Democrats for Change today announced its endorsement of Democratic state Senate candidate Angela Alvey-Wimbush, who is leading Union County’s Column B ticket in the upcoming primary election.
Alvey-Wimbush is challenging Senator Joseph Cryan, who declared at the outset of his legislative career that he would outlaw abortion except in certain cases and cast the deciding vote to close half a dozen New Jersey Planned Parenthood clinics in 2010.
“Elizabeth deserves a pro-choice Democratic woman instead of a pro-gun, anti-abortion political hack, and 3-term Roselle school board commissioner Angela Alvey-Wimbush, who also spent more than two decades as a classroom teacher, is prepared to teach the unsavory incumbent senator a lesson,” said Lisa McCormick, a spokesperson for the Elizabeth-based progressive Democratic organization.
“Angela Alvey-Wimbush is a productive and effective member of the Roselle Board of Education and she has a record of accomplishments that all Democrats can admire,” said McCormick. “Alvey-Wimbush said she believes all New Jerseyans should have the right to make their own decisions about birth control, abortion, and prenatal care, and she has strong support among Democratic voters who share her opinion. Plus, it is about time that a woman was given the opportunity to represent communities like Elizabeth in the state Senate.”
Alvey-Wimbush’s stances on critical issues include:
- Protecting women’s rights to choose by restoring the standards of Roe v. Wade
- Fighting for equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community, defending marriage equality, and expanding federal anti-discrimination laws
- Working to reform the criminal justice system by passing a new Civil Rights Act that will end race and class discrimination, and reverse the militarization of local police.
“After the murder of George Floyd, millions of people across the nation protested against police brutality and racial injustice, but Joe Cryan opposed civilian review boards, requiring police to live in the communities they serve, and eliminating qualified immunity that protects officers who engage in police brutality,” said McCormick, who said the career politician is even working to roll back critical civil rights measures such as bail reform.
Cryan said that he would outlaw abortion except when pregnancy results from incest, rape, or the life of the woman is endangered.
When Republican Governor Chris Christie needed Democratic help to pass his 2010 state budget, Cryan gave him the decisive 41st vote that resulted in the closure of six Planned Parenthood clinics in New Jersey.
Recent polling found that 84 percent of Democrats support abortion rights, an issue whose importance has increased since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door to GOP efforts to restrict or even ban a woman’s right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.
McCormick said Cryan has been a disgraceful and greedy politician.
“Few politicians have exhibited as much avarice and greed as Joe Cryan,” said McCormick. “This is a man who not only packed nearly a dozen of his family members on the government payrolls but he pocket more the $333,000 a year in taxpayer money.”
The organization also endorsed Charles Mitchell and Mrylene Thelot for General Assembly, as well as Latysha Gaines, Travis Amaker, and Janet Reynolds for Union County Commissioner. All of the endorsed candidates are running on Column B in the June 6 Democratic primary election.
Mitchell and Reynolds were part of the original Democrats for Change slate that carried a majority of votes in Elizabeth in the 2010 Democratic primary election.
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