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U.S. Senator Bob Menendez. (Photo: Kevin Sanders for the New Jersey Globe.)

Menendez brings Democratic foes together in support of re-election bid

Murphy and Sweeney headline 100+ roster of Menendez boosters

By David Wildstein, October 14 2018 9:30 am

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez announced a series of campaign leadership councils that are helping to increase Democratic voter turnout in the November 6 mid-term elections.

More than 100 party leaders and activists are on the list, significant because it includes Democrats who don’t like each other who have united behind Menendez’s re-election campaign, and some Republicans.

Menendez faces a serious challenge from Bob Hugin, a millionaire pharmaceutical CEO who is self-financing his to become the first Republican to win a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey since 1972.

New Jersey has more than 920,000 more Democrats than Republicans, an edge Menendez needs badly after facing a barrage of negative ads after being severely admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee.

Gov. Phil Murphy, Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, Senate President Steve Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Democratic State Chairman John Currie are serving as honorary chairs of the Menendez campaign.   All 21 Democratic county chairs and the four Democratic County Executives – Joseph DiVincenzo (Essex), Jim Tedesco (Bergen), Tom DeGise (Hudson), and Brian Hughes (Mercer) are also part of the Menendez campaign.

The other Menendez campaign panels:

Asian American & Pacific Islander: State Sen. Vin Gopal, Freeholders Susan Chin Angulo (Camden) and Balvir Singh (Burlington), Englewood Cliffs Councilwoman Gloria Oh, Jersey City Council President Rolando Lavarro, Hoboken Mayor Ravinder Bhalla, and Dr. Khyati Joshi.

Black/African American: State Sen. Ronald Rice, Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, Assemblymen Benjie Wimberly and Adam Taliaferro, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam, Bridgeton Mayor Albert Kelly, Irvington Mayor Tony Vauss, Hillside Mayor, Dahlia Vertreese, Middlesex County Sheriff Mildred Scott, Camden City Councilman Curt Jenkins, Gloucester County Freeholder Jim Jefferson and Barbara Holcomb of the Camden County Democrats.

Environment & Science: State Sens. Linda Greenstein and Bob Smith, Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, Jeff Tittel of the New Jersey Sierra Club, and Christine Clarke.

Jewish: Assemblyman Gary Schaer, Gordon Haas of the New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federations, Karen Elkis; former Cherry Hill Mayor Susan Bass Levin, Bennet Chouake, Josh Pruzansky of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, Leslie Dannin Rosenthal of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest; Daniel Straus and Roy Tanzman.

Labor: Assemblymen Wayne DeAngelo and Joseph Egan, Camden County Freeholder Jonathan Young, Marie Blistan of the New Jersey Education Association, Kevin Brown of SEIU 32BJ, Dan Cosner of South Jersey Building Trades, Dennis Daggett of the International Longshoreman’s Association, Ed Donnelly of the Fireman’s Mutual Benevolent Association,  Ray Greaves of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Dominick Marino of the Professional Firefighters Association, Raymond Pocino of the Laborers International Union of North America, Hetty Rosenstein of the Communications Workers of America, Steve Tully of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and Charles Wowkanech of the New Jersey AFL-CIO.

Latino: State Sens. Nellie Pou and Teresa Ruiz, Assemblywomen Yvonne Lopez and Annette Quijano, Bergen County Freeholder Germaine Oritz, Passaic Mayor Hector Lora, Camden Mayor Frank Moran, Newark City Councilmen Luis Quintana and Anibal Ramos, Dover Democratic Municipal Chairman Edward Correa, and Christina Estevez of the Latino Action Network.

LGBTQ: Garden State Equality founder Steven Goldstein, former Gov. James E. McGreevey, Union County Freeholder Rebecca Williams, Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, Lambertville Democratic mayoral candidate Julia Fahl, former Democratic National Committeewoman Barbra Casbar Siperstein, and Luanne Peterpaul

Millennial:  Assemblywoman Britnee Timberlake, Union County Freeholder Sergio Granados, Camden County Freeholder Bill Moen, Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia, Jersey City Councilman James Solomon, New Jersey College Democrats president Megan Coyne, Zach Dougherty of New Jersey March for Our Lives, Sara Mora, Hudson County Democratic Organization executive director Susan Ragheb, and New Jersey Young Democrats president Marshall Spevak.

Muslim: Passaic County Freeholder Assad Akhter, East Orange Mayor Ted Green, Teaneck Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin, Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah, Paterson Councilman Al Abdelaziz, Edison Democratic Municipal Chairman Shariq Ahmed, and Nadia Kahf.

Progressive: Senate Majority leader Loretta Weinberg, State Sen. Joe Cryan, Assemblyman Jamel Holley, New Jersey Democratic State Committee vice chair Lizette Delgado-Polanco,

Action Together New Jersey executive director Winn Khuong, BlueWave NJ president Marcia Marley, and Analia Mejia of New Jersey Working Families.

Transportation & Infrastructure: State Sens. Troy Singleton, Union City Mayor/State Sen. Brian Stack, North Bergen Mayor/State Sen. Nicholas Sacco, Assemblymen Dan Benson and Nicholas Chiaravalloti, Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage, Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp, Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, and Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner.

Veterans: State Sen. Nilsa Cruz-Perez, Assemblyman Raj Mukherji, Rev. John Givens of AME Zion Church in Englewood, Rev. Floyd White of the Camden County Veterans Affairs Department, Franklin Township Deputy Mayor Shanel Robinson, Ron Aiello of the US War Dog Association, Sam Delgado of New Jersey for Puerto Rico Relief, and Doug Quinn.

Women: State Sen. Sandra Cunningham, Assemblywomen Angelica Jimenez, Pamela Lampitt, Gabriela Mosquera, Nancy Pinken, Eliana Pintor Marin, Shavonda Sumter, Middlesex County Freeholder Shanti Narra, Salem County Freeholder Melissa DeCastro, Erin Chung of Women for Progress, Nadia Hussain of MomsRising, and Patricia Teffenhart.

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