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Welcome to the New Jersey Regional Coalition Capitol District Organizing Group

 

This is a shared space for NJRC Capitol District members of the New Jersey Regional Coalition. The Capitol District comprises NJ Legislative District 15, 14, and parts of District 12.

 

NJRC is a statewide equity coalition of religious congregations and civic organizations working as a force for social justice and change in New Jersey, currently focused on issues of tax & school funding reform, affordable housing, immigrant rights, and equal access to education for all NJ residents.

 

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Capitol District organizing group LEADERS

 

 

• Rev. Charles Stephens, pastor, Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing, Titusville, 609-737-0515. uurevchas at comcast.net 
• Marlene Lao-Collins, Coordinator of Religious Education, St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Trenton, 609-989-1120. mlaocollins at njcathconf.com 
• Nicole Plett, Second Vice-President, League of Women Voters of Lawrence Township, 609-771-1665. nbplett at yahoo.com 
• Alex J. Allen, Vice President, Community Planning & Research, Isles Inc., Trenton, 609-341-4701. aallen at isles.org

   

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Senate Approves Major NJ Housing Reform June 23, 2008            TRENTON, N.J. - Today marks an historic victory for community organizing in New Jersey. After stubbornly waging a four-year battle to abolish RCAs, the New Jersey Regional Coalition and YOU were on hand today to witness the New Jersey Senate vote 21-16 to approve the housing bill and END RCAs in New Jersey.   Read the Newsday coverage here: http://tinyurl.com/63lagk

 

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 Download flyer HERE: http://cjrecdistrict15meeting.pbwiki.com/f/NJRC-capitol-invite-Rev-Buffalo.pdf

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February 25, 2008

 

NJRC had a very productive Statewide Leadership Meeting on Sunday, February 24 that included a very challenging training on "Building a Power Organization" by Greg Galluzzo, director of the Gamaliel Foundation in Chicago. We are all going to be working this year to increase the number of members in our District Council and take more responsibility for collecting dues from these member congregations and organizations.

 

At the NJRC Statewide Leadership meeting on Sunday, February 24, we voted to expand the boundaries of our currently active "NJRC District Councils" to take in some neighboring legislative districts that are not currently organized. It has been proposed that our current DISTRICT 15 council be expanded to include District 14 and parts of District 12 (Hightstown & East Windsor). Our leadership welcomed the proposal because, as the group that formerly represented all of Central New Jersey, we already have relationships in these neighboring districts. Thus, for 2008 NJRC will operate with 7 named district councils -- At yesterday's meeting we proposed naming our new group the Capitol District Council. We count our dues-paying members as: Isles, Shiloh Baptist Church, The Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing, the League of Women Voters of Lawrence Township, and St. Joseph's Parish.

 

Here are the dates and times of our next Local District Council meetings. Our goals for these meetings are both to build our number of member congregations, collect dues from our members, and also to sell tickets and advertisting to an NJRC Benefit Banquet that is scheduled for Thursday, November 13, 2008.

 

A. TUES. MARCH 25, 2008, at 6 p.m. in Trenton at the offices of the New Jersey Catholic Conference, 149 North Warren St., Trenton, NJ 08608; office phone: 609-989-1120. This is a planning meeting for the APRIL 29 clergy luncheon at Shiloh Baptist Church.

 

B. TUES. APRIL 29 at NOON - Clergy luncheon at Shiloh Baptist Church -- Turnout goal is 20 clergy members from the Capitol District. Jane Wyche of Shiloh Baptist Church is assisting with scheduling and organizing the luncheon event.

 

C. TUES. MAY 20 Planning Meeting -- time and location TBD.

 

D. TUES. JUNE 10 at 6 p.m. Planning Meeting -- location TBD.

 

minutes submitted by Nicole Plett

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January 24, 2008

To: Central Jersey area NJRC Leaders and Weeklong Training Alumni and Candidates

From: Marlene Lao-Collins, Rev. Darrell Armstrong, Rev. Charles Stephens, Nicole Plett, et al.

Subject: Important dates in February

 

• D-15 meeting Thursday, February 7, from 6 PM - 7 PM at Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton. Dialogue with Alumni of the Gamaliel Foundation National Leadership Training on the benefits of sending leaders from your congregation to Weeklong Training scheduled for March 2-8, 2008 in Maryland. Discussion on turnout for the upcoming leadership meeting.
  

