BlueWaveNJ — 2022 in Review 

Dear BlueWaveNJ Members and Supporters,

2022 was a high-stakes year. Not only will the Biden administration’s ability to move its agenda forward depend on who gained control of Congress, but many of our core values and legislative priorities were under fire, both nationwide and here at home in New Jersey. And then the Dobbs decision came crashing down, and the stakes got even higher.

BlueWaveNJ was vigorous in our response to the Supreme Court’s devastating attack on reproductive rights, providing a productive channel for the outrage and grief felt by so many people in our communities. We relentlessly advocated for abortion access on the state level in NJ, and for other core issues such as gun safety, environmental justice, racial justice, making NJ more affordable, and advocating for small ‘d’ democracy reforms. 

This commitment is the reason BlueWaveNJ continues to be one of the most respected grassroots voices in New Jersey politics. 

Here are some highlights from this important year: 

(Click each link for more detailed recaps.)

Reproductive Rights: We Won’t Go Back!

• BlueWaveNJ coordinated FOUR major rallies in support of abortion rights, including quick-response actions the day after the Supreme Court “leak” and on Dobbs Decision Day itself.
• We organized a successful “March to Roevember” movement, emphasizing to voters that their election choices were the key to protecting reproductive choice.
• We lobbied and demonstrated successfully to ensure that the right to abortion was codified in New Jersey state law.
• We sent CD7 voters over 10,000  postcards and hundreds of thousands of digital ads to reinforce the importance of re-electing pro-choice representatives like Tom Malinowski over anti-choice candidates like Tom Kean, Jr.
• Our network of volunteers worked directly for the campaigns of pro-choice candidates, knocking on doors, making phone calls, and doing whatever it took to get out the vote! We also supported candidates through a vigorous postcarding initiative, sending out 10,000 healthcare-themed postcards and 5,000 environment-themed postcards to voters in key areas.

Election Work: The Midterms

• BlueWaveNJ endorsed and supported a select group of New Jersey candidates. 
• We directed countless volunteers to support Rep. Andy Kim (CD3), Rep. Mikie Sherrill (CD11), and most importantly Rep. Tom Malinowski (CD7), resulting in CD7 having the biggest volunteer turnout in the country!
• We conducted an extensive digital-ad campaign (over 300,000 ads!) in support of Rep. Malinowski, emphasizing his steadfast support of reproductive rights.
• We sent out thousands of issue-based postcards to CD7 voters, contrasting the candidates’ positions: 10,000 postcards about healthcare and reproductive rights, and 5,000 postcards about environmental concerns.

Healthcare Affordability

• Our Healthcare Committee members undertook an intense phone campaign to lobby our federal representatives in support of the $35/mo insulin cap and permitting Medicare to negotiate drug costs with pharmaceutical companies.
• Our members conducted call campaigns in support of extending the ACA subsidy boost that was scheduled to expire at the end of 2022, and in support of passing the Inflation Reduction Act (which contained key ACA provisions).

Gun Safety Advocacy

• BlueWaveNJ co-sponsored the March for Our Lives rally in Newark, as part of a national network of events.
• We created a sustained, vocal push for state-level legislation to address gun violence, resulting in Governor Phil Murphy’s passage of seven major new gun safety regulations.

Environmental Action

• In conjunction with EmpowerNJ, we initiated several legal petitions and legal actions aimed at ensuring New Jersey’s compliance with environmental regulations.
• We helped organize multiple well-attended public events, including a march in Trenton, a bike rally protesting Turnpike expansion, and a fifty-mile fossil-fuel awareness walk.
• We advocated powerfully against a new gas-fired plant in the Meadowlands and a dirty-gas plant in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood.
• We issued an influential report on emissions increases in New Jersey, and testified before the NJ Senate Environment Committee.

Racial Justice

• We participated in the Million People’s March in Newark, advocating with over 137 ally groups for voting rights; police accountability; affordable housing, healthcare, and education; and environmental equity.
• We joined the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, People’s Organization for Progress, and many other allies in the Juneteenth March & Rally in Newark.

Defending Small ‘d’ Democracy

• BlueWaveNJ worked with a statewide coalition of over twenty-five organizations in successfully delaying a bill that would have crippled New Jersey’s anti-corruption laws and further entrenched our state’s “pay-to-play” system. 

State Budget Advocacy

• As a member of the For The Many budget coalition, we lobbied for better budgeting practices, more progressive tax revenue, and a budget that would meet the needs of working families in New Jersey; we saw many of our priorities reflected in the ultimate 2023 budget signed by Governor Phil Murphy.
• In conjunction with For the Many, we helped host an impactful public hearing about how to make best use of $3 billion in State Federal Recovery Funds.

BlueWaveNJ remains grateful to our members, supporters, and volunteers for all you do to make this work possible. 2022 was a meaningful — and grueling! — year, and we are proud of how much we accomplished together. Please join us as we continue our hard work to make positive, progressive change in 2023!

Marcia Marley and the BlueWaveNJ Team