An Address from the New State Chairman of the Democratic Party, Chairman John Wisniewski

Dear NJ Democrats,

I'm writing you today to introduce myself as the new Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. I am honored that the elected members of the State Committee unanimously chose me and I am excited to take on the responsibility of reinvigorating our party.

We are all disappointed in the outcome of the election last November and know we cannot allow a repeat in 2010. At the same time we can't forget how much success this party has had in recent years, under my predecessor and colleague Assemblyman Joe Cryan;

-Electing US Senator Bob Menendez
-Re-electing US Senator Frank Lautenberg
-Giving President Barack Obama an 18 point victory
-Electing Congressman John Adler as the first Democrat in over 114 years to serve in Congressional District 3
-Winning Freeholder and Mayoral elections in places once thought impossible for Democrats to win
-Even on a tough Election Day last year, returning all 47 Democratic incumbent Assemblymembers to the Statehouse.

Although we face challenging times, we have an enormous opportunity to help New Jersey working families get ahead. We understand the concerns of those who worry about whether they can afford to live in our state, whether they will have a job to provide for their family and whether the economy will get back on track -- because these are the concerns of our friends, our families, and our neighbors.

The stakes are too high for Democrats not to succeed and we have much work to do. Democrats are the party of the people and we must renew our efforts to build the party from the bottom-up by strengthening relationships with candidates, activists and voters on the grassroots level.

Last weekend I was at the Democratic National Committee meeting in Washington, DC where President Obama reminded us of the array of challenges we are facing as a country. But even in the face of these challenges he and Democrats in Congress have accmplished much, including:

-Passed almost $300 billion in tax relief
-Passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
-Extended health care to four million more children
-Passed a Credit Card Bill of Rights to protect consumers from getting ripped off by credit card companies
-Appointing Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.

Perhaps the biggest accomplishment with the most direct effect on New Jersayans was the signing of the Economic Recovery Act one year ago today. The stimulus program has already awarded over $4.5 billion to New Jersey and had provided funding for 21,493 jobs.

In Washington, President Obama told the crowd, '...if you look at a tally of the things we said we would do - even in the midst of this extraordinarily challenging economy - we've kept our promises. We've kept our commitments. We have moved forward on behalf of a more prosperous and more secure future for the American people.'

I look forward to working with our new leadership team of Senate President Steve Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, and Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono and Assembly Majority Leader Joe Cryan. We should all be proud of how quickly they have gotten to work addressing turning around our state in a series of open meetings in Trenton and around the state to hear the concerns and ideas of New Jersey's citizens.

Over the next few months I look forward to having the same kind of dialogue with you. Soon we will be announcing a series of meetings to hear from local Democratic elected officials, county committee people and grassroots activists about what you think the State Party and Democrats in general should be doing as we enter this crucial stretch for our party.

In the meantime, please send me some of your ideas, whether broad strategy or specific action, for what we should be doing as a party across the state and in your area at ideas@njdems.org.

Thank you and I look forward to meeting you soon.

Sincerely,

Assemblyman John Wisniewski, Chair