 

• NJRC State Leadership Assembly on Sunday, February 24 from 3 PM -- 6 PM at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 251 Franklin Ave., Hightstown NJ 08520

 

Greetings! We have accomplished great things in the past year as NJRC leaders: a powerful statewide public meeting in November; orchestration of a powerful December 10 hearing on RCAs and comprehensive housing reform in collaboration with Speaker Joseph Roberts and Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman; significant progress on higher educational opportunity for immigrants; and passage of a more fair and just state school funding formula that increases state funding for education by $530 million and reduces pressure on property taxes. On behalf of all NJ residents – congratulations!

 

Training has been critical for these victories and the development of leaders for participation in the public arena. Fifty leaders from throughout New Jersey have attended the Gamaliel Foundation’s National Weeklong Leadership Training since 2004 and these leaders have been instrumental in advancing our work. In order to further advance and sustain our work, and help us all reach our own professional and personal goals, we are committed to sending more Central Jersey leaders to weeklong training. To facilitate this we are convening a one-hour meeting of weeklong training alumni and candidates on Thursday, February 7, from 6 PM to 7 PM at Shiloh Baptist Church, 340 Rev. Dr. S. Howard Woodson Way, Trenton, NJ 08618 (phone: 609-695-2448).

 

The next Gamaliel Weeklong Training is from March 2-8, 2008 in Edgewood , Maryland , which is less than two hours from Trenton . It costs $575 for leaders from organizations affiliated with NJRC and there is limited space. Many of you know that Barack Obama was a community organizer for our Gamaliel sister organization in Chicago during the 1980s, and was even a trainer at Gamaliel weeklong trainings. Thus given his recent prominence there is more excitement than usual about weeklong training. (A more complete description of the training week is attached as a Word document.)

 

Knowing that all our District 15 Clergy and Leaders would like to meet and hear about NJRC's busy legislative agenda of this past December, Reverend Charles Stephens of UUC at Washington Crossing and Marlene Lao-Collins and myself invite all those who can, to meet on Thursday, February 7, at Shiloh, to stay on for a few minutes past 7 PM. We will use this occasion to review our progress on the issues as they affect District 15 and set priorities for 2008.

 

Please mark your calendars now for the NJRC State Leadership Assembly on Sunday, February 24 from 3 PM – 6 PM at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 251 Franklin Ave., Hightstown, NJ 08520. We need to bring together a critical mass of District 15 leaders to help bring NJRC to the next level as a power for social justice in 2008. Please Save This Date! If you have any questions feel free to contact any one of us or the NJRC office at 856-854-2550 or email njrc@njregionalequity.org

 

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New Jersey Regional Coalition

PRESENTED A SUCCESSFUL STATEWIDE PUBLIC MEETING

Sunday, November 4, 2007, 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens

Hosted by Rev. Dr. DeForest B. Soaries Jr., Senior Pastor

 

Read about us in the Star-Ledger:

 

Activists call for social justice

1,500 fill Somerset church for event

Monday, November 05, 2007

BY JULIE O'CONNOR

Star-Ledger Staff

 

As an undocumented immigrant, Mirasol Conde-Hernandez wasn't eligible for financial aid and had to turn down the offer to attend Rutgers University.

 

Instead, the 20-year-old from Mexico now works 40 to 50 hours a week while attending Middlesex Community College in Edison full-time, but still dreams of a future when New Jersey will offer undocumented immigrants the kind of financial assistance other students receive.

 

Yesterday, Conde-Hernandez was one of nearly 1,500 housing and social justice activists from across the Garden State to fill a Somerset church and demand action from legislators on a common reform agenda.

 

Speakers called for more school funding for at-risk districts, elimination of Regional Contribution Agreements and a chance for higher education opportunities for undocumented immigrants.

 

"Because I am Mexican by birth, and because my parents had the courage to leave their homes at only 20 years old in pursuit of a better future for me, I am stuck," Conde-Hernandez told the crowd. "I refuse to allow this to be a shattered dream."

 

Clapping and at times rising from their seats at the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens were members of the New Jersey Regional Coalition, an alliance of congregations, community development and social justice organizations.

