Here’s why we enthusiastically endorse Ras Baraka for New Jersey Governor:

1. Primary elections

Candidate order: The bill to reform New Jersey’s primary ballots (A5116) moves New Jersey closer to fair primaries by eliminating the county line ballot and instituting an office block ballot design. However, candidate order for the primary ballot will still be determined by the County Clerk or Municipal Clerk drawing names out of a bin. This provides an advantage for the candidate drawn in first position and has resulted in some clerks drawing the party endorsed candidates for first position a statistically improbable number of times. I support the following reform that would ensure a more fair candidate order on the ballot:
Rotating the order of candidates for each office by voting precinct, so each candidate appears on the ballot first, second, and so forth, approximately the same number of times (see the recently introduced bill A5181) 

Slogans: I support prohibiting the use of slogans to express party endorsements on primary ballots. New Jersey is the only state that allows primary candidates to use slogans to indicate endorsements.

County clerks: I support making the county clerk a nonpartisan elected position.

2. Increasing transparency

Bill posting: I support requiring that bills be posted in written form at least 72 hours prior to committee discussion or vote, and that budget bills be posted at least 5 business days in advance of discussion or vote, to improve transparency in the legislative process.

Candidate information: I support making candidate information more readily available to voters by posting candidate bios in multiple languages on County Clerks’ and Secretary of State’s websites.

3. Anti-corruption measures

Pay-to-play: I support stronger pay-to-play prohibitions at both the state and municipal level, as was the standard prior to the implementation of the Election Transparency Act.

Commissions and boards: I support creating an independent non-partisan committee to identify and screen potential candidates for the most important commissions and boards (e.g., the Rutgers Board, State Board of Education, Port Authority Board, ELEC) in order to minimize political paybacks and diversify the pool of qualified candidates.

Senatorial Courtesy: I support prohibiting “Senatorial Courtesy”*. State level Senatorial Courtesy exists only in New Jersey and Texas.

*Senatorial courtesy is an unwritten rule practiced in the Senate of the U.S. state of New Jersey under which a State Senator can indefinitely block consideration of a nomination by the Governor of New Jersey for a gubernatorial nominee from the Senator’s home county, without being required to provide an explanation. Credit: wikipedia.

Campaign funding: I support the public funding of campaigns for all state-level elected offices (i.e., the state legislature and gubernatorial elections).

Public advocate: I support passing legislation to reinstate the statewide Office of the Public Advocate that was eliminated in 2010.

---

In addition to the above 10 points that determined endorsement, we asked:

What (if any) changes would you have made in the Election Transparency Act (S2866), and why?

Answer: I want to reinstate strong disclosure rules and longer enforcement windows to ensure real accountability in campaign finance. I would also want to reinstate tough pay-to-play restrictions to protect our democracy from being sold to the highest bidder.

What (if any) changes would you have made in the OPRA Reform Bill (S2930), and why?

Answer: I would want to reverse the damage done by the OPRA reforms by, most importantly, restoring the right to recover legal fees, so public agencies are held accountable when they deny access to records.

---

More information about Mayor Ras Baraka:

Email: info@rasforgovernor.com
Phone number: (201) 381-4624
Campaign website: rasforgovernor.com
Social media: Twitter/X, Instagram, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, BlueSky
Party affiliation: Democratic party
Date of birth: 4/9/1970

Current Occupation: Mayor of Newark
Education: Howard University (BA), Saint Peter’s University (MA)
Public/party service: Newark Public School teacher, Vice Principal, Principal