EAST ORANGE, NJ — East Orange 3rd Ward City Council candidate Mayme Robinson’s attempt to succeed Ted Green as the ward’s representative got a boost on Thursday, Oct. 5, when the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, AFL-CIO District 1199J, endorsed her candidacy.
“Our union, District 1199J and our Political Action COPE Committee is pleased to inform you that we have endorsed you candidacy to the East Orange City Council,” the organization’s president, Susan Cleary, said in a letter dated Thursday, Oct. 5, to Robinson. “We in District 1199J have pledged our support to you and your campaign to bring about a successful victory and wish you well in your fight.”
Robinson is running as an Independent candidate in an overwhelmingly Democratic city against East Orange Board of Education President Bergson Leneus of the Green Team in 2017 slate. The East Orange Democratic Committee and its chairman, Leroy Jones, who is also the Essex County Democratic Committee chairman have already endorsed Leneus, would become the city’s first-ever Haitian American councilman, if elected.
Leneus is part of the Democratic Party’s Line A ticket in the general election Tuesday, Nov. 7. According to Essex County Clerk Chris Durkin, there are 38,627 registered voters in the city. Democrats are the majority with 24,996, while there are 13,107 unaffiliated and 524 Republicans.
This bodes well for Leneus, Green and the other members of his Green Team in 2017 ticket, including incumbent East Orange City Council members 1st Ward Councilman Chris James, 2nd Ward Councilman Romal Bullock, 4th Ward Councilwoman Tyshammie Cooper and 5th Ward Councilwoman Alicia Holman.
“I’m excited, yet humbled, to be the first-ever Haitian American Democratic Party nominee in the great city of East Orange,” said Leneus on Tuesday, Oct. 17. “I owe a lot of gratitude to my parents, who, as immigrants, migrated to East Orange. My parents taught me the value of hard work, Democratic values and seizing opportunity when the moment is available.”
Robinson, a registered Democrat, admits she voted for Green in the Democratic Party primary on Tuesday, June 6, in which he received more than 90 percent of the vote, compared to his two opponents.
Robinson said she plans to vote for Green again, but this time around, she will be voting for herself, too, and she’s appreciative of the union endorsement.
“I am in it to win it,” said Robinson on Tuesday, Oct. 17. “I am extremely grateful and appreciative of the huge endorsement from Local 1199J. I started out with a crew and now God sent me an army.”
Robinson will be speaking at 3rd Ward Community Forum on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. in New Ephesus Baptist Church, 175 Brookwood St, East Orange. She is listed on Line C on the ballot — as C-11 — and is speaking at the forum on Thursday, Oct. 26, for a specific reason related to her campaign and her candidacy.
“The Oct. 26 forum is not a debate,” said Robinson on Tuesday, Oct. 10. “I’m an independent Democrat on the ballot and I am on Line C-11 and I’m giving the 3rd Ward residents the opportunity to meet me and ask me questions. I am supporting Ted and Line A 100 percent on the state level, just not supporting their choice for the 3rd Ward on the local level. I am running as an independent Democrat, so that the 3rd Ward residents have a choice as to who they want to represent them and not the only choice that was given to them.”
Leneus said he’s a 3rd Ward resident, too, and wants to get elected to represent the interests of everyone.
“As someone who was born and raised in East Orange and am raising a family here, I know too well the struggles our families face, trying to make ends meet,” said Leneus on Tuesday, Oct. 17. “That is why I am running for council, to lessen the hardships of working people. If elected, I will work to help stabilize property taxes, ensure that our residents realize the best services possible and continue the fight for our children’s future. I am running on Line A, with Phil Murphy for governor, Sheila Oliver for lieutenant governor and our very own Ted Green for mayor.”
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