News
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- Written by: Ms. Arielle Shack
- Category: Press Releases
FLORHAM PARK, NJ – June 15, 2023 – The New Jersey Libertarian Party (NJLP) today announces that after persistent advocacy, the Florham Park Town Council will finally repeal a long-standing code, deemed unlawful since 1978.
NJLP’s advocacy has led Florham Park to recognize the inherent issues with the code. The Town Council's decision to repeal aligns the town with New Jersey state law, mitigating potential legal ramifications and fostering a more inclusive social environment.
"The New Jersey Legislature decided not to include such crimes in New Jersey's Criminal Code due to the potential misuse, and every New Jersey town should adhere to this decision. We sincerely appreciate Florham Park Town Council's decision to delete these outdated and unfair codes," said John Paff, Chair of the NJLP Preempted Ordinance Project. "The NJLP is determined to continue our mission town by town across New Jersey, challenging and working to repeal any antiquated or illegal codes regulating street behavior. Our ultimate goal is to ensure our laws are fair, just, and upholding the rights of the people and the fundamental values of individual liberty as set forth in our constitution."
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
In response to a request from the NJLP's Prempted Ordinance Project, the Borough of Florham Park has announced its intention on the repeal of its Loitering Code. The invalid nature of their ordinance was pointed out to them way back in 2010.
Attached are the following documents:
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- Written by: Webmaster
- Category: Candidates and Elections
In the November 2023 election the NJ Libertarian Party is supporting the following candidates.
- NJ State Senate District 2 - Shawn Peck
- NJ Assembly District 13 - John Morrison
- NJ State Senate District 16 - Richard J. Byrne
- NJ Assembly District 19 - David Diez
- Branchburg Town Council - Tara Murphy
- Allendale Town Council - Zachary Finkelstein
- Mercer County Sheriff - Drew Cifrodelli
- Stanhope School Board - Lana Leguia
Please provide whatever support you can to our candidates! State candidates can be supported via our State Fund.
If you are interested in running under our banner next year contact the state board and fill out a questionnaire.
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- Written by: Christopher G. Russomanno
- Category: Latest News
I think it was way back between 2007 to 2012 when I became a libertarian. I’ll use the small “l” for now. Because I had not as yet joined the party but my thoughts and outlook were becoming libertarian.
My father was, and is, a die-hard conservative Republican. So, not knowing any better, I was as well. I think one could have considered me a “Neo-conservative” or a “Neo-Con.” I believed in “America” and everything I thought it stood for.
In the public school I went to (I like to think of them as government-run indoctrination centers) I had been taught about the Founding Fathers and the Revolutionary War and all the noble ideas that came with it. Most of the Presidents were lionized especially the ones that got us into wars. I was taught that World War Two was “the good war” and that we definitely, definitely, should have fought that one, for the good of everyone.
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- Written by: Christopher G. Russomanno
- Category: Latest News
I love craft breweries because they are small businesses that are the backbone of our economy, they invest in the local community making it more prosperous and, most importantly —they make delicious beer.
Craft breweries are small businesses that are the backbone of the economy and they create more jobs than huge corporations ever will. The owners are plucky entrepreneurs who have a strong strain of self-reliance and a can-do attitude that is sorely needed in New Jersey. These small businesses are an economic benefit because they increase tourism and increase revenue for the state. However, regulations in New Jersey are making it difficult for craft breweries to operate and thrive because legislators are doing the bidding of big business. Big business is afraid that craft breweries will cut into their profit by drawing consumers away. These big businesses can afford to give large donations to political campaigns as well as send lobbyists to Trenton to influence politicians who then enact laws and regulations that favor those who donate over others. I have always been confused by this. New Jersey is a “blue state” with the Democrats, for the most part, having sway over politics. Supposedly the Dems are on the side of the little guy and the common man, but they then enact legislation to hurt small business owners. The notion that any of our politicians care about the little guy is just a tired old trope that they pull out to pander to their base when they need votes.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Police Accountability Project
On March 3rd Najee Seabrooks was shot and killed by police responding to a 911 call from Seabrooks family. Numerous organizations are calling for federal investigation into the shooting.
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- Written by: Mr. Christopher Fox
- Category: NJ Libertarian Blog
This past Sunday, February 19th of 2023, I took my son to the Rage Against the War Machine Rally. This is a follow up to a previous essay explaining why I was psyched about the idea that people from different political philosophies can coalesce to fight for one cause and the opportunity to hear many speakers I admire present their cases for peace. I was not disappointed.
But I did not go there for entertainment. I did not bring my son to Washington DC to see the sights or gain a better sense of the greatness of America. No. To the contrary, we came to Washington DC to protest.
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- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Open Government Advocacy Project
Irvington made national headlines last year when it filed a lawsuit against an 82-year-old woman for filing too many public records requests. Now it says a lawyer for FIRE should be prosecuted.
Irvington, New Jersey, just can't help itself. First, it tried to sue an elderly woman for filing too many public records requests, and now it's suggesting that a lawyer for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) be criminally prosecuted for doing the same.
