Why are New Jersey’s gubernatorial candidates silent on poverty?
I have been a tax-paying resident of Trenton for nearly two decades, a city where the poverty rate is about 25%. Across New Jersey, nearly one million residents live in poverty. Cumberland County remains the state’s poorest rural county, while Hudson, Essex, and Camden are the poorest urban counties. These are not abstract numbers—they represent working families, seniors on fixed incomes, and children whose futures are at stake.
Yet in the race for governor, neither Democrat Mikie Sherrill nor Republican Jack Ciattarelli is talking about poverty in a meaningful way. Why? Do they assume that people living in poverty won’t vote? Or do they believe this issue simply isn’t important enough to deserve their attention?
The silence is even louder when it comes to reparations and racial justice. Despite the findings of New Jersey’s Reparations Task Force, both candidates have avoided questions about how they intend to respond. History has taught us that when policies are enacted to repair the harm done to Black people, the benefits ripple outward: the poor of all races gain from greater fairness, access, and opportunity.
So why are Sherrill and Ciattarelli ignoring this reality? Poverty reduction strategies are not “special interest” issues. They are the foundation of a healthy, prosperous state. Addressing poverty means investing in education, healthcare, affordable housing, workforce development, and small business creation—policies that lift every community.
The people of New Jersey deserve better than silence. Sherrill and Ciattarelli must be required to speak directly about their strategies to reduce poverty and their positions on the reparations findings. The stakes are too high to pretend these issues don’t exist.
Until they do, we should keep asking: What are your plans to address poverty in New Jersey, and why should the most vulnerable among us believe you’ll act differently once in office?
This Op-Ed was written by Trenton resident Gene Bouie
