Our Revolution New Jersey Endorses Bonnie Watson Coleman for Reelection to the House of Representatives

NEW JERSEY – Our Revolution New Jersey (ORNJ) today endorsed Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman for reelection to Congress in NJ CD-12. The statewide organization in the Our Revolution national network, ORNJ was joined in the endorsement by local chapters in Hillsborough and Mercer County. ORNJ recognized Watson Coleman’s robust and proudly progressive policy platform, track record as a Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) member, and support for fellow progressive lawmakers in DC.

Accepting the endorsement, Watson Coleman responded: “Thank you to Our Revolution New Jersey for your endorsement. You’ve long supported my work and at the same time held my feet to the fire. Your efforts to make New Jersey and our country a more fair and equitable place are excellent examples of citizenship. Know that I don’t take for granted the confidence you’ve placed in me. My door is always open and my office is just a phone call away.”

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman believes healthcare should be a human right. She cosponsors the Medicare for All Act and believes it is the best way to guarantee that everyone receives healthcare, without forcing people to choose between their health and going bankrupt or into debt. She also cosponsors the Green New Deal, which plans to create millions of quality jobs, rebuild US infrastructure, upgrade our energy systems, and provide an economic stimulus package for all of us.

Rep. Watson Coleman’s policy platform can be found here. “An Economy for All”, a comprehensive, progressive policy report published last March by the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls (which she co-founded and co-chairs), can be found here. Some items worth noting:

Economic Justice for the working-class

• Identifies corporate greed, price gouging, and record profits as responsible for recent price increases – NOT pandemic relief payments people needed.

• Prime sponsor: Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act (H.R. 4342), Federal Jobs Guarantee Development Act (H.R. 4278), and Essential Pay for Essential Workers Act (H.R. 7117)

Police Accountability

• Supports strong civilian review boards, ending qualified immunity, and policing alternative response: “Mental health emergencies or drug use should be dealt with by health care professionals, not armed officers with limited to no relevant medical training.”

Housing

• Supports a federal homes guarantee, to make housing a human right.

Criminal Justice Reform

• Prime sponsor: End For-Profit Prisons Act (H.R. 1206) and Drug Policy Reform Act. The latter designates substance abuse as a medical issue, and decriminalizes use/possession of all drugs (H.R. 4020)

• Original cosponsor, No Money Bail Act (H.R. 1249)

Bodily autonomy and abortion rights

• Cosponsored bills to codify Roe V. Wade and repeal the Hyde Amendment. Arrested protesting SCOTUS overturning Roe with CPC members.

Higher Education

• Supports student debt forgiveness. Cosponsor, Debt-Free College Act

• Original cosponsor, College for All Act to make higher education tuition-free

Racial Justice

• Supports federal reparations for the descendants of enslaved Black Americans.

Foreign Policy

• Cosponsor, 2017 bill to repeal 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (H.R. 1229)

• Voted against resolution that opposed use of BDS to stop Israeli human rights abuses

• Original cosponsor, Two-State Solution Act. Requires US funding to Israel not be used to occupy or annex Palestine

Rep. Watson Coleman is expected to easily win re-election. Her district stretches across Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset, and Union Counties. Election Day is November 8th.

QUOTES:

“Given the recent rollback of abortion rights and bodily autonomy, price gouging and corporate greed driving up prices, growing race and class disparities, the continued overpolicing of Black and Brown communities, and the climate, healthcare, and housing crises, it is crucial our representatives understand the root causes and address these crises. Rep. Watson Coleman is THE progressive leader among the New Jersey delegation, taking an evidence-based, people-centered approach to issues that benefits us all.” said Joe Marchica, Chair of Our Revolution Trenton Mercer and Mercer County Democratic Committeemember.

“Progressive policies aim to improve people’s lives and are popular, yet, not enough members in our congressional delegation support key progressive positions such as healthcare and housing as a human right, ending for profit prisons and debt-free college, to name a few. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman’s priorities set a basic standard for a progressive agenda that any progressive champion should be fighting for. We are proud to endorse her and continue to work with her to build power for working people, in New Jersey and beyond,” added Anna-Marta Visky, Our Revolution national organizer and ORNJ state coordinator.

“Our Revolution Hillsborough is proud to endorse Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman. We’re confident that with her leadership in Congress we can create a fairer economy that works for everyone. She has proven herself again and again to be a warrior for the working class and poor,” concluded Didier Jimenez, chair of Our Revolution Hillsborough.

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ABOUT ORNJ:

ORNJ is the New Jersey state network of Our Revolution, America’s leading progressive grassroots-funded distributed political action organization that was inspired by the Bernie 2016 presidential campaign. Our Revolution has over 1 million members and hundreds of groups across the nation that mobilize to uphold our mission by fighting for progressive issues on the local, state and national level. The core mission of Our Revolution NJ is divided into three key pillars: electing progressive champions at every level; fighting for progressive policies; and building a more transparent, accountable, and representative Democratic party. Our Revolution chapters in NJ work on issues like the Better Ballots NJ and voting rights campaigns, making healthcare a human right by passing Medicare for All, police accountability legislation, and halting the escalating climate crisis.