In an editorial, Jersey City Ward F Councilman Frank “Educational” Gilmore gives thanks to those who have been fighting to get rid of county lines before it was politically convenient.
With all the recent talk about lines and machine-lead politics in New Jersey, I just want to take this time to thank the real, genuine people who have been speaking out against this unethical form of politics for the last 15 years or so.
You, my brothers and sisters, are the real champions of change, fairness, and equality. It is a known fact; that whoever the party bosses decide to give line support to, that candidate is likely to win said position.
In fact, in many cases, individuals won’t even consider running if they know line support is not there.
To put it plain and simple: it’s nearly impossible to beat the line.
This process makes it a “selection” system rather than an “election” system which is supposed to be the cornerstone of our democracy. As people who value fairness during the election process, we cannot allow elected officials to hijack the narrative for personal gain.
For years, these have been the same individuals who have benefited from this unethical form of politics. For example, these same individuals just handpicked who would get the line support for Legislative District 31.
Are we to believe that these individuals all of a sudden want to see the line dismantled because it’s unethical? Of course not. The reality is that they played along with these same rules until the rules no longer benefited them.
For a gubernatorial candidate to all of a sudden pledge to now not accept county lines (which he won’t get anyway) in the upcoming primaries, is nothing more than a political smoke screen.
Please allow us, who have actually been on the front lines championing fairness, to continue to lead this cause, not those who are doing it because of political convenience.
