The following resolution was endorsed by the PCDO at its May 17 general membership meeting.

WHEREAS the PCDO is committed to equality and justice for all people;

WHEREAS the freedom to marry is currently denied same-sex couples under New Jersey state law;

WHEREAS New Jersey’s civil union law has failed to provide the equality to same-sex couples that marriage would provide;

WHEREAS the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission, formally appointed by the Governor, identified over 800 inequities that exist towards civil union couples that are accorded to married couples. 

WHEREAS a number of hospitals in New Jersey have refused to let civil union partners visit each other in emergency situations because they’re not married;

WHEREAS a number of employers in New Jersey have denied health care coverage to the civil union partners of employees because they’re not married;

WHEREAS New Jersey’s struggling economy needs the $248 million in revenue that an independent UCLA study says marriage equality would provide New Jersey;

and

WHEREAS Vermont found that its nine-year-old civil union law did not provide equality to same-sex couples, and never would, and has replaced its civil union law with marriage equality;

WHEREAS a clear majority of New Jerseysians recently surveyed say it’s okay for our public officials to change the civil union law to marriage equality* 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the PCDO supports legislation to enact marriage equality in the State of New Jersey, and calls on our elected representatives, Senator Shirley Turner, Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, to vote for the marriage equality bill and to be at the forefront of the campaign for its passage.

*59% of New Jerseyians said it was okay for our public officials to change the civil union law to marriage, while 36% said it wasn’t okay. Zogby took the poll of 803 likely New Jersey voters from August 7 through August 11, 2008. The margin of error is +/- 3.5 percent. Though Garden State Equality commissioned the poll, Zogby collected the data independently.  

Submitted by Walter Bliss, Connie Camner, James Camner, Darlyne Crum, Jenny Crumiller, Jon Crumiller, Hendricks Davis, Piper Harris, Beth Healey, Jim Healey, Virginia Kerr, Shelley Krause, Liz Lempert, Sue Nemeth, Ann Neumann, Eve Niedergang, Dan Preston, Maggie Rose and Scott Weingart.

To add your name as a signer use this contact form to send your name.

Read the report of the NJ Civil Union Commission (pdf)

Read comments on this issue by Representative Rush Holt.

The public is invited to attend a presentation on "Why Princeton University Should Pay its Fair Share of Property Taxes." on Sunday, April 26, from 4:00-6:00 pm, at the Suzanne Patterson Center, One Monument Place (behind Princeton Borough Hall). See attached PDF flyer to help publicize this event. The presentation will be hosted by Princeton Citizens for Tax Fairness, a nonpartisan group supported by the Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO) and the Borough & Township Republican Committee Chairs. Princeton Citizens for Tax Fairness was formed to expand a campaign for property tax relief spearheaded by the Local Issues Committee of the Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO).

Congratulations to all the candidates!  The results of the PCDO endorsement vote for Princeton Borough Council:

According to PCDO Bylaws, the PCDO has communicated our recommendation to the County Chair to put Crumiller in the official Democratic column on the primary ballot with the official party slogan, and Wilkes in the column without the official party slogan.  Acording to state law all ballot placement is up to the county chair.

Chad Goerner and Liz Lempert, both incumbents, were endorsed for Township Committee by a vote of acclamation.

Location: Suzanne Patterson Center, One Monument Drive (behind Boro Hall), Princeton, NJ

Candidates for two Township Committee seats:
Chad Goerner (Incumbent) and Liz Lempert (Incumbent)

Candidates for two Borough Council seats: 
Kevin Wilkes (Incumbent), Peggy Karcher (Incumbent), Jenny Crumiller and Mendy Fisch County, State and Federal offices will be endorsed by acclamation

ELIGIBLE PCDO MEMBERS
Registered Democrats who reside in Princeton Borough or Princeton Township and a paid member as of 3/15/09

MEETING SCHEDULE
7:30 - 7:35 Opening Remarks
7:35 - 7:45 County, State and Federal Candidates - Vote by acclamation
7:45 - 8:00 Candidate remarks – up to 3 minutes each by Borough Council candidates: Peggy Karcher, Kevin Wilkes, Jenny Crumiller, and Mendy Fisch
8:00 - 8:30 Questions from floor: all questions will be written on index cards and passed up front.
8:30 - 9:00 Ballots Collected. Township Candidates (all uncontested) will speak while Borough vote is being tallied: Chad Goerner and Liz Lempert. Vote by Acclamation.
Jon Durbin will also speak regarding PCDO’s Organizing for America initiative
9:00 Results of Borough vote announced

The PCDO holds endorsement votes for elected offices in the Spring before the June primary, or in the case of the presidential primary, in January before the new February date for New Jersey.

Endorsement votes take place at a general membership meeting and are governed by PCDO bylaws. In order to vote, PCDO members must have paid their yearly dues at least two weeks before the vote.

The endorsement vote for county and state elections will be scheduled to take place before the Mercer County Convention, which will be held on March 21. The endorsement meeting for local elections takes place on Sunday, March 29, 2009: To vote at that meeting, members must pay their dues by March 15, 2009.