Imani Oakley [Archived]

New Jersey’s 10th District deserves a representative in Congress who isn’t afraid to stand up for democracy and fight for marginalized communities. Instead, the establishment has repeatedly supported politicians who only seek to benefit the wealthy and politically connected. I have deep roots here in New Jersey. I was born at St. Peter’s Hospital in New Brunswick and raised in Montclair. I’ve lived on the same street my entire life, despite the rising cost of living and nearly losing my childhood home to foreclosure. When I was young, my mother supported our family as a preschool teacher in East Orange and Newark while raising me as a single parent. Our family’s story is the same as countless other families trying to make it in New Jersey. Struggling to make it in a system that remains stacked in favor of those with political connections and wealth, we’ve fought to ensure our place in this state. Since graduating from law school in 2017, I have dedicated my life to public service. After passing the New Jersey Bar, I worked as a Constituent Advocate for the U.S. Senate. There I helped New Jerseyans with any-and-all problems they faced in their lives, including helping navigate New Jersey’s on-going housing crisis. My commitment to serving the people of New Jersey has only grown over the years. After working in the Senate, I served as a Deputy Chief of Staff in the New Jersey Legislature, the Northern Vice Chair for the New Jersey Young Democrats, the Co-Institute Chair for New Leaders Council – New Jersey, and the Executive Chair of the Essex County Young Democrats. As the Legislative Director for the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, I’ve fought against the establishment’s suffocating corruption and the unrelenting grasp of our state’s grossly immoral party boss system. Together, we can end this system. As the first ever Dean of Movement Building at Movement School, I helped teach historically abandoned and marginalized organizers to run and win progressives campaigns against political insiders in New Jersey and nationwide. Our communities deserve a fierce advocate for the progressive policies that will help our communities to thrive. If elected as your Congresswoman, I pledge to fight for economic justice, racial justice, a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, workers’ rights, innovative infrastructure, demilitarization both nationwide and abroad, and of course, a fair democracy for every one of us.