Emerge New Jersey ‘Relaunches’ Ahead of 2021 Election
Brielle, NJ — On Wednesday, Emerge New Jersey, the state’s premier organization that recruits, trains, and builds a network of Democratic women to run for office, held their Virtual Relaunch. Event to renew their commitment to the people of the Garden State. The event,
sponsored by the New Jersey Educators Association, Communication Workers of America, and Kay Licausi, was well attended by alumnae, supporters, and activists who are working toward a better future and know that the future will be women-led.
The event featured panelists:
● Moms Demand Action Founder Shannon Watts
● Emerge President A’shanti F. Gholar
● Emerge National Boardmember Safanya N. Searcy
● Assemblywoman Britnee Timberlake
As well as featured remarks from:
● First Lady Tammy Murphy
● Former Montgomery Mayor and Assembly candidate Sadaf Jaffer.
The Virtual Relaunch Event comes at a time of renewed action for Emerge New Jersey and the
national network. Despite making up 50% of the population, New Jersey women only made up one-third of all candidates in the 2021 legislative primaries and only hold 27.5% and 32.5% of the Senate and Assembly seats respectively. That disparity becomes even more dramatic when looking at LGBTQ+ women and women of color.
“Emerge New Jersey’s Relaunch could not come at a more important time,,” said Geri Jannarone, Executive Director of Emerge New Jersey. “The 2021 primary may have been a record cycle for women
on the ballot, but the fact that only one-third of all candidates are women is very telling of the work we still need to do. Fortunately, as we saw last night, people are ready to change that. With a special focus on the New American Majority we are committed to recruiting Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, unmarried women, and young women into our sisterhood so that New Jersey’s public offices can finally look like the people they represent.”
For more information about Emerge and its mission, please contact Emerge New Jersey Executive Director Geri Jannarone at geri@emergenj.org.
A recording of the Virtual Relaunch Event
can be made available upon request.