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- Written by: Tara Murphy
- Category: Candidates and Elections
More than a quarter of Branchburg voters said YES to term limits, putting residents first and said no to a tax increase in Tuesday’s election. A vote for Tara Murphy and Jason MacDuffie was a declaration of independence from the GOP monopoly. These votes came from a broad coalition of third party voters, Democrats, unaffiliated and even a few Republicans. This bipartisan support in our historic run came from talking to people about the issues they care about. We’ve demonstrated the viability of Libertarian candidates.
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- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
Update September 26, 2022 - the Runnemede Borough attorney has agreed that their Disorderly Persons Ordinance should be repealed. Below is the initial letter and the borough attorney's response. For more information on this subject see Loitering Ordinances - Invalid in New Jersey.
From: John Paff
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2022 4:30 PM
Subject: Runnemede Police Department's enforcement of a preempted ordinance.
Dear Mayor Kappatos and Members of the Borough Council:
I write, both individually and in my capacity as Chairman of the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project to request the Mayor and Council ask Borough Solicitor Daniel H. Long to review Borough Code § 265-5 and render an opinion on whether or not it is preempted by the New Jersey Criminal Code.
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- Written by: Mike Guadagnino
- Category: Press Releases
New Jersey Libertarian Party 
NJLP.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CD 9 Republican Candidate Billy Prempeh and Libertarian Candidate Sean Armstrong Agree to Debate but Need the Democratic Candidate William Pascrell to Join Them
New Jersey—August 12th, 2022—The residents of the newly formed 9th New Jersey Congressional District have a choice between three candidates. Many are new to this re-drawn district and may not be familiar with any of these candidates or even their sitting congressman. To help them learn about the choices they may have, two of the candidates are calling for public debates to help residents familiarize themselves with these three choices.
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- Written by: Michael Manieri
- Category: Press Releases
New Jersey Libertarian Party
NJLP.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NJLP Statement on the FBI’s Authoritarian Activities
New Jersey – August 10, 2022
On August 8, 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Many on the left, who previously spent years decrying law enforcement as corrupt and calling to defund the police, are celebrating this raid and denying the possibility of FBI corruption. Conversely, those on the right who have spent years curtailing civil liberties, bolstering law enforcement’s powers, and defending police as they terrorized communities, see this raid as political persecution.
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- Written by: Mark Kapengut
- Category: Latest News
We invited about a thousand of former NJLP members to the summer picnic. About 7% responded. A handful may be making their way to the event. Guys, welcome back!
Along the way, we polled them on their presidential preferences.
No candidate won a majority, but Justin Amash dominated with clear plurality, about 40%.
Among the rest of the candidates, Spike Cohen, Dave Smith and Trump tied for a second spot with 14% each.
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- Written by: Michael Manieri
- Category: Press Releases
New Jersey Libertarian Party
NJLP.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NJLP Statement on Murphy’s Gun Control 3.0 Package
New Jersey – July 4, 2022:
In a state where respect for gun laws is akin to Nazi Germany, Governor Phil Murphy has even further violated and restricted your right to individual sovereignty. The latest “Gun Control Package 3.0” (because 1.0 and 2.0 did not work), is uncategorically the worst legislation in the country.
Subcategories
NJ Libertarian Blog
Imported from NJ Libertarian News from the published feed
Videos
This is a page of various videos that we have either created or found interesting. Be sure to check out and follow our YouTube page.
Open Government Advocacy Project
The Open Government Advocacy Project is a committee of the NJ Libertarian Party. Its goal is to ensure transparency and accountability at all levels of government. Articles posted here are a subset of the work of the committee. For more information visit the Open Government Advocacy Project blog.
If you would like to demand accountability and ensure that your local governing body or school board adheres to the Open Public Records Act we can help you request information from them. Contact John Paff, the project chair here.
Insight New Jersey
NJ government is huge and complex. Private industry is shrinking while the size and cost of government bureacracy continues to grow. The articles posted here provide a guide of the NJ State Government and can be used by citizens and candidates for office to evaluate what departments can be reduced drastically in size.
We'll start with just some of the departments and provide a breakdown on what they do (or purport to do), how many employees they have and how big their budget is.
Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
The New Jersey Libertarian Party's Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project (“the Project”) seeks to get New Jersey municipalities to repeal loitering ordinances that should have been -- but were not -- repealed when the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice was enacted in 1979. The Project has successfully had loitering ordinances repealed in over 30 towns. For a summary listing of all the towns see Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project page.
Police Accountability Project
The Police Accountability Project is a committee of the NJ Libertarian Party. Its goal is to search out cases of police misconduct, file former Internal Affairs (IA) complaints when appropriate, and to publicize violations of rules and laws by the police. There may be other stories posted on the NJLP Police Internal Affairs Complaint Blog page.
If you would like to help or know of a case we should be looking at, contact the committee at
Legislative Affairs Committee
The Legislative Affairs Committee was created to allow a select core of Volunteers to take action on legislation and policies which directly affects the people of New Jersey.
[INTRO VIDEO - HOSTED ON NJLP STATE YOUTUBE AND EMBEDED HERE]
Staff
Legislative Director and Committee Chair
Volunteers: