Edwards breaks her silence on appellate court’s ruling

In response to the lawsuit brought forth by former West Ward councilwoman Robin Vaughn, which sought to unseat both Yazminelly Gonzalez’s and Jasi Edwards’ city council positions, Edwards finally speaks out in an exclusive statement sent to the Trenton Journal.

“I started to say I don’t have a quote, then I realized I’ve been suppressing how I feel and moving like it’s not bothering me.

I know God had me the whole time because He’s the one that told me to run in the first place. At that moment I questioned Him and told Him my concerns and He told me not to worry. He told me He was going to use me. But what I did not expect was for people to take me to court to try to forfeit my position.

As a Black woman, being attacked by other Black women is very disappointing. Instead of trying to work with me or at least offer me advice or guidance as my elders, they tried to defame my character and destroy my reputation and my life. What’s even more disheartening is one of the women was a mother figure to me and someone I deeply confided in my teenage years and she used some of the most vulnerable times in my life against me. That’s why the youth are hard to reach, because they can’t trust many of their elders.

Lastly, and I believe this is the most important, this whole situation tells the public that some of our so-called leaders do not truly believe in second chances or reform.

I was falsely accused of having a felony or a disqualifying criminal record and was blasted all over social media and the news for it. I was threatened on social media as well and was dragged through court twice. That was a very overwhelming experience and I can just imagine how people actually facing prison time feel for being wrongly accused of crimes they did not commit. Even if they did, to have paid your time and fines just to have it hung over your head for the rest of your life is stressful and embarrassing, and it’s wrong.

People try to move on from their mistakes, genuinely change, and improve their lives but there are people in the world who won’t let them no matter what. There are people who look like us who intentionally gatekeep everything because they feel like people with records don’t deserve a seat at the table. I am here to help change that narrative by being the change I want to see and the change our community needs. Injustices happen every day. I am still suffering from the injustice that happened to me nearly five years ago, but I’m glad that these judges did their due diligence and rendered a decision in my favor.

Justice was served correctly in this case. I am blessed to have a seat at the table to be a voice for the unheard, the underserved, and the ignored.”