Personal Eviction Battle Spurs Professor’s Congress Run In NJ-10

NEW JERSEY, NJ — For many political hopefuls, there’s a whole spectrum of issues that powers their campaigns. But for Cynthia Johnson – who is running for Congress as an independent candidate in New Jersey’s 10th District – it’s clear that one issue rises above the others: the state’s eviction crisis.

Last week, Johnson kicked off her campaign with a rally in East Orange in front of the Norman Towers senior living center, making housing reform a central spoke of her platform.

According to Johnson, an adjunct professor at Essex County Community College, she’s a “victim of the current housing crisis” and is facing her own personal eviction battle, which she didn’t elaborate on in her initial campaign announcement to the media.

But Johnson says she’s not alone – there are many other “poor and working class” people in her shoes across the nation.

“The U.S. census Bureau is predicting 3.8 million tenants are likely to be evicted in September and October alone, surpassing the atrocious number of 3.6 million for all of 2018,” Johnson said in a campaign statement to the press.

“On top of this, 8.6 million more tenants are behind on their rent and will soon face eviction,” she added.

• See related article: NJ Rent Among Most Expensive In U.S. As Prices Skyrocket, Report Says
• See related article: NJ Rent Jacked More Than 30 Percent In The Past Year, Analysis Says

At the same time buying a home is becoming out of reach for millions of others as “private equity vultures” swoop in, with New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District being a leading target, she claimed.

Johnson pointed to a recent report from Rutgers University, which showed that over the last three years, half of the homes in the 10th District’s largest city, Newark, have been scooped up by corporate buyers – the highest rate in the country. Read More: Who Owns Newark? City Fights Back Against Corporate Home Buying Spree

“New Jersey is in the eye of an eviction storm, but my Democratic and Republican opponents offer no protection from the ravages of this capitalist-made calamity,” Johnson said.

The educator said her campaign also includes demands for “good jobs, free health care, free college, free transportation and clean energy for all,” which would be financed through “ending the war machine and making the billionaires pay.”

• See related article: Massive US Defense Bill Gets 'No' Votes From 3 NJ Congress Members

Johnson is one of several candidates trying to unseat incumbent Rep. Donald Payne Jr., who earned the Democratic Party nomination again in this year’s primary election. David Pinckney, a public school teacher, has clinched the Republican nomination, and Kendal Ludden is running on the Libertarian Party line. Other independent candidates include Clenard Howard Childress Jr. and Dorothy Jane Humphries.

New Jersey’s recently redrawn 10th Congressional district includes the following municipalities:

• Essex County – Caldwell, East Orange, Essex Fells, Irvington, Montclair (part), Newark (part), Orange, Verona, West Orange
• Hudson County – Jersey City (part)
• Union County – Cranford, Garwood, Hillside, Kenilworth, Linden (part), Roselle, Roselle Park, Union Township

According to a statewide summary released on Sept. 1, there were 488,049 registered voters in the 10th district, including 272,698 Democrats, 39,434 Republicans and 169,843 voters not affiliated with any party.

The 2022 general election takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The early voting period in New Jersey takes place from Oct. 29 to Nov. 6.

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