National Organization for Women of New Jersey’s Political Action Committee (NOW NJ PAC) is endorsing Valerie Vainieri Huttle for election to the New Jersey Senate in Legislative District 37. We thank Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg for her lifetime of championing women’s rights and recognize that filling the shoes of the Senate’s most steadfast champion of women’s rights will not be easy. To ensure that her legacy of advancing women’s issues continues, we must elect a replacement who is vocal about empowering women and has a proven record of supporting women’s rights.

For fifteen years, Assembly Member Huttle has advocated for reproductive rights and justice, economic justice, and ending violence against women—all part of NOW’s core mission. She is a prime sponsor of the Reproductive Freedom Act, a legislative priority for NOW New Jersey as women’s right to health care, including birth control and abortion, is under attack across the nation.

Advocating for the endorsement, Linda Weber, Chair of NOW NJ PAC said, “It is essential that we elect more female leaders to our State Legislature where we are woefully under-represented. Currently, there are only ten women in the New Jersey Senate, representing only 25% of the seats. Women need to have a voice in the legislation that impacts them.”

Assembly Member and Senate Candidate Huttle agreed. “We need more women’s voices in politics, not fewer. At a time where the number of women in New Jersey’s legislature is decreasing, I am so grateful to NOW-NJ for their work to empower and uplift women. I am humbled to have earned the support of NOW NJ PAC and look forward to our continued work together to elevate women in politics and government, and most importantly, to fight for laws that empower and defend women in the workplace, as caregivers and at home.”

NOW NJ PAC is committed to electing feminist candidates at all levels of our government who will work to defend our values, fight to correct the inequalities inherent in our systems and erase the inequities that are multiplied by the intersection of race and gender. Given her strong record of advocating for women, NOW NJ PAC is proud to endorse Assembly Member Valerie Vainieri Huttle for New Jersey Senate from District 37 and call upon the Bergen County Democratic Committee to support her candidacy as well.

About National Organization for Women of New Jersey’s Political Action Committee (NOW NJ PAC)

NOW NJ PAC consists of representatives from all our chapters throughout the state along with members of the NOW New Jersey state board. Candidates were evaluated based on their record and/or commitment to push a legislative agenda in support of NOW’s six core values. NOW’s core missions are as follows – achieving constitutional equality, ending violence against women, supporting LBGTQ+ rights and fighting for reproductive rights and justice, economic justice and racial justice.

About National Organization for Women of New Jersey (NOW-NJ)

The purpose of NOW-NJ is to take action through intersectional, anti-racist grassroots activism to promote feminist ideals, lead societal change, eliminate discrimination, and achieve and protect the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life.