Baraka Says He Will Lift 'Working People' If Elected As NJ Governor

NEWARK, NJ — When Ras Baraka launched his low-key campaign kickoff for New Jersey governor last month, he left some people wondering about whether he was actually running – or only hinting at it. But during the Newark mayor’s annual state of the city speech on Tuesday, he left the audience with no doubt about his intentions for the 2025 election.

“I’m throwing my hat in the race for governor of the state of New Jersey,” he declared. “History demands it and working people deserve it.”

Newark’s mayor touched on several issues during his address at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, including housing, public safety, economic development and technology. Baraka also gave voters a glimpse into his likely campaign platform for his upcoming gubernatorial run – using words like “progressive” and “transform” as he ripped into wealth inequality, pollution, segregation and housing affordability. See Related: Once Forgotten, Newark Is On The Rise; Mayor Presents 'State Of City'

Other gubernatorial candidates who have officially thrown their hats into the ring to replace Phil Murphy in 2025 include Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney, who are running as Democrats, and Sen. Jon Bramnick, who is running as a Republican.

If elected, Baraka would be the first Black governor in the state’s history. New Jersey – one of the most diverse states in the nation – has also had just a single female governor: Christine Todd Whitman.

During his tenure as Newark mayor, the former teacher has rolled out several efforts to tackle several hot-button issues in the city, such as a lack of housing, income inequality, education gaps and policing reform.

• See Related: Newark Mayor Drops Political Bombshell: 'I Want To Be Governor' Of NJ

If his state of the city address is any indication, Baraka’s blueprint for rebuilding Newark may be the same he’d put into action if elected as governor.

“I know as we reimagine this city – I know we can reimagine this state,” the mayor urged.

“They say I’m too progressive, because here we want students to vote in school board elections or same-day voting – a Civilian Complaint Review Board and IDs for undocumented residents,” Baraka continued.

As for the state’s massive wealth gap – that’s also on the list, Baraka said:

“They want us to believe its extreme to make corporations pay their fair share to help shoulder the burden of the high expenses in this state. To pay more than what working families must pay. They want me to believe that child tax credits and baby bonds are not worth the outcome of lifting children out of hunger or subsidizing childcare for a struggling family. They want us to believe it’s impossible to close the wealth gap or give all of our kids a quality education and get rid of zip codes as barriers. They think that equity and democracy are more expensive than segregation and poverty. They want us to think we are wrong to want our wages lifted and health care that doesn’t make us homeless, especially when insurance companies made billions of dollars in record profit while families lost loved ones trapped in their homes during COVID. That it’s unreasonable to want housing that we don’t spend half our paychecks on or a tax code that’s fair with no loopholes for the wealthy or live in an environment that is killing us slowly. They benefit from us being isolated and segregated by block and zip code and by race and religion. They want us to believe all of our problems are so different, but if you can’t pay your rent on Court Street, the outcome is the same if you can’t pay your mortgage in South Orange.”

“The good thing is that I know they are wrong,” Baraka said. “I’ve seen it here on our streets from young men caught up in the gang culture who thought their lives were over who are now traveling the country, saving lives and raising other young men out of death and destruction. I see it here on the faces of kids given a chance at college that were never on the honor roll, but are now in the honor society in college. I witnessed it in the tears of families that have been given keys to their new home after generations of public housing. I hear it in the voices of kids with humble beginnings coming home from Ivy League schools and HBCUs.”

“I know it’s possible, because I witness every day what we are doing with what’s in our hands,” Baraka said. “I know what vision and imagination can do. And I believe our collective imagination is robust enough and is durable enough to transform this state. And who better to lead a broad-based coalition across this state from every race and every nationality, every religion, gay and straight, city and suburbs, but a pilot from Newark who has dedicated his life to flying through storms?”

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