Democratic socialist seeking Jersey City council seat
A Jersey City council candidate is hoping to bring a touch of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Hudson County’s Democratic machine with his bid to become the first democratic socialist elected in New Jersey in a century.
Joel Brooks, a union representative with Health and Allied Professionals Employees, is in a two-person race to become the council rep for the city’s Ward B, a swath of Jersey City’s west side. Brooks said he’s knocked on 30,000 homes there with support from the Democratic Socialists of America.
“Building a West Side for all, voting and electing me is just one step. It’s a step in the direction of changing direction away from policies that benefit landlords and police unions that have blocked civilian review boards,” Brooks said in an interview with the New Jersey Monitor. “It’s a shift in direction for policy that’s for the majority.”
If successful, Brooks could help move New Jersey’s Democratic Party to the left, like democratic socialists on the rise in other states.
Read more: https://newjerseymonitor.com/2021/10/11/democratic-socialist-seeking-jersey-city-council-seat/