MORRIS COUNTY — 25th Legislative District State Senate candidate Christine Clarke has received the endorsement of Vote Mama and is listed on their website as one of their candidates.
“I’m proud to endorse Christine Clarke for State Senate,” said Liuba Grechen Shirley, Founder and CEO of Vote Mama PAC. “Having known her for years, I have seen first-hand the impact she has already made and know well the impact she will make in Trenton. She will always put our families first and will carefully consider how proposed policies will impact mothers, children and all of us.”
Vote Mama PAC, organized and led by former congressional candidate Liuba Grechen Shirley, supports Democratic mothers with young children running for office up and down the ballot and across the country.
“It’s been a pleasure partnering with Vote Mama on so many critical initiatives toward getting equity in representation in public office, including but not limited to the fight for campaign funds for childcare,” said Clarke. “I wholeheartedly support and see the need for their continued work, and am grateful to carry their endorsement as we work forward to flip District 25.”
Vote Mama seeks to correct the issue of parity in representation. They note in their mission that “because of the cultural and structural hurdles moms face, many choose to wait until their children are grown before running for political office. Because they wait to get started, it’s harder for women to achieve leadership positions at the same rates as men.” The presence or absence of women at the table in policy discussions is often reflected in legislation passed.
During the fight to pass the babysitter bill (AS698/A2060, 2020), Clarke was featured in articles in NorthJersey. com focusing on the challenges women face running for office, including childcare expenses during campaign events. Grechen Shirley championed the right to use campaign donations for child care expenses in federal election campaigns in a 2018 FEC opinion and has since brought the fight for #CampaignFundsforChildcare to state legislatures across the country, taking down barriers to candidacy for working-class women as she goes. New Jersey became one of the states allowing raised campaign funds to be used for childcare expenses to allow candidates to do the work of campaigning while their children are young in August 2020.
Christine Clarke is an environmental advocate, grassroots organizer, and mother-of-four running for State Senate to build the clean energy economy, protect healthcare privacy, access and autonomy, fight for clean air and water, and lead with empathy and fiscal common sense.
Clarke is up against new Senate minority leader Tony Bucco Jr., a dynasty incumbent who votes against women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, tax fairness, and against leaving education up to education professionals. His New Jersey version of a “Don’t Say Gay” bill like the one in Florida, S2483, is out of touch with New Jersey’s values and voters. The fetal personhood bill he cosponsored, S673, threatens to jail reproductive healthcare providers for 30 years and impose mandatory penalized reporting on their staff. He also voted against protecting women who come to New Jersey for reproductive healthcare from being extradited to other states where that care is illegal for prosecution.
Clarke is endorsed by a growing number of environmental, union, women’s rights, civic engagement, and grassroots organizations. She has lived in Jefferson for 18 years with her husband and four children. Click here for more information.
The 25th District includes 19 towns in Morris and Passaic counties: Boonton Township, Butler, Dover, Harding, Jefferson Township, Kinnelon, Madison, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Mine Hill, Morristown, Morris Township, Mount Arlington, Randolph, Rockaway Borough, Rockaway Township, Victory Gardens, West Milford and Wharton.
