Madelyn Hoffman

I am a long-time member of the Green Party of New Jersey who was Ralph Nader's vice-presidential running mate for New Jersey in 1996 and the Green Party candidate for Governor in 1997. Prior to that, I worked as the director of the Grass Roots Environmental Organization for almost 20 years with over 200 grass roots and municipal organizations, concerned about toxic chemical pollution in New Jersey. I then worked for almost 20 years as the director of New Jersey Peace Action, on non-violent resolution of international conflict and protection of civil liberties and civil rights. In 2018 and 2020, I ran for U.S. Senate in New Jersey. My 38,288 votes in 2020 were the 2nd highest vote total for a statewide Green Party candidate in NJ, behind only Ralph Nader in 2000. I am also an adjunct professor of public speaking and political science and have been since 1997.

• We need an eco-socialist Green New Deal and a workers' bill of rights. We have no time to wait!!
• Get big money out of politics! Our campaign takes no money from corporations or Political Action Committees (PACs).
• More Voices, More Choices -- grass roots democracy requires Ranked Choice Voting!!

1. I am very passionate about environmental justice, an eco-socialist Green New Deal, together with a workers' bill of rights and the need to address/confront issues of climate change, NOW.
2. I am committed to social and economic justice for all -- that includes addressing issues of defunding and demilitarizing the police and granting civilian review boards subpoena power; legalizing cannabis in ways that create restorative justice, making up for decades of discrimination in arrests for possession; abolishing ICE; addressing systemic racism and standing up for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.
3. A single payer health insurance program on both the state and federal level, an improved and expanded Medicare for All

Two of my role models politically were Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

For me, the most important characteristics or principles for an elected official are to be able to listen to the voices of many of my constituents and to involve those constituents in the decision-making process. My job would be to listen to those who are generally not heard -- voices of immigrants, undocumented, people without homes, those whose communities have been discriminated against for decades, or whose communities have been victims of environmental injustice and environmental racism, people whose rents are too high and not stabilized just as government officials are making deals with big developers to build high-rise apartments or other upscale housing and slowly (or not so slowly) driving low-to-moderate income people out of their homes. I believe in a country that is sustainable economically and environmentally, and do not believe that capitalism is the answer. We need to take the profit motive out of so many operations -- whether it be health care, banking, education, living wages, not minimum wages, tuition-free college, cancelation of rents and mortgages, and more. We need to prioritize all people, not mega-corporations and the ultra-rich. We can do better as a country by recognizing that if the people have more control over the institutions around them, this country will be safer, healthier and more secure.

I am determined to make changes in the way the state operates now -- finding a way to bring more social and economic justice to wider number of people. I am empathic -- I listen carefully to many points of view. I am a humanist and an egalitarian. I am an excellent communicator and I believe in working together with a team, one that is open and honest with each other, to minimize the likelihood of social cliques or discrimination of any type -- racial, gender, age, or sexual orientation. My ability to work hard, to push against the current, to remain idealistic regardless of the push back, are all qualities that I believe would serve me and New Jersey well. I am open and trustworthy and will not be tempted to abandon my principles because I am offered some kind of financial award. We all need to be heard. Activists need to be respected and must be asked for input surrounding public policy.

I remember the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. I was 7 years old.

I was a VISTA Volunteer, first working for ACORN for 1 1/2 years in Davenport, Iowa and then I continued my VISTA service in Newark, New Jersey. That job turned into the founding of the Grass Roots Environmental Organization, a position I held for 18 years.

Charly or Flowers for Algernon is my favorite book. Though ultimately sad, I love seeing Charlie Gordon's intellectual and emotional progress (and than regression) through the quality and type of writing in daily journal entries. I also love Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass -- Walt Whitman's view of democracy and the diversity of the people of this country described in stream-of-consciousness poetry, has affected me for years

Ravel's Bolero; Cat Stevens' Peace Train; Iko Iko Ane (from TicToc)

The Governor of New Jersey is one of the most powerful governors in the U.S. due to the powers afforded him/her by the New Jersey Constitution. All of his/her duties are important -- but I would say that signing or vetoing legislation, exercising the line-item veto and making appointments to existing and special commissions are amongst the most important responsibilities. The governor can also recommend and lobby for different bills, giving him/her a greater ability to make good on campaign promises. The powers of the NJ governor also, at times, set him/her at odds with the state's legislature, creating a situation in which the NJ governor has to juggle the ability to issue Executive Orders and fulfill his/her legislative agenda while honoring grass roots democracy and the ability for every town to set some of its own priorities in our home rule state. It would be tempting to overuse the governor's constitutional authority when his/her priorities are at odds with the legislature's, so it would be important to walk a fine line between what I as a governor would want to see done and the legislative priorities of the state senate and state assembly.

I would use the line-item power very sparingly. I know how concerned I am about efforts of past presidents to gain line-item veto power and about their use of what's known as a "signing statement," effectively giving the president the power to pick and choose what he/she supports. I know that if my politics aligned with the president -- or in this case the governor -- I might be pleased with the line-item vetoes he/she issued, but the reverse would also be true. If I didn't agree politically with the governor, I might see an overuse of the line-item veto as a threat to grass roots democracy in this state. Clearly, it would be a balancing act. At times, a line-item veto could save this state from wasteful spending. However, too many line-item vetoes could make it seem that I valued my own individual powers more than I valued governing the state for the sake of the majority of its people.

