The Militant - July 2, 2001 -- Socialist candidate for New Jersey governor condemns police killing

Vol.65/No.25 July 2, 2001

Socialist candidate for New Jersey governor condemns police killing

BY NANCY ROSENSTOCK AND AMY HUSK
NEWARK, New Jersey--Kicking off her campaign for governor of New Jersey on the Socialist Workers Party ticket, Kari Sachs and other campaign supporters joined a May 19 rally against police brutality in nearby Irvington where Bilal Colbert, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by a cop last month. In a speech to the rally, Sachs, a meat packer and member of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, demanded the authorities indict and jail the police officer.

Sachs said the socialist campaign is also giving support to several strikes by workers in the state, including at the Dunkin Donuts distribution center in Swedesboro and Pepsi Bottling Company in Piscataway.

Sachs pointed to a new antiunion assault being organized by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which has given the go-ahead for a nonunion outfit to begin operations at Port Newark. The socialist candidate and several supporters joined a rally of Teamsters members at the Tosco/Phillips refinery who are standing up to attacks on their union by the oil bosses.

"The Democrats and Republicans, along with the employers, are pressing forward with their assault on working people," she said at a campaign forum here May 25. "For example, the number of children in New Jersey living in poverty grew by 15 percent over the last year. In the factory where I am employed workers started at $11.00 an hour 15 years ago. Today we start at $7.00," said Sachs. "More and more workers are forced to live at or below the poverty level."

"Our campaign raises with workers, farmers, and youth resisting this assault today the need for a revolutionary struggle to replace the capitalists’ government with one of workers and farmers. We can and need to follow the example of workers and farmers in Cuba who threw out a repressive dictatorship in 1959, established a government of their own, and went on to replace the capitalist system, which promotes racism, wars, and brutality, with one based on human solidarity," said Sachs.

Election laws in New Jersey require candidates who are not running as Democrats or Republicans to collect 800 signatures by June 26 to be on the ballot.

Supporters of the socialist campaign have a goal of collecting 1,600 signatures, twice the requirement, and will be campaigning throughout the state.

Out of the crowd of 75 at the May 19 rally against police brutality, 54 people signed the petitions to place Sachs on the ballot.

One participant approached the socialist candidate at the end of the rally to find out how he could stay in touch with the campaign. As a first step he decided to subscribe to the Militant newspaper.

Related article:
Cops in Minneapolis kill two, sparking protest

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