Three Democratic candidates are vying for two seats to represent New Jersey’s 28th Legislative District in the New Jersey Assembly: Cleopatra Tucker, incumbent; Garnet Hall; and Frank McGehee. Two candidates — Joy Freeman and Willie S. Jetti — are running in the Republican primary. The primary takes place on June 6, 2023. Village Green accepted letters of support for candidates up until May 30, 2023 at 5 p.m. The following is fro Greg Lembrich, former Maplewood Township Committee member (2016-2021 and current South Essex Fire Department Management Committee (2022-present).
In the upcoming June 6 Democratic primary election, voters in our community have the opportunity to achieve two important objectives with just one vote. By casting our ballots for Frank McGehee, we can both select the most qualified candidate to represent us in the State Assembly and send a clear message to the NJ and Essex Democratic Party that we support democracy and choice over control by party bosses and machines. Our state government in New Jersey is broken, and the solution will never come from complacent support for the status quo. Voters in our community need to make change happen, and the best way to achieve that is to vote for “Mayor Frank” McGehee for Assembly.
I have known Frank McGehee since 2015, when we both unsuccessfully sought the support of the Maplewood Democratic Committee (MDC) to run for Township Committee. After a public process in which potential candidates were solicited and given the opportunity to present ourselves before the MDC’s District Leaders, the MDC selected two other candidates for “the line”. Undaunted, I decided to run for Township Committee that year “off the line”, and Frank was a key advisor and active volunteer in my campaign. After a tough primary battle, the voters of Maplewood overwhelmingly elected me to be one of the Democratic nominees. After I was elected in 2015, Frank followed in 2016, and I was proud to serve with him on Maplewood’s governing body for the next 5 years.
My time working together with Frank on the Maplewood Township Committee, including his two terms as Mayor, showed me that he will be the best candidate to represent our community in the State Assembly for our new legislative district. As a former municipal leader, Mayor Frank understands the challenges that confront local governments and school districts in our state and will work to craft statewide solutions to the crushing property tax burdens our residents face. Having confronted budget challenges on the local level, he is prepared to advocate for reforms that will make our local labor contracts, healthcare, and pension obligations more sustainable, greater public school funding, and increased support and incentives for shared services. His deep experience and intimate familiarity with the struggles faced by municipal and educational leaders make him the ideal voice for new ideas and creative solutions in Trenton to make our state more equitable and affordable.
Frank McGehee has earned my support, and that of so many others in our community, because he has clearly shown his character and commitment. His unwavering devotion to service truly shined through when Maplewood was faced with some of its steepest tests. While so much of politics today is about tearing people down and spreading fear, Frank builds people up and instills hope. Frank listens, he leads, and he cares.
Unlike many politicians who are more concerned with big speeches and photo ops, Frank focuses on connecting with his constituents and listening to their complaints, concerns, and ideas. While public service is an often thankless job, Frank has seemingly boundless energy and spirit to give back to his community. When Frank sees a problem, he rolls up his sleeves and contributes to a solution. When the solution doesn’t already exist, he works to create one. For example, when our local teens lacked opportunities for athletic competition on certain nights, Frank worked with our school district and police department to co-sponsor an open gym program that also helped to improve relations between local youth and law enforcement. Frank listens to the needs of those he serves, then passionately uses his platform to shine a light on the underserved in our community and his power to give voice to those who would otherwise go unheard.
Frank leads by being a consensus builder who has consistently rallied and united our community, helping to bridge disagreements and divisions. As Mayor, he helped lead Maplewood through the darkest days of the COVID19 pandemic. While I had every confidence that Frank would be an outstanding Mayor, I had no idea the unprecedented challenges that he would face within just his first few months after taking office in January 2020. But I had a front row seat to watch with both pride and awe at how he rose to the occasion to lead our community through the pandemic. Frank provided calm and decisive leadership, backed by science, that helped our town come through the scariest days of our collective lifetimes. He gave the public regular updates via email, YouTube, and otherwise. When people were stuck at home and didn’t know what was happening or whether and how we would come out the other side, Mayor Frank was a source of comfort, confidence, compassion, and reliable information. His messages were all about making sure that our community never lost hope. And we didn’t. Mayor Frank’s calming voice of reassurance, strength, and commitment to our core values was also critical in the wake of January 6th.