 

The coalition also wants undocumented immigrants who live in New Jersey to be allowed to pay in-state tuition to attend its state colleges and universities. This affects about 600 undocumented New Jersey students every year, said Marlene Lao-Collins, director of a public policy organization for Catholic Bishops in New Jersey.

 

"In order for them to go to college, they have to pay double -- in some cases triple -- tuition," she added. "It's a dream that they want to accomplish. This is the way not to lose that intellectual capital in our state."

 

When it comes to school funding, coalition speakers stressed they don't think state funds should be withdrawn from New Jersey's most impoverished Abbott districts, but they also want additional money channeled to at-risk suburbs which don't receive Abbott money. They argue funding should be based on the demographics of a school district and its ability to pay.

 

In the area of affordable housing, the coalition wants to abolish Regional Contribution Agreements, or RCAs, which suburbs use to transfer their housing obligations to cities.

 

"RCAs promote segregation," said Rohn Hein, the coalition's legislative liaison, speaking before the event. "Rich communities are selling their obligations to poorer communities."

 

If RCAs are eliminated, additional funds should be provided to urban communities so they can meet their housing needs, he said. The state also should better enforce the 1975 Mount Laurel court decision on affordable housing.

 

"Inequalities and injustices are causing thousands of families to flee New Jersey," said the Rev. Charles Stevens of the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing. "The exodus will continue until only the wealthy will live here in our state."

 

 

© 2007 The Star Ledger

© 2007 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

 

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We are pleased to report that Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora of District 15 both attended the NJRC Public Meeting.

 

Governor Jon Corzine was represented by spokesperson Jeanine LaRue, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Governor;

 

Senator Robert Smith (District 17) represented and spoke for Senate President Richard J. Codey and the Senate Democratic Caucus;

 

Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts was represented by William Castner, Jr.

 

DCA Commissioner Joseph V. Doria, Jr. was represented by his Chief of Staff, Edwin Carman.

 

The League of Women Voters of New Jersey was represented at the meeting and distributed 1,000 voter information cards to attendees, encouraging all to Vote on Tuesday, November 6, 2007.

 

You can also read more on the Web at http://www.njregionalequity.org/event2007/

 

 

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NEWS FROM NJRC's DISTRICT 15 CLERGY BREAKFAST EVENT, JUNE 7, 2007

 

 

 

 

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NJRC DISTRICT 15 organizing group LEADERS

Rev. Charles Stephens, pastor, Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing, Titusville, 609-737-0515

Marlene Lao-Collins, Coordinator of Religious Education, St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Trenton, 609-989-1120

Nicole Plett, Second Vice-President, League of Women Voters of Lawrence Township, 609-771-1665

Alex J. Allen, Vice President, Community Planning & Research, Isles Inc., Trenton, 609-341-4701

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DISTRICT 15 REPRESENTATIVES

 

New Jersey Legislative District 15 is made up of: Ewing Township, Hopewell Borough, Hopewell Township, Lawrence Township, Pennington Borough, Princeton Borough, Princeton Township, City of Trenton.

 

Senator SHIRLEY K. TURNER - Democrat (President Pro Tempore)

District Office: 1440 Pennington Rd., 1st Floor, Ewing, NJ 08618

phone: 609-530-3277; fax: 609-530-3292

website: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/turner.asp

e-mail: SenTurner@njleg.org

 

 

Assemblywoman BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN - Democrat (Majority Leader)

District Office: 226 W. State St., Trenton, NJ 08608

phone: 609-292-0500; fax: 609-633-2179

website: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/Watson.asp

e-mail: AswWatsonColeman@njleg.org

 

Assemblyman REED GUSCIORA - Democrat (Assistant Majority Leader)

District Office: 226 W. State St., Trenton, NJ 08608

phone: 609-292-0500; fax: 609-633-2179

website: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/gusciora.asp

e-mail: AsmGusciora@njleg.org

 

 

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OTHER NEWS

District 15 was well represented at the NJRC's mass public meeting in Atlantic City on Thursday, November 16, 2006. read more

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For more information about NJRC contact:

 

New Jersey Regional Coalition

900 Haddon Ave, Suite 410

Collingswood, NJ 08108

(856) 854-2550 Phone

(856) 858-1508 Fax

e-mail njrc@njregionalequity.org

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