In an editorial, 32nd Legislative District state Assembly candidate Katie Brennan stakes her claim on why she would be the fighter Hoboken and Jersey City needs in Trenton.
When I launched my campaign for State Assembly, I planned to stay laser-focused on the most pressing state issues in our community, drawing on my experience in housing policy and my track record of successful advocacy to tackle these challenges head on.
The housing crisis that’s pushing families out of their homes and young people out of the state; the daily delays and frustrations of NJ Transit and PATH commuters; and the need for a more responsive, transparent government in Trenton.
But every day, as I talk with voters in Jersey City and Hoboken, one urgent concern overshadows all others: the systematic dismantling of our federal government and democratic institutions happening right before our eyes.
The voters I meet — many of whom were part of the original resistance movement that helped flip the House back in 2018 — aren’t just worried. They’re furious.
They’re watching in real-time as Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their allies treat the federal government like a personal fiefdom, freezing federal spending on a whim, firing unionized civil servants, dismantling federal departments, and purging federal law enforcement agencies.
Meanwhile, far too many Democrats in office are responding as if this were just another round of normal political sparring, approving Trump’s nominees and trying to pivot back to kitchen table issues with tone deaf tweets about the price of pizza.
Let me be clear: This is not normal. What we are witnessing is not politics as usual. It’s an orchestrated assault on the very foundations of our democracy.
When the President openly promises to be a “day one dictator,” declares that the Constitution doesn’t apply to him, and hands over sensitive government operations and information to an unaccountable private citizen who just so happens to be the richest man on the planet, we can’t pretend we’re operating under standard rules anymore.
The Democratic voters I meet understand this viscerally. They’ve made the calls, knocked the doors, attended rallies, met with their elected officials, and “voted harder” every single time they were asked. They’re tired of being told to resist harder than their own elected representatives seem willing to do.
Here’s what these voters deserve to hear: You’re right. This is a crisis. And we need to start acting like it.
At the federal level, that means no more seeking “common ground” with those actively working to dismantle our democracy. No more pretending that traditions and norms will protect us from those who have shown us that they’ll shred any norm that stands in their way. And no more asking grassroots activists to do all of the heavy lifting while elected officials use the same outdated playbook.
At the state level, I promise to fight to protect New Jersey, and to make our state a firewall against federal overreach and attacks on our communities. That means:
• Creating a dedicated New Jersey Defense Fund to maintain critical services and programs when federal funding is arbitrarily frozen or cut
• Passing the Immigrant Trust Act so state and local law enforcement do not participate in warrantless raids
• Providing additional support to the Attorney General’s office so they’re prepared to challenge unconstitutional federal actions
• Expanding state-level protections for voting rights, reproductive rights, labor rights, and civil rights that can’t be stripped by the federal government
This list is not exhaustive, and it will have to evolve. But beyond policy specifics, I’m running to bring a different kind of leadership to Trenton.
I’m running independent from the party machines because I believe we need representatives who will spend less time fighting turf wars for themselves and more time fighting for all of us.
As a housing advocate and a survivor, I’ve taken on powerful interests before — and won. I know what it means to stand up to a system that wants you to stay quiet and play along.
The grassroots activists who have been defending our democracy understand that this moment requires more than calculated incremental changes and carefully worded statements. It requires bold action and moral clarity. It requires leaders who will match their courage and commitment.
That’s the kind of leader I’ll be in the New Jersey General Assembly. Because when democracy is under attack, there’s no room for half-measures or business as usual.
Katie Brennan is a housing policy expert and community advocate. She’s running in the Democratic primary to represent Jersey City and Hoboken in the New Jersey General Assembly. Read more about Katie’s campaign at www.katiebrennanfornj.com
Can someone explain what voting rights, reproductive rights, labor rights, and civil rights have been stripped by the federal government in New Jersey?
Looks more and more like word salad we heard last year from another woman. I wonder if Katie could sneak into Honduras or Mozambique, and get their free healthcare, free unlimited 4 star hotel, free phone, free ATM, free food and other things. If that makes no sense, why should we in New Jersey pay for people who have no right to be here in the first place? Why Katie puts them before us?
The last 4 years almost ruined us. President Trump does not have an easy task, but he is doing an awesome job trying to fix our broken country. The Dems with hundreds of billions for student loan forgiveness (just to get votes); hundreds of billions for foreign wars; hundreds of billions for the green energy nonsense; etc. etc. and no regards of the consequences. Katie Brennan doesn’t know what she is talking about. Anyone opposed to the Dems is a “threat to democracy”.
You know what’s been destroying the country? Leftist white women who are the most devout Marxists of any group.
We watched the systematic dismantling of our federal government and democratic institutions fueled with weaponization and anti-democratic action by Katie Brennan’s heroes for four years.
This country was brought to its knees with the two tiers of justice where a candidate was sued to keep him from running, (Robert Kennedy) and another saw dozens upon dozens of manufactured allegations pushed against him to keep the American people from having the democratic vote to choose their chief executive.
Katie Brennan loved every second of it. Dangerous. These people are very sick and dangerous.