District 5 Senate has Cruz-Perez in rematch with Cook
By Neill Borowski, 70and73.com
A challenge to the longtime incumbent state legislator in the Legislative District 5 State Senate race is a tough war to wage in the district, which covers parts of Camden and Gloucester counties.
Incumbent Democrat Nilsa I. Cruz-Perez has been in the Legislature for 28 years, first in the General Assembly and since 2010 in the Senate. The 62-year-old Barrington resident, who grew up in Puerto Rico and was the first Hispanic woman to serve as a New Jersey legislator, spends much of her time in Camden, where there is a large Latino community.
But Republican candidate Clyde E. Cook of Gloucester City and Mohammad Kabir of Bellmawr, who was nominated by petition for the Rights Tranquility Peace party, want to unseat Cruz-Perez.
Parental rights, homelessness and corruption are the three top issues that need to be addressed in New Jersey, said Cook, a 48-year-old Mister Softee driver with a background in customer service and sales.
“The government shouldn’t have involvement in decision-making when it concerns a parent’s choice in their child’s development,” Cook said on the candidate questionnaire sent out for this article.
Corruption also needs to be addressed, he said. “I’ve witnessed it firsthand as a councilman and I seek to bring light on the issue to a broader platform, as it robs citizens of a lifestyle that is being used to line the pockets of their elected representatives,” said Cook, who has been a councilman in Woodlynne and a school board member.
Incumbent Cruz-Perez said the top three issues New Jersey faces are high property taxes, the quality of education and the ability to find a good-paying job.
“With New Jersey having the highest taxes in the country, the priority is to keep taxes from being raised,” Cruz-Perez said on her questionnaire. “Keeping taxes stable is not only good for residents, but it helps businesses thrive.” She pointed to the ANCHOR and StayNJ property-tax-relief programs adopted by the Legislature.
She said New Jersey has a top public education system and must work to keep it on top. “We have voted in support of multiple state budgets that have fully funded our public schools and we continue to support legislation that makes higher education more affordable for students,” she said.
Cook also challenged Cruz-Perez in the 2021 election, with Cruz-Perez getting nearly twice as many votes. Cruz-Perez received 66.13% of the vote and Cook got 33.8%.
District 5 covers the municipalities of Audubon, Audubon Park, Barrington, Bellmawr, Brooklawn, Camden, Deptford, Gloucester City, Haddon Heights, Harrison (Gloucester), Lawnside, Magnolia, Mantua, Mount Ephraim, Runnemede, Wenonah, Westville, Woodbury, and Woodlynne.
Democratic incumbent Assemblymen William F. Moen Jr., 34, of Bellmawr, and William Spearman, 65, of Camden are being challenged by Republicans Joe Miller, 27, of Audubon and Yalinda Pagan, 31, of Camden. Two Assembly members will be elected from the four running.
In the 2021 election, voters gave Moen and Spearman nearly twice the number of votes of their Republican challengers. Moen received 33.15% of the vote; Spearman, 32.63% and the Republican challengers got 17.42% and 16.76%.
Neill Borowski is the owner and editor of 70and73.com, a digital-only community news site serving Cherry Hill, Evesham/Marlton, Medford, Medford Lakes, Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Voorhees and elsewhere near the iconic state highways of routes 70 and 73 in New Jersey. He can be reached at neillborowski@70and73.com.
This story is part of the NJ Decides 2023 voting guide, a project of NJ Spotlight News supported in part by the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University and funded by the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium.
