Hudson County Woman Accepted To Political Training Program

Editor’s Note: This article was submitted by a Patch reader.

Emerge New Jersey kicked off its 2016 Political Training Program over the weekend for its third “Politics 101 in New Jersey,” class.

This year’s class is Emerge New Jersey’s largest class to date, of 20 Democratic women who were selected from throughout the state, a release stated.

Isabel Alarcon, a Jersey City resident, was accepted into Emerge New Jersey’s 2016 Political Training Program. Alarcon has been a resident of Jersey City since 1993. She graduated from Berkeley College with a Bachelor of Science in International Business. She was awarded by Berkeley’s highest officials the Robert Maher Outstanding Student Award for New Jersey to honor her perseverance and commitment to education.

On her decision to apply for Emerge New Jersey, Alarcon said, “The Emerge program is important to have in New Jersey because it will provide democratic women with the necessary tools to pursue elected office. Through an intensive program focusing on communication, public speaking, fundraising, networking, relationship building, campaign strategy, ethical leadership among other areas; which are key components for running an effective political campaign. I am enthusiastically looking forward to the training and the knowledge that will be acquired.”

During the two-day kickoff weekend, Emerge New Jersey’s 2016 class members learned the nuts and bolts of a successful political campaign from local, county and state elected officials. On Saturday, January 16th the new class had the opportunity to learn from Hillside Councilwoman and Emerge New Jersey’14 Alumnae, Diane Murray; Middlesex County Freeholder Deputy Director, Carol Bellante; and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey. “Too often women wait to be asked to run for elected office and that needs to change. Women need to be intentional about political engagement - organizing, supporting, running,” said Assemblywoman Mila Jasey. “Emerge New Jersey provides the tools, training and support to position Democratic women to successfully pursue opportunities for elected office.”

Day two of Emerge New Jersey’s kickoff weekend was held on Sunday, January 17, and allowed members of the new class to work in groups with local, county, and state elected officials.

New Jersey State Democratic Committee (NJSDC) Vice Chair, Lizette Delgado-Polanco; Hunterdon County Democratic Committee Chairwoman, Arlene Quinones Perez; Westfield Democratic Committee Chairwoman, Janice Siegel; Monmouth County Democratic Committee Chairman, Vin Gopal; and Essex County Freeholder Vice President, Brendan Gill were all in attendance to share their political insight and expertise to the new class.

In addition to Alarcon, the following women were accepted in Emerge New Jersey’s 2016 program:Marie Battist-Celestin, Cumberland County; Aerielle Belk, Camden County; Rebecca Cain, Morris County;Heather Champagne, Morris County; Colleen Curren, Camden County; Marie Marthelle Guervil,Union County; Tomecca (Mecca) Keyes, Essex County; Emily Kullmann, Morris County; Nidhi Makhija, Somerset County; Dana Murray, Essex County; Cristina Pinzon, Union County; Lorna Phillipson, Monmouth County; Damaris Ramirez,Middlesex County; Connie Sanchez, Union County;Maisha Scudder, Atlantic County; Stephanie Smith,Essex County; Bibi Taylor, Essex County; Dahlia Vertreese, Union County; and Sharronda Wheeler,Essex County.