The day after President-Elect Donald Trump narrowly beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, Hoboken resident Dana Wefer emailed a list of members of the Hoboken Democratic Social Club, hoping to grab coffee with a handful of people and discuss the outcome.
By the end of the day she had 30 RSVPs.
“I even heard from a woman in Queens who asked if she could come,” she said.
As a result, Wefer held a meeting this past Monday at the Hoboken Biergarten to discuss the election and the future of the party. The meeting was attended by about 80 people.
After the results of the national election were revealed, residents were concerned about the divisive rhetoric, including comments from the Trump campaign about immigrants. More than 200 hate crimes have been reported since Election Day. Some residents have fought over social media or protested in New York City.
New Jersey Awakens
Dana Wefer, chairwoman of the Hoboken Housing Authority and founder of the Democratic Social Club in Hoboken, said, “truthfully I got angry because I feel we should’ve seen this coming.”
So Wefer decided to form New Jersey Awakens. She said she views this as the transformation of the social club expanding past Hoboken’s borders.
“People were very engaged,” Wefer said of Monday’s meeting. “I think people are looking for a way to impact the world.”
At the meeting attendees signed up to be on committees and spoke about their feelings after the election.
“I think people came out of this election feeling differently,” said Wefer. “One man said we need to have the Electoral College not decide the president… One woman got up and cried, explaining that she had a friend in Texas married to her partner, and terrified that her [gay] marriage will be done away with.”
Wefer said that the group has yet to come up with an official agenda or mission statement, but believes the focus will be to organize at a grass roots level for the Democratic Party to mobilize and determine an approach to campaigning for candidates.
“Our [elected] leaders end up being wealthier than the population they serve because they need a lot of money to run for office,” Wefer said, “and it’s because of this that they have lost touch with everyday people.”
She said elected representatives who don’t have to go out and campaign “don’t know what’s going on in on the ground.”
Moving forward, Wefer hopes the organization can help elect Democrats at a local, county, and state level.
She said they would be organizing phone banks for the upcoming senate race in Louisiana and the governor’s race in New Jersey next year.
Prejudice and moving forward
Councilman Ravi Bhalla emailed his constituents after the results of the election relaying residents’ concerns and ways the community can come together. He also discussed the prejudice he has faced as a Sikh who wears the garb of his religion.
Bhalla said in his letter that he has heard from residents, “Some fear for their own civil rights, others worry about their friends, and some are still shaking their heads, wondering how this happened.“
He wrote he has “seen the hatred of this new political climate earlier this year, when a Hudson County resident and supporter of President-Elect Trump called me a ‘terrorist’ and said I do not belong in this country.”
In an interview last week, Bhalla said he was “stunned” after the election results were announced.
“The projections from virtually all sources I had read had indicated not only that Hilary would win, but win comfortably.”
“I feel this victory of President-Elect Trump was mainly a result of voters wanting change, and not an endorsement of the racially charged remarks he has made in the past,” Bhalla said.
Despite this, Bhalla has concerns of this type of prejudice being normalized in years to come.
“I unfortunately have a concern that the electorate will normalize some of the disturbing things president Trump has said during the campaign,” said Bhalla. “It’s not okay to mistreat women and immigrants, and the list goes on.”
It is because of this constituents may see a change in their councilman.
“Throughout my service I never wore my faith on my shoulder, so to speak,” said Bhalla. “I never saw myself as Sikh councilman but rather a councilman who happens to be a Sikh and never spoke outwardly about my faith. Out of this election…I view myself as Sikh councilman and it’s important for me to be more outward [about] who I am in this climate and all minorities to project and embrace their identities.
Of the prejudice he has faced’ he said its important not to stoop to that level but rather “respond with some measure of dignity and pride.”
“I try to do my best and not engage people with prejudiced views,” said Bhalla. “When they go low, we go high. It’s important to be magnanimous in responding to contact that might be insulting.”
He said while residents have expressed their fears, some have also emailed him asking how they can get involved, run for office, or join a local board.
“I think it’s important for those people to channel their energy by engaging in their local communities,” said Bhalla.
At the City Council meeting on Nov 14, Councilman Peter Cunningham asked that “offensive” graffiti on 10th Street be removed after residents complained to him.
According to Juan Melli, city spokesman, the anti-Trump graffiti featured a swastika and called those who voted for him “fools.”
“On Election Day the Police Department reported to environmental services that there was anti-Trump graffiti that included a swastika on the sidewalk,” he said.
He added that typically the responsibility is on the property owner to remove the graffiti but “because of the nature of the graffiti, the city responded the same day to remove as much as possible.”
Students at Stevens
Kenneth Nilsen, dean of students at Stevens Institute of Technology, said last week, “On a personal level I was unable to fathom that individuals across this country would be voting for a completely closed off, intolerant, angry, man. And the other side of it is frustration that there are individuals that are feeling this way. I think the overall feeling is of defeat.”
He said he is wondering how to motivate himself and others to do something.
“I have my opinions, but I need to hear and support all students across the spectrum and give them a safe space for those who are upset, and challenge those who want to do something,” he said.
He said that there haven’t been protests on campus as of yet, and students who supported the president-elect have not been gloating but rather have been respectful.
He said on Wednesday, Nov. 9, students met and spoke with each other trying to process the election results. He said providing that safe space for those in a minority group who may be affected by future policies is not only important but allows students to “identify with each other.”
Nilsen said that most of the fears of students on campus is from members of minority groups afraid of how others will act or react to them.
He said his daughter, age 16, has friends with similar concerns.
“One of her friends did have someone react to them as they went by on Wednesday morning wearing a hijab,” said Nilsen. “An individual spit at her feet.”
He said he hopes people stay informed. He also said he believes money to be an issue in elections, and stated, “there is no reason a campaign for a local election should cost ten of thousands of dollars, and that sets people up for failure in the political system.”
Marilyn Baer can be reached at marilynb@hudsonreporter.com.