Election 2016: Essex County Reacts To Trump Victory, Clinton Defeat

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Some Essex County residents are ecstatic that Donald Trump emerged victorious in the 2016 presidential election. Some are bummed out that Hillary Clinton lost, despite winning the popular vote. And others are just glad that one of the most bitter, polarized political contests in recent American history is over.

In the wake of Tuesday’s election, residents and groups across Essex County offered their opinions on Trump’s surprising victory.

• See related article: Donald Trump Defeats Hillary Clinton After Rewriting the Rules of Politics in Landmark Election

The Montclair Republican Club likened Trump’s victory to the “gates coming crashing down” on their website.

“As Republicans we’ve held disparate, and often divisive, views of our President-Elect,” President John Van Wagner stated. “But we can, I hope, agree that [Trump’s] stunning victory has restored the power of the American people, against all possible odds, and has destroyed the notion that faceless, soulless political machines rule our lives.”

Van Wagner continued:

“Much has been and will be written about the night of Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016. On the morning after, it likely still seems unreal to many of us. But while we process these events, let’s take one lesson from them, as Montclarians: the impossible became reality for our country. The ruling class rules no more. As it happened for the nation, so it can for Montclair. It’s up to us. Savor the victory. And then let’s continue to work together to bring power back to the people right here where we live.”

But many Essex County residents and local organizations mourned Clinton’s defeat and expressed fear of a Trump presidency following Tuesday’s election.

“This feels like a bad movie,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka quipped in a Twitter post.

“Our community is hurting today and wondering how we go forward from here,” the Maplewood-based North Jersey Pride group wrote. “We will get through this.”

The Newark-based ACLU of New Jersey wrote that it planned to “remain vigilant” during every day of the Trump presidency.

“President-elect Trump, as you assume the nation’s highest office, we urge you to reconsider and change course on certain campaign promises you have made,” ACLU-NJ leaders stated. “These include your plan to amass a deportation force to remove 11 million undocumented immigrants; ban the entry of Muslims into our country and aggressively surveil them; punish women for accessing abortion; reauthorize waterboarding and other forms of torture; and change our nation’s libel laws and restrict freedom of expression.”

The ACLU-NJ continued:

“If you do not reverse course and instead endeavor to make these campaign promises a reality, you will have to contend with the full firepower of the ACLU at every step.”

• See related article: Election Day Problems Plague Polling Sites In New Jersey [VIDEO, PHOTOS]

The Green Party of Essex County reposted a Facebook message from its 2016 candidate, Jill Stein, which can be seen below.

About 100 Montclair State University students gathered for a protest in the Student Center quad, using poems and spoken word to decry Trump.

Former Newark Mayor and U.S. Senator Cory Booker offered the following post-election words via Twitter:

Despite the anxiety about what the coming Trump presidency may hold, some Essex County residents and groups said that the important thing to do is move forward together as a unified community for the common good of Republicans, Democrats and everyone outside either party.

“No matter what you think about the election cycle and our candidates, we are responsible,” a member of the City of Newark Caribbean Commission wrote on Facebook. “Whether we vote democratic or republican. After the vote, we have an added responsibility and choices. Our elected officials need to live up to a higher standard and demonstrate how we need to solve the big issues in a deeper way.”

File photo: Flickr Commons, liz west

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com