Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson is one of 17 candidates running for the Democratic nomination to represent New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, which includes the Princeton area.
Last month, Reynolds-Jackson won the endorsement at the Mercer County Democratic Committee Convention and received the fourth-most votes at the Princeton Community Democratic Organization endorsement vote. Reynolds-Jackson sat down with The Daily Princetonian to discuss her political background and her campaign priorities, including access to healthcare, affordability, and voting rights.
Reynolds-Jackson is from Trenton, N.J., and has a background in social work. She was the first African American woman elected to serve as East Ward Councilwoman in the Trenton City Council and later served as Council Vice President. In 2018, she won election to the New Jersey General Assembly for the 15th Legislative District and is currently in her fourth term. She is chair of the Education Committee, vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, and a member of the Budget Committee.
Weighing in on a controversial debate that has divided the Democratic party, Reynolds-Jackson said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be abolished and expressed her support for reallocating its funds to the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Transportation Security Administration. Additionally, she argued that utility rates should be capped and that data centers should “pay their fair share” in electricity costs. New Jersey has roughly 80 planned or operational data centers, according to Data Center Map, and the high energy demand from these data centers has contributed to rising electricity prices in the state.
If elected, Reynolds-Jackson said she hopes to increase community engagement, especially with younger generations.
“We have a large population of young people that want to get into public advocacy and public policy. They just don’t know where to start. And so I think I have that opportunity to create that partnership,” she stated. “I think I have the ability: Because I teach public policy [and] because I have the mentorship program, I think we can take what [Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman] has and make it even better.”
Reynolds-Jackson also acknowledged certain barriers, describing mental health as one of the most important issues facing the youth.
“I think there’s a lot of things that young people just keep to themselves versus sharing. I think we need to be more open [and] remove the stigma away from having counseling or just talking about rejection,” she said.
Regarding the ongoing and accelerated expansion of presidential power, she argued that Congress should hold more hearings to hold the executive branch accountable, especially when it comes to foreign policy.
“Congress needs to act. I believe there should be some accountability. I believe there should be some oversight. I believe that the Supreme Court needs to step in and say, ‘there are things you can do, Mr. President, and there are things you cannot do,’” Reynolds-Jackson said. “Right now, we’re in a war that I don’t believe the American public had a chance to weigh in [on],” she continued, referring to the Iran war that began on Feb. 28 when Israel and the United States jointly attacked Iran.
Reynolds-Jackson argued that her background as an assemblywoman differentiates her from other candidates in the crowded race.
“I am the only state representative assemblyperson that is running that has a record of accomplishments. I also believe that I have a pathway unlike others.”
She has advocated for the expansion of the state’s Child Tax Credit and has sponsored multiple education-related bills, including a bill which passed the New Jersey General Assembly in December that would remove the state’s high school graduation exam. She also sponsored an unsuccessful 2019 nonbinding resolution that called for the removal of Huckleberry Finn from school curriculums due to racist portrayals and a successful bill mandating studies on diversity and inclusion in New Jersey schools, which became law in 2021.
Reynolds-Jackson said that affordability would continue to be one of her priorities as congresswoman. She specifically hopes to expand affordable pathways to both trade school and college for young Americans.
Regarding excessive medical costs, she specifically highlighted the 2024 Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act that she cosponsored, which limited when medical debt can be reported to credit card agencies. As a further measure, she suggested increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates.
“Just because you get sick [or] you have a chronic disease shouldn’t mean that your paycheck should be garnished or your credit report should be impacted,” Reynolds-Jackson said. “I have a legislation that I got passed to eliminate that: to stop those predatory lenders from attacking people.”
Reynolds-Jackson said that she has been working to pass the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey for the past four years, and she believes it will successfully pass the State Legislature this year. The act would give state courts broader power to counteract election rules viewed as discriminatory, including a preclearance process before localities with a history of discrimination can make changes to their election rules, and lower the threshold of non-English proficient residents needed in a municipality to mandate multilingual election materials.
She also supported a bill passed in 2022 that requires police officers to stay at least 100 feet away from polling locations and voter drop boxes.
“I’m extremely proud of the work that I did around eliminating law enforcement from inside polling locations. I want families to be able to tell the story about how they go to the polls, not to see a police officer there with their gun,” she said. “That, to me, is intimidation, and a lot of other people think that as well.”
Emily Murphy is a senior News writer, senior Copy editor, and chief correspondent regarding the N.J.–12 Congressional election. She is from New York City, and she can be reached at emily.murphy[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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