Gov. Phil Murphy has exploited and betrayed “the Black community that elected him” in New Jersey, devalued women and other minorities, and needs to be held accountable by leaders of the Democratic Party, the pastor of a Newark church wrote in a new letter to national and local officials in the party.
The letter from Rev. David Jefferson, pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church, comes as Murphy, an avowed progressive Democrat, vies for a second term in November’s election.
Jefferson, a fellow Democrat but frequent Murphy critic, addressed the letter to Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison, New Jersey Democratic Party Chairman John Currie, Essex County Democratic Party Chairman Leroy Jones — all of whom are Black.
“Sadly, here in New Jersey, we have a governor who is a ‘poster-child’ for the disingenuous politician talking the talk, but not walking the walk,” Jefferson wrote.
Jefferson is also an attorney and a legal officer for Blueprint Capital, a Black-owned New Jersey investment firm suing Murphy’s administration over alleged racial bias.
In the letter, Jefferson wrote that Murphy on the campaign trail “trumpeted loudly his deep devotion to the Black community, to other minorities, and to women” but, once elected, “forgot about them and immediately focused instead on his next political move and advancing his own personal prospects.”
“I am asking you to protect our party and hold Gov. Murphy to account,” he added.
Murphy’s office deferred comment about the letter to the governor’s campaign and the state Democratic Party. Murphy’s campaign declined to comment. The state party did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Jefferson told NJ Advance Media he sent the letter to help make sure the Democratic Party doesn’t lose support from younger voters, who he said are “losing faith in leaders.”
“This is a pattern,” the pastor said. “Let’s fix these issues so people can get excited.”
“If there’s no real transparency, if there’s really no openness in terms of how the government conducts its business and we as citizens hold them accountable, ultimately our democracy will erode to the point we will have no ethics and have no fairness,” Jefferson added. “I have been a die-hard Democrat all my life, but I have seen tremendous moral erosion in our leadership.”
Murphy has instituted numerous progressive policies since becoming governor in 2018, including signing equal pay legislation, increasing the minimum wage, installing a millionaires tax to bolster state budget funding, and appointing a Cabinet in which the majority of members are women and minorities.
But in his letter, Jefferson raised concerns about allegations that the governor’s 2017 campaign was a “toxic” place to work, accusations that Murphy’s inner circle mishandled Katie Brennan’s allegation that a top campaign official raped her, and recent allegations of beatings at New Jersey’s women’s prison.
He also said Murphy did not focus enough attention of “vulnerable” communities of color during the coronavirus pandemic.
The governor recently announced the state would prioritize distribution of the new one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to New Jersey’s Black and minority communities. Minority residents have been disproportionately affected by the virus.
Jefferson said the administration has not released enough documents to the public outlining how the coronavirus was handled in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, where more than 7,000 people have died from the illness.
He also pointed to how Blueprint Capital filed a lawsuit alleging that Murphy, his administration, and investment firm BlackRock exhibited racial bias.
Jefferson was named Blueprint’s chief legal officer in November.
One of the people Jefferson quoted in the letter, Pastor Steffie Bartley of the New Hope Baptist Church in Elizabeth, said he did not say the quote attributed to him.
Another person quoted, Brandon McKoy, president of left-leaning think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective, also said his quote was used out of context and without permission.
The letter comes a week after Murphy faced criticism for not including a Black man on the commission to establish rules for New Jersey’s marijuana industry, nor a representative the NAACP says meets a statutory requirement. The governor did appoint a Black woman, and may now appoint a Black man, according to sources.
Read the full letter here:
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.