SULEIMAN STATEMENT ON REDISTRICTING VICTORY

(Galloway) Atlantic County Democratic Chairman Michael Suleiman today released the following statement on the Atlantic County Commissioner Redistricting Commission adopting the Democratic map:

“Today is a great day for our democracy. We now have a fair, representative, and legal map for all 275,000 residents of Atlantic County. Our map respects and bolsters, rather than dilutes, minority representation, ensures competitive elections, and respects communities of interest.

“I first want to thank the tie-breaking member of the Commission, Judge Curio, for the time and effort she dedicated to this matter after being appointed by Chief Justice Rabner. It was clear that she fairly considered both parties’ submissions and deliberting carefully prior to casting the tiebraking vote in favor of the Democratic map.

“I am incredibly grateful to my team for all of their hard work during this process.

“The guidance and support from my partner and fellow commissioner Thelma Witherspoon was invaluable. I want to thank our stellar legal team of Senator Colin Bell and Scott Salmon for all of their research and thoughtful analysis. I’m thankful for the hard work of our mapmakers and consultants Mickey Quinn, Michael Muller, and Creed Pogue, who brought decades of redistricting experience to this endeavor.

“I am immensely grateful to the dozens of residents who spoke or wrote in favor of our map.I am particularly grateful for the support we received from minority communities. In particular, I want to thank Jonathan Diego, Celeste Fernandez, Councilman Bert Correa and Councilman Victor Carmona from the Latino communty and Councilman Muhammad Anjum Zia, Subrata Chowdhoury, and Vinod Vellore from the South Asian communitiy.

“Finally, I want to thank friends and leaders in the African-American community, particularly Commissioner Ernest Coursey, Mayor Marty Small, Mayor Judy Ward, and Councilman Kaleem Shabazz. Their feedback and support were incredible. We look forward to working with them to ensure that Commissioner Coursey wins big this November and that a person of color wins the Second Commissioner District in 2024.

“This map is a big victory for the citizens of Atlantic County.”