As the Green Party of New Jersey’s challenger to Senator Booker in the 2020 race for U.S. Senate here in New Jersey, I add my voice to those criticizing Senator Booker’s participation in the Friday, June 27th fundraiser for his presidential campaign organized for him by Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo and South Jersey attorney and power broker, George Norcross. Already, many organizations have criticized the Senator for taking part in this $2800/plate fundraiser, organized by what are viewed as “machine politicians” — and have called on Senator Booker to cancel this event.

I was appalled to read about this event because of the corruption associated with those holding it and because of their agenda for New Jersey. It is definitely not the Green Party’s agenda.

First, despite multiple calls from many organizations for Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo to cancel the county’s contract with the U.S. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement Agency (ICE), DiVincenzo continues to keep the facility open. The County makes $40 million annually from the ICE detention facility — opponents have called this “blood money.” The reports on the conditions inside this facility and the lack of real justice applied within makes the refusal to cancel the contract even worse.

At the same time as the Democrats and others nationally raise legitimate questions and concerns about the nation’s immigration policy, in Essex County, they are enablers — going along with Donald Trump’s policy. If Senator Booker is serious about his own criticisms of ICE, both nationally and in New Jersey, he wouldn’t participate in this fundraiser. Questions about this connection will plague him throughout his campaign.

As for George Norcross, all of New Jersey should be suspicious of and angry at Senator Booker for receiving continued Norcross support, this time for his presidential bid. A party leader who uses his influence to redirect money from those who need it (the poor) to those who have a lot (the rich), is not going to help to improve conditions for the majority of working people in this state or country.

In my 2018 campaign, I spent time in and around Camden, New Jersey and saw evidence of the Norcross family vision for “developing” this New Jersey city. The rich clearly would benefit while taxpayers foot the bill and the community’s poor are left in the same situations they are in now. It was evident in the increasing number of charter schools in Camden, while public schools were allowed to deteriorate. Many local residents have felt the impact of development to benefit the rich, not the Camden resident.

Surely, this sounds familiar to Newark residents, who watched how, under Mayor Cory Booker, public schools were largely overlooked in favor of the construction of more charter schools. Mayor Booker had many ties to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos during this period.

These two issues collided in the recent vote against implementing a millionaire’s tax. When as much as $11 billion could be siphoned away from New Jersey communities due to a corrupted Economic Development Authority, but those same party-controlled Democrats oppose the implementation of a millionaire’s tax, we see who this party actually represents and who is left out.

As the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate against Senator Cory Booker in 2020, I will fight for the people of this state, not the wealthiest 1%. The Green Party of New Jersey urges Senator Cory Booker to do the same.