We Talked with Cherry Hill Voters. Here’s What They Had to Say.
by Kate Delany
The weather was not on our side when we set out to canvass voters in Cherry Hill. But we had a list of Cherry Hill Democrats and we were ready to have conversations. The sky did eventually open up but not before we had some meaningful exchanges with Cherry Hill community members. It was a worthy reminder of why we, South Jersey Progressive Democrats, are running this year in Cherry Hill, of what’s at stake and of why–despite the challenges–the fight is worth it.
Fighting for a Seat at the Table
The office of Democratic Committee is literally the lowest level of elected office that a person can seek. It is party office, meaning that holding it equips a person with a voice and vote specifically in the space of their county party (as opposed to political office which allows one to enact legislation, etc). In 20 out of New Jersey’s 21 counties, it is an office that’s pretty easy to run for and win. In 20 out New Jerseys’ 21 counties, running for party office is simply a matter of winning support from Democrats in your election district. Your election district is made up of the streets around you so in 20 of New Jersey’s 21 counties, running for this office of Democratic Committee essentially involves asking the support of your neighbors as you seek a space in your county party. In some instances, it’s a matter of getting just ten votes in order to hold this very local party office.
And then there’s Camden County.
Camden County’s Rigged Party Races
In Camden County and only in Camden County, party office races are run as “at large, winner take all” contests. This means that even if you win in your election district, you will still lose unless you win your entire town. In 20 out of New Jersey’s 21 counties, the goal of Democratic county committee is for all local Dems to have a person in their district that will represent them to the party. County committee members are meant to serve as conduits, communicating and connecting the party and its local members so people can stay informed and engaged.
However, in Camden County, there’s no district representation anywhere, in any of our towns. And the people who hold this office of Democratic County Committee are mostly local electeds or county or municipal employees–or the spouses or relatives of local electeds or county or municipal employees. The county party is jam packed with these people by design. Their professional and political careers depend on them never ruffling any feathers within the space of the Camden County Democratic Party, never showing up with questions or objections, just endlessly towing the line. And so the Camden County Dems keep chugging along, a shadowy insular political machine, all party business done just the way George Norcross and his top brass like it.
Making Do in Smaller Places, Sort of
In small places, it’s possible to run in these rigged “at large, winner take all” races–sort of. If you live in a town that’s small and walkable. If you’re good at recruiting others to join you in running for an office they probably never heard of, because you have to run “at large,” with a whole crew. If you’re willing and able to sink lots of time, energy and resources into winning the vote of Dems in your entire town. If you’re willing and able to first explain to the Dems in your entire town what Democratic County Committee is since the lack of district representation means voters are utterly disconnected from party operations. If you’re willing and able to do all that, you can make do in a rigged system, sort of.
But what about in places like Cherry Hill?
Listening to Cherry Hill Voters
Camden County has three large municipalities of approximately the same population size–Camden City, Cherry Hill, and Gloucester Township. Imagine trying to knock the doors of all the Dems in Cherry Hill. There are over 25,000 thousand of them! Imagine trying to recruit people to fill all the local county committee seats as one is expected to do in these rigged “at large, winner take all” races. That’s 72 seats! That means recruiting and managing a crew larger than an NFL roster! So what’s the byproduct of making these races so damn hard, making it nearly impossible for independent-minded Cherry Hill Dems to get a seat at the table? Disconnection at the ground level. A lack of information and representation. The Camden County Dems never have to talk with local Cherry Hill Dems and so they never do. Public engagement is not needed and when public engagement doesn’t happen for a long time, people forget that it’s even a thing that could happen, that public engagement is something that they should expect and demand.
Until we show up.
Making Cherry Hill Connections
“No one running for office has ever knocked on my door before,” one woman told us. Like most of the people we spoke to, she had never heard of Democratic Committee, and she had no idea that there was someone who was supposed to be representing her to the county party.
As we walked up to another door, a Cherry Hill resident put down the book he was reading, stood up and began gesticulating wildly. “This ballot, it makes no sense. These columns! It’s confusing. I’m glad you’re here to explain it! Can’t we get better ballots than this?” This led to a conversation about the unfortunate exceptionality of New Jersey’s ballots which are arranged in columns rather than grouping candidates by the office they are seeking. We also talked about the phantom candidates the Camden County Dems recruited to run in our elections for over a decade and how we hope our vigilant ghostbusting will keep the phantoms at bay.
Another voter told us she hadn’t heard that the mayor of Cherry Hill, Sue Shin Angulo, had been removed from power, kicked off the ballot line and a white man installed to replace her. What happened? Who knows? It happened behind the closed doors of the closed off party.
Other voters lamented the lack of local media, of any real coverage of what local government is up to. Most of South Jersey is indeed a news desert. Compounding that problem, the party boss’s reach often extends over what issues are covered and what are ignored.
Getting the Change We Need
In order to become a fair and effective political party — rather than remaining a shadowy insular political machine — the Camden County Dems desperately need the one thing they most aggressively resist–fair elections that will let new people in. The top down party control and closed door decision making certainly benefits a very select few but at great cost to many and to our democracy. Out talking to voters in Cherry Hill, the cost of Camden County’s rigged party elections was again made clear to me. The people we talked with were eager for engagement and information. They hadn’t opted to be uninformed or excluded. That decision was unfortunately made for them.
If we want a robust democracy, a real, functioning democracy here in Camden County, we need elections that make that possible, in Cherry Hill and in all our towns. South Jersey Progressive Democrats will settle for nothing less and will continue to work for the democracy we deserve. You can support us by voting Column 1 on June 6 and by contributing to our long-range plans to address these unjust elections. Together, let’s build a better Democratic party here in Camden County!
