By Donald Gilpin

With primary day less than four months away and a slew of candidates from both parties vying to be the next governor of New Jersey, the Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO) is hosting a Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Forum at 7 p.m. on Sunday, February 16 at the Suzanne Patterson Center, 45 Stockton Street.

Mayors Ras Baraka of Newark and Steve Fulop of Jersey City, former Montclair Mayor now New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) Head Sean Spiller, and former State Senate President Steve Sweeney will take the debate stage on Sunday to promote their views in the race to succeed Gov. Phil Murphy, who is completing his second four-year term, the limit for New Jersey governors.

U.S. Representatives Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer, who are also in the race, will not be present, but State Senator John McKeon will be standing in for Sherrill. Mia Sacks, Princeton Council president, will moderate the proceedings, which will also be livestreamed to the PCDO Facebook page.

“There are a lot of strong and well known candidates on both sides in this race, certainly on the Democratic side,” said PCDO President Jeffrey Oakman.

“What we’re trying to do is give this community a chance to hear directly from them about how their visions differ and how they distinguish themselves, so that people can make an informed choice in the June primary.”

Oakman noted that he hopes that Gottheimer and Sherrill will change their minds and decide to join the forum. “It’s a hugely missed opportunity for them as there are over 200 registrants thus far and the livestream will reach many, many more voters,” he said.

Attendees are encouraged to register in advance and send in questions for the candidates through the PCDO Facebook page or the PCDO website at princetondemsit.wixsite.com.

The doors open at 6:15 p.m. Sunday for those registered, and non-registered entry begins at 6:40 p.m., first come, first served.

The six candidates debated earlier in the month in a forum at Rider University during which they presented their ideas on a wide range of issues including Trump administration policies, immigration, education, property taxes, government transparency, New Jersey Transit and the New York City congestion tax, housing, and state aid to schools.

Those concerns are also likely to dominate the February 16 debate. The PCDO has been collecting a range of questions from its members, and Oakman considered what might be the biggest issue in the upcoming debate. “I think a lot of what’s happening on a daily basis in D.C. is really impacting New Jersey,” he said.

“We have a question in front of us about whether we want a leader who pushes back against that or whether we want somebody who essentially goes along with it,” he continued.

Noting that Trump fared better than expected in New Jersey last November, Oakman anticipates an interesting battle between Democrats and Republicans in the fall of 2025.

“I think it will be a referendum in some ways on the MAGA movement and Donald Trump and how we see New Jersey’s future in that context,” said Oakman. He suggested some of the questions voters will be asking themselves and the candidates, like ‘To what extent are they continuing things that have been happening in the past eight years? Do they think things should be changed? Are there policy issues that haven’t gotten enough attention during the Murphy period? What is your vision for the future in the context of the Democratic race and who do you think reflects that best? Why do you want to be governor and how do you plan to use the apparatus of the state to either work with or oppose aspects of federal policy that you do or don’t agree with?’”

PCDO Program Manager Jean Durbin added, “We want to get at how the candidates think about certain things, what moves them, why they’re running, what they think they can do to actually help the state, and why they think they can beat the Republican opponent.”

She went on to discuss the role of the PCDO. “Essentially we view ourselves as a purveyor of information for the voters. We bring people together to think about and talk through the issues, to inform the debate,” she said. “We really think it’s important to bring people together as a community, to talk about the issues, and to hear from the candidates how they think they can make the lives of New Jerseyans better.”

In commenting on what’s at stake in the 2025 race for governor, Oakman looked back to the 2016 election of Trump as president followed by Murphy’s election as New Jersey Governor a year later. “Murphy spent a lot of time and effort helping make sure that New Jersey’s values were sustained in a time when at the national level a lot of people were dissatisfied with what happened,” he said. “We went through the COVID experience and the state was critical in making sure that New Jersey came through that with the economy and the public health intact.”

He went on, “We’ve experienced already the importance of having leadership in the state that can respond to what’s happening in D.C. and reflect the values of New Jersey. We’re back in the same boat eight years later, and we have to pick a new leader.”

Oakman noted that the Candidate Forum is being held earlier than usual this year and there would not be a vote to endorse candidates at this time. The PCDO cited the need “to spend as much time as possible bringing the candidates and their platforms to the community to let the community hear from the candidates and facilitate an open, democratic process.” The Mercer County Democratic Convention will follow the PCDO Candidate Forum and will take place on Wednesday, February 19.