From Iraq to Chatham: Justin Strickland makes his case for Congress — again

 

By Kristen Neymarc

Back in February, Chatham Borough Councilman Justin Strickland ran in an NJ-11 special Democratic primary for Congress. He finished in sixth place. Why is is running again?

Just because Analilia Mejia won the seat a few weeks ago and now represents the district, Strickland says, Tuesday’s primary should not be a formality. “Fall in line” is the wrong message for a party trying to defend democracy, he told Morristown Green during a sitdown at the Library of the Chathams.

Seconds into the interview, he got up, closed the door to the meeting room, and grinned.

“I’m from Texas,” he said. “I can get loud.”

ONE ELECTION AFTER ANOTHER

This is an unusual race because NJ-11 is voting four times in the same year.

The district, which includes parts of Morris, Essex and Passaic counties, held a February primary and an April special election to complete the term of Mikie Sherrill, who left Congress to become governor.

Democrats vote again June 2, this time to choose their nominee for the full two-year term that begins in January. The winner will face Republican Joe Hathaway — who lost to Mejia last month — in November.

Two other Democrats are also on the ballot: Former Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitello and tech engineer Joseph B. Lewis II of Montville. Strickland is the only one of the 11 Democrats Mejia defeated in February who is trying again.

‘I DON’T THINK THAT’S DEMOCRACY’

Strickland’s argument is simple: April counted. But it should not count for everything. The numbers, he insists, show there is still room for another choice.

Mejia won the February special primary with less than one-third of the vote. Strickland, 47, sees that as evidence that many Democratic voters wanted someone else.

“To default to the idea that any candidate won a special election with 29 percent of the vote, and that also means 71 percent of those people should just fall in line…. I don’t think that’s democracy,” said Strickland, who studied politics at Texas A&M University.

And the April special election was a Thursday vote, held on a compressed timetable, with only 10 percent participation (by his count) among the district’s more than 200,000 unaffiliated voters.

“That should make everybody incredibly nervous,” Strickland said, “because they looked at both candidates and said, ‘I’m not going to go vote.’”

IRAQ TO DC, AFGHANISTAN TO CHATHAM

Strickland may be Texas-loud, but he thinks the special primary moved too fast for Jersey voters to hear his message: That he is the most complete candidate.

He served two Army tours in Iraq, earning a Bronze Star. “I’m a former captain. I led troops. I was actually responsible for bringing 34 people home alive,” he said.

Strickland then spent four years as a federal employee in Washington, including a senior Pentagon role focused on economic development in Afghanistan. Work took him there 16 times. “There’s no doubt I have more foreign policy experience than the other Democrats running,” he said.

That matters, in his view, because America’s standing abroad has been damaged. While affordability and domestic policy are incredibly important, he said, “we equally need to be concerned right now about our place in the world.”

Strickland moved to Chatham about 10 years ago after living in Manhattan. Now working in pharma, his says his career has been about leadership, IT and program management for three Fortune 500 companies.

In 2023, he was elected to the Chatham Borough council. A year later, he fell short in a bid for the Morris County Board of Commissioners. He said he has a ground-level view of New Jersey government.

Affordable housing law is “insanely complex, and I’ve lived that for the last three years.”

CONTRAST OR CRITIQUE?

Strickland (slogan: Liberty and Justin For All ) says he is trying to contrast himself with Mejia without critiquing the incumbent, who Republicans have bashed for her progressive agenda.

“I would say that my policies are more realistic and doable” than hers, he said.

Mejia’s proposed $25 federal minimum wage, phased-in starting with large corporations, still could hit small businesses unevenly, especially in lower-wage states where $7.25 remains the floor, Strickland said.

“You’re just going to make (corporations) stronger because the small businesses are going to be gone.”

He wants to raise the Social Security payroll tax cap, so higher earners pay more. That might give surviving spouses two additional years of benefits.

“That’s tangible,” he said. “That can happen.”

MIDDLE GROUND

Strickland knows some Democrats are angry he is still running. That, he said, is part of his point.

He reached out to the League of Women Voters about holding a forum for this primary, he said, but got no response. The special primary had forums, debates and other chances for voters to compare the candidates.

In at least one category, there is no comparison. Fundraising is widely viewed as a sign of a political viability, and Mejia wins that contest by a landslide: Through May 15, she raised more than $1.5 million.

Strickland’s total is just over $87,000, of which he personally contributed about $29,000, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Mejia has enjoyed major progressive support, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

Strickland contends endorsements, famous names and outside PAC money should not become a substitute for voters hearing directly from candidates, especially in a district with local concerns of its own. He worries that voters in the middle may see the same kind of politics Democrats criticize elsewhere.

“It’s so important to me that we don’t forget the people in the middle,” Strickland said.

**STAY TUNED FOR PROFILES OF THE OTHER DEMOCRATIC CONTENDERS!**