NEWARK, NJ - The New Jersey Citizen Action Political Action Committee (NJCA PAC) today announced its endorsed candidates for the 2025 New Jersey Assembly elections. This year, with multiple threats to democratic institutions at both the state and federal level, NJCA PAC has prioritized candidates’ commitment to defending the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA).
The endorsed candidates are as follows:
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LD 1: Carolyn Rush and Brandon Saffold
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LD 3: Heather Simmons and Dave Bailey Jr.
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LD 4: Brian Everett
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LD 6: Becky Holloway and Kevin Ryan
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LD 8: Andrea Katz
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LD 16: Roy Freiman and Mitchelle Drulis
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LD 17: Loretta Rivers
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LD 27: Alixon Collazos-Gill and Dr. Rosaura Bagolie
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LD 28: Chigozie Oneyma
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LD 31: Barbara McCann Stamato
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LD 32: Jessica Ramirez
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LD 38: Damali Robinson
OPRA, a cornerstone of government transparency in New Jersey, which was severely weakened by S-2930/A-4045 despite overwhelming opposition from hundreds of advocacy groups, media organizations, legal experts, and residents, weighed heavily on the PAC’s recommendations. The changes to OPRA have a chilling effect on public access allowing government. It allowed agencies to sue requestors they accuse of interfering with government operations, requires an unrealistic level of specificity when making requests, and gut the fee-shifting provisions making it harder for nonprofits, journalists, and everyday citizens to legally challenge denials and hold government accountable.
“Our recommendations focus on candidates who opposed this legislation or were willing to challenge those who supported it,” said NJCA Executive Director, Dena Mottola Jaborska. “We’re sending a clear message: transparency isn’t negotiable.”
“As we face increasing threats to democracy at all levels of government, it is more urgent than ever to defend the rights of citizens to access information. We need leaders who will stand up against efforts to obscure government actions from the people they serve. NJCA urges voters to consider these candidates that will champion efforts in the next legislative session to restore and strengthen OPRA protections, ensuring New Jersey remains a leader in government transparency and accountability.”