By Michael Lovito
In 2018, Morris County was at the epicenter of New Jersey’s anti-Trump blue wave. Seven years later, a pair of Morristown mainstays are hoping a second wave crashes downballot.
Democratic state Assembly candidates Steven Pylypchuk and Marisa Sweeney kicked off their District 25 campaign with about 50 supporters, including gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop, at Hops Craft Bar in Morristown on Thursday night.
Pylypchuk, a civil engineer and town councilman, and Sweeney, the owner of Be Well Integrative Health services and a member of the town planning board, are hoping to flip a pair of Assembly seats that have been held by Republicans since 1968.
To do so, the pair will have to unseat Republican incumbents Aura Dunn and Christian Barranco. A tall task — but Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty said the area’s shifting political makeup and the tumultuous Trump administration finally could move the district to the Democratic column.
“Republicans are vulnerable right now. They have a leader in Washington that could implode, really implode, by November, and could catapult a lot of Democrats into the Assembly,” Dougherty, who kicked off his own re-election campaign on Wednesday, said.
“And we have an opportunity here to put some really, really qualified candidates into our state assembly.”
Amalia Duarte, chairperson of the Morris County Democratic Committee, echoed Dougherty’s endorsement of Pylypchuk and Sweeney as uniquely suited to deliver results in Trenton.
“They have good, complementary styles and professional backgrounds as you’ll hear, but the bottom line is, they’re empathetic people,” Duarte said.
“They deeply care about our community, they deeply care about the towns within the legislative district, and I think they’re going to make a huge difference going to Trenton.”
Morristown Dems kick off Assembly campaign. Video by Michael Lovito for MorristownGreen.com:
HEALTHCARE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
The complimentary nature Duarte alluded to was on display as Pylypchuk and Sweeney made their case to the crowd.
Pylypchuk highlighted the state’s infrastructure problems, particularly what he said was the lackluster response to the sinkhole that opened up on Route 80 in March.
“When you see a major interstate literally fall into the earth and there’s no immediate response to infrastructure funding, I don’t know what else you would need for a wake up call,” the councilman said.
“Everything here was built during the Eisenhower era, and a lot of great things were done then. But when you build something on Mine Hill, it should be a hint that there’s going to be an issue down the line.”
Pylypchuk, serving his first term representing Morristown’s Third Ward, is former chairman of the town zoning board. Of Ukrainian descent, he has spoken out against President Trump’s tilt toward Russia in the ongoing war.
Sweeney, who recently completed her doctorate in nutrition, focused her remarks on healthcare, decrying the dearth of money allocated to researching women’s health issues and proposed cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
She also committed to helping “ALICE” households. Standing for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, ALICE households make enough money to be disqualified from government assistance programs, but not enough to afford basic needs or withstand emergency expenses.
According to Sweeney, 26 percent of New Jersey households fall into this category, while 10 percent live under the poverty line.
“We’re talking about over a third of New Jersey households that are either completely not making ends meet at all, or they’re one unfortunate medical bill away from things getting really dire,” Sweeney said.
“We can invest smartly and intelligently in our communities now. We don’t want a situation in which [those households] are financially defaulting and now that expense goes to the state.”
Sweeney is a trustee of the nonprofit Grow It Green Morristown, owns a busines that does pop-up vegetarian events, and has a stake in Morristown’s first cannabis dispensary, Uma Flowers.
While Republicans took the bulk of the candidates’ barbs, Pylypchuk seized the opportunity to criticize the Democrat-controlled state government’s prioritization of a small business loan program over infrastructure spending.
“I love small businesses. But what could we have done with that money if we invested it before the road actually failed?” Pylypchuk said. “That money would have gone a lot farther. This is not just an engineering failure. This is a failure of leadership.”
FULOP ENDORSEMENT
Bucking the Democratic establishment also was the theme of bried remarks from Jersey City mayor and gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop.
Pylypchuk and Sweeney are running under Fulop’s Democrats for Change banner, a coalition of 41 Assembly and county commissioner candidates.
While New Jersey’s controversial county line system was abolished last year, Fulop said the state’s party bosses still exercise undue influence in selecting officeholders. He also argued that they’ve made the state Democratic party complacent by narrowing their focus to roughly 40 municipalities that represent 55 percent of the statewide vote.
According to Fulop, this has led them to ignore districts like the 25th, which contains 18 municipalities in Morris County and West Milford in Passaic County.
“What we’re trying to do with Steve, Marisa, myself, and Tim is really invest resources in areas that are red to grow the Democratic party,” Fulop said.
“This coming November, the entire country is going to be watching New Jersey and Virginia, and that’s going to set the table for what happens in the midterms, and that’s going to set the table for what happens the following two years.”
Pylypchuk and Sweeney are the only candidates running for the Democratic nomination in the 25th district.
But Fulop is fighting for first in a crowded June gubernatorial primary against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller, former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer, and U.S. Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill.
A recent poll conducted by Hart Research showed Sherrill, whose district includes Morristown, Morris Township and Morris Plains, leading Fulop by six points. Pylypchuk made the case that Sherrill is needed more in Washington than in Trenton.
“One of the reasons we’re running with Mayor Fulop is that I truly believe he is the best candidate for New Jersey. He’s got the executive experience. If you’ve seen what Jersey City has turned into over the past 15 years, it’s a renaissance, and that is the kind of leadership that we need in Trenton today,” Pylypchuk said.
“I believe Mikie Sherrill is one of the best congresswomen we’ve ever had, and we need her right there to fight the Trump administration.”
Kevin Coughlin contributed to this report.
Penny on Morristown Dems Pylypchuk and Sweeney launch Assembly bid, with help from Dougherty, Fulop – I believe there is no such thing as “illegal” human beings (or “illegals,” as Chris refers to some folks). Rather, he might have used the phrase “undocumented immigrants.” Also, I question his referring to the “extreme progressive policy” of the Democratic Party. For many of us, that is preferable to the current “whack-it-with-a chainsaw” policy of the current president of the United States and his cronies who have created chaos recently in the United States and pretty much on the entire planet.
Hoping to flip NJ red. This is because the D party of today is not the party of decades ago. It has forced people to go Red due to extreme progressive policy that prioritizes a minority outlook that doesn’t favor overall patriotism and American values. Sadly. The Democratic leadership on the state refuses to protect its citizens in both crime and resources, their policies wreak havoc on middle Americans. It’s very sad. Often the wonder is the motivation behind their actions. It seems the root is just buying votes from people who have no rights or vestments in the Country. That is corrosive to America. And sad. Is anyone motivated to assist African Americans? Or do we just like to fund illegals and their endeavors as a priority. The Dems messaging is very corrupt to many. And that’s why the election went as it did. I hope they understand .