses, indicating that those officials are more servants of the political establishment than representatives of their communities.
More than a dozen African American County Commissioners— including Andrea Staten, Mohamed Jalloh, Rayland VanBlake, Walter McNeil, Lewis Mingo, Adrian O. Mapp and others— have been essentially dismissed by political bosses in recent years, suggesting that those representatives have a more tenuous hold and therefore they convey less power to their constituency.
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