New Jersey’s two leading gubernatorial candidates sparred at a recent forum where they came to discuss topics important to the Black community, but while one seemed to have an understanding of the community, the other seemed tone-deaf, according to one attendee. More than 100 people registered to attend the inaugural Salvation and Social Justice (SandSJ) gubernatorial forum on September 18, which featured New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill and former Assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli. According to a recent Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey, the two candidates are in a close race. SandSJ’s event brought the candidates before the state’s Black religious leaders to discuss issues specific to the community.
Led by Pastor Weldon McWilliams IV, Ph.D., the forum was SandSJ’s first gubernatorial event specifically designed to cater to Black clergy. An estimated 70% to 80% of attendees were clergy members. Organizers chose not to record the event, saying they wanted to encourage total honesty from the candidates. However, in the weeks after the forum, Rev. Dr. Charles F. Boyer, SandSJ co-founder and executive director, discussed with the AmNews what took place at the forum.
SandSJ’s forum was a unique opportunity for Black clergy to speak with the candidates vying for New Jersey’s highest office, Boyer said. Ciattarelli attended in person, while Sherrill joined virtually from Washington, D.C., where she had been delayed because she had to cast a vote in Congress.
Both candidates met separately with the crowd, answering several rounds of pre-submitted questions before sharing their visions for the state. A Q&A session followed, allowing attendees to question the candidates directly. The clergy in attendance were given sheets of paper so that they could take notes throughout the event.
The forum’s questions centered on topics important to New Jersey’s Black community, such as housing and affordable housing policies; Black maternal health; community-led public safety initiatives; police use of force and accountability; segregation concerns, particularly in education; and threats from MAGA, white nationalism, and attacks on Black history. New Jersey’s Black population, which numbers 1.2 million, is about 13% of the state’s overall population. Most live in urban areas like Newark, Jersey City, and Trenton.