I love New Jersey's diversity most of all. We have a large immigrant population and an opportunity to experience much multi-culturalism, whether we're talking about the Latin American restaurants and shops in Dover, Morris County, for example; or the Arab American restaurants and shops in Paterson; or the rich history of the Underground Railroad from Cape May through Liberty State Park in Jersey City; to the Pine Barrens; the Jersey Shore -- Long Beach Island, Barnegat Lighthouse, and more; the revolutionary history in Bordentown , Washington Crossing, Jockey Hollow and more. We have school districts like Highland Park, where I believe more than 80 languages are spoken. There is so much to learn and so much to do to ensure that all groups are welcome here and are treated equally. We also are home to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and parts of the Appalachian Trail; the once beautiful Meadowlands which have, unfortunately, been spoiled by overdevelopment. For all of this natural beauty and more, we need to work even harder to protect our open spaces and to keep our ecosystems in balance. In addition, we must do more to protect and respect the lives of those who live in our cities, combatting environmental racism and environmental injustice, ensuring clean air and clean water. We have much to be proud of, as well as much to do to protect our state from the growing threats caused by climate change and overdevelopment. The impact of Hurricane Ida has shown us that.

I am a lifelong activist for peace, justice and an environment free of toxic chemical pollution. I worked as the director of a non-profit peace organization for almost 20 years and as the director of a grassroots environmental organization for almost 20 years prior to that. I ran for U.S. Senate in 2018 as Green against Senator Menendez and garnered 25,150 votes, the most of any third party in the race. I was Ralph Nader's Vice-Presidential running mate in NJ in 1996 and the Green Party candidate for governor of NJ in 1996.

• The U.S. must stop its endless imperialistic wars and use the money saved on programs communities need, such as education and tuition-free college, improved and expanded Medicare 4 All, infrastructure repair, a clean environment and more.
• We need a Real Green New Deal - one that starts with cutting the military budget and continues by creating a sustainable economy and a sustainable environment.
• Grass roots democracy - implementing Ranked Choice Voting, getting big money out of politics, lowering the voting age, abolishing the Electoral College - and more.

Foreign policy - diplomacy, not war; ending policies that create refugees
Education - tuition-free college; student loan debt forgiveness. improved public education
Civil rights and reparations
Opposing the border wall and travel bans
A Real Green Eco-socialist New Deal
Improved and expanded Medicare for All
Electoral reform - Ranked Choice Voting, lowering voting age and more

I believe that it is most important for an elected official to truly represent her constituents. That means that all constituents need to be treated as equally important, so it is not principled to accept thousands of dollars from Political Action Committees when many individuals who support the campaign have no extra money at all to donate to the campaign. The Hoffman for Senate 2020 campaign, like all my other campaigns will accept no political action committee money. Instead, we will work with community groups and individuals advocating on behalf of their communities to address issues of homelessness and hunger, poverty, social and economic injustice, environmental problems, the need for health care for all, an end to imperialist wars that take billions of dollars out of our communities to bring death and destruction to communities overseas - as an elected official, I believe it would be my responsibility to look out for us all, not for the elite 1% whose money seems to buy just about anything.

I believe that my many years as an activist have taught me how to stand beside others who are struggling to create a better and more just world. My job is to listen to those who find themselves on the outside looking in - and provide a voice for them where it is needed - in front of those who make the decisions that affect everyone's lives. It is my firm belief that it is the role of an office holder to understand how decisions are made and to be a bridge between the people and the halls of power - never forgetting who are the real drivers of the government, i.e. the people!

My first full-time job built off my two-year stint as a VISTA Volunteer in the city of Newark, New Jersey. As a VISTA volunteer, I was a tutor at the Ironbound Community School and music teacher at the Pre-School. But soon after beginning to work at this job, I began to talk to organizers at the Ironbound Community Corporation and together we began to work to create a citizens' group called the Ironbound Committee Against Toxic Wastes, a community group dedicated to trying to reduce the amount of toxic chemical pollution in the Ironbound section of Newark. From there, we build a statewide organization called the Grass Roots Environmental Organization (GREO) that worked to unify citizens' groups throughout New Jersey who were facing toxic chemical pollution problems. I was a volunteer for and the director of GREO from 1981 through 1999.

I am learning how to speak Spanish, so I listen to WPAT Radio - I find the melodies for some of the songs stuck in my head without either knowing and understanding all the lyrics or even knowing the name of the song.

Additionally, I have a Leonard Cohen song stuck in my head about how the game is fixed. I have yet to search for the lyrics or the title of the song.

The United States faces many challenges over the next decade. I believe we have lost our way as a country - more than ever before.

Being a U.S. Senator provides a special opportunity to collaborate on public policy at the highest level - whether it be advising and consenting on presidential nominations for the U.S. Supreme Court or other federal judges or considering whether or not the U.S. should ratify important international treaties. It would be a great honor to serve as a U.S. Senator and make decisions that would affect not only my New Jersey constituents, but the country on critical matters facing us here at home - from health care, to public education, to civil rights and more.

Yes, it is beneficial for senators to have experience in government and in politics - while it's good to understand how the U.S. government is supposed to work, it's also important to understand how it works in actuality - and thus have a better understanding of how to navigate through the process of making a difference.

I wish that all filibusters would be public - the way they once were. The filibuster is a tool for the minority party to still exert some political power. However, in recent years, the filibuster has been used indiscriminately to obstruct and conducted more on paper. By conducting filibusters on paper and just counting the votes behind the scenes, those who would like to use the filibuster don't have to be held accountable for their decisions by speaking to the public for hours about an issue that matters to them.