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The student organizers of March for Our Lives Morristown kept up the energy (and the tough questions on gun laws) at a Town Hall on Saturday, April 7, with candidates in the NJ 11 House of Representatives race. Planned and led by high-school students, the forum was co-sponsored by NJ 11th for Change.

The audience at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Morristown heard a thoughtful, spirited give-and-take on topics like banning assault rifles, the NRA's influence on legislation, and the particular threats posed by gun violence to people of color and targets of domestic abuse. 

Moderated by Caitlyn Dempsey of Randolph High School, the student panel included:

• Brianna Arends (Randolph HS)
• Bella Bhimani (West Morris Mendham HS)
• Isabella Bosrock (West Morris Mendham HS)
• Natalie Gemici (Kent Place HS)
• Meghana Maddali (Morris Knolls HS)
• Evie Mason (Chatham HS)
• Carina Pacheco (Academy of Saint Elizabeth)

Rodney Frelinghuysen’s retirement is the culmination of a year-long accountability campaign carried out by the constituents of NJ’s 11th District. It is a testament to the power of people, united in a goal, who refuse to give up.  For over a year, we asked nothing more than an opportunity to meet with our Congressman. Instead, Frelinghuysen hid from us, refused all invitations, and actively avoided interactions with those in the 11th District — the very people he was supposed to represent in Washington. With vote after vote, we were betrayed. And yet, his constituents continued to call and rally at his offices, writing letters and asking to be heard. 

Frelinghuysen’s retirement is an example of what can happen when engaged citizens challenge the status quo, raise their voices, and take action. This is exactly what democracy looks like.

Nothing like starting off the New Year with a large grain of salt, which is likely the best way to take Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen’s first 2018 newsletter.

First, he assures us he’s just as upset as we are that Donald Trump’s administration canned the Gateway Project so vital to our region’s commuter infrastructure. (He has even written a letter to the administration about it.) He then plunges into a laundry list of 2017 “achievements” by the GOP-led House of Representatives, which is pretty much a master class in spin cycling. Oh, and it carefully skirts mentioning the fallout from the GOP’s new, Trump-lauded tax code whose impact continues to look terrible for average taxpayers.

Looks like we’re in for a dizzyingly spinworthy year of newsletters, to judge by this edition. Here’s a quick sampling to give you an idea of what lies behind the pleasant phrases.

Funding the War Machine

Frelinghuysen lists among his biggest accomplishments the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act and the House's approval of his twelve appropriations bills, alleging that this legislation is necessary to ensure our national security.  Indeed, these bills increase defense spending by a whopping $70 billion.  It’s strange that amid all this concern for national security, Frelinghuysen remains quiet about Trump’s breathtakingly reckless twittering about nuclear buttons. He also fails to mention that the increase in defense spending comes at a steep cost to critical domestic programs, including cuts to the EPA, Pell Grants, the National Endowment for the Arts, and infrastructure programs.  The Trump-Frelinghuysen budget means more money for tanks and bombs and less money for clean water and education.