Frank cares by showing up for our community, both publicly and privately, when help and hope is most needed. During the height of the pandemic, while managing family and professional responsibilities, as well as overseeing the government of a town of 25,000 people with fiscal challenges presented by declining revenues, he privately took time to comfort families of residents who passed away and supported them in their grief. He also took the time to personally reach out to those who were struggling, bringing comfort and letting them know that their community cared even at a time when we were compelled to remain at a physical distance. He is devoted to volunteering with our local food bank, working behind the scenes to tackle food insecurity in our community, and is also a consistent champion for our young people. He walks his talk and lives his values, and we can count on Frank to continue to do so in Trenton.
While a proud and loyal Democrat, Frank has always prioritized service to his constituents and conscience over devotion to party. In a choice between fighting for what is right and following the party line, Frank sees no choice at all and always does the former because it is right, political consequences notwithstanding. This independence and desire to change the failing status quo is motivating his “off the line” campaign for State Assembly. Like Frank, I believe that our candidates and representatives should be chosen by the voters in full and fair elections, not designated by party insiders.
This commitment to democracy is why Frank and I, along with many others in our community and good government advocates around the state, have advocated for the abolition of the “county line”, which gives candidates selected by party leaders preferred position on the ballot. Our government is only as good as the leaders we elect, and our choices are only as good as our options. Those options are confined by the county line, as many worthy candidates are discouraged from running if they lack the backing of the county political machine. Many leaders in our community agree that the county line restricts healthy competition, muffles public debate, suppresses voter participation, and is anathema to democracy.
In fact, the Maplewood Democratic Committee introduced a pilot program in 2022 that allows all candidates seeking the party’s nomination for Township Committee to be endorsed by the MDC and appear on the line together. This initiative was an immediate success, as both candidates who sought the nomination that year were listed on the same ballot line, and Maplewood Democrats were able to vote in only the third contested primary in the last 20 years. That election cycle stood in stark contrast to 2021, when five qualified candidates sought the MDC endorsement for Township Committee, but only the two who were selected ultimately ran for the office. While no single municipality can unilaterally abolish the county line, the pilot program in Maplewood shows that even blunting its impact creates a healthier democracy and greater choice for voters, goals consistent with the values of our progressive community.
The very least that we should be able to expect from the Democratic Party is a commitment to democracy. Unfortunately, however, the powers that be in the New Jersey and Essex County Democrats perpetuate the use of the county line to maintain tight control over our candidates, serve special interests, reward party loyalists and government employees with elected positions, stifle competition, and limit the ability of citizens to choose their own representatives. The electoral and resource advantages for candidates “on the line” are so strong that they are rarely challenged, and even more seldom defeated.
A clear example of the flaws in the selection of the county line was evident this year in the “process” of anointing candidates for the line in the redrawn 28th Legislative District, which now includes Maplewood and South Orange along with Irvington, Hillside, and the south and west wards of Newark. By the time the public learned that Assemblywoman Mila Jasey was retiring, the party had already decided on her replacement without even seeking input from the elected leaders of Maplewood or South Orange. Other potential candidates were never given the opportunity to even declare themselves interested in the position, much less seek the endorsement of the Essex County Democratic Committee. Instead, several (including Frank McGehee) were surprised to learn after the fact from media stories that they had been considered for the position, but not chosen. Far from following a full and fair procedure, the county organization picked Assemblywoman Jasey’s successor behind closed doors and then presented their choice to the public as a fait accompli.
A process in which candidates are chosen in secret by a central committee of party leaders, without transparency to the public or even the potential candidates themselves, is more reminiscent of the Politburo than anything worthy of American democracy. New Jersey deserves better, and a vote for Frank McGehee on June 6 will not only send the best representative for our community to Trenton, but also promote democracy by sending a clear message that we don’t need party leaders to act as gatekeepers or kingmakers. Our community is fully capable of choosing our representatives from a level playing field, and we know that greater diversity of choice will produce superior civic debate, more active and responsive candidates, greater voter engagement and turnout, and ultimately better leaders.
We need fresh voices in Trenton to fight for accountability and affordability in our state. Frank McGehee has shown that he is the best candidate for our district by being a proven listener of our community’s concerns, a productive problem solver, and a courageous and compassionate leader in tough times. We are fortunate that Frank has stepped up to run for State Assembly off the line, and we should make our voices heard by supporting him and democracy in the Democratic primary election on June 6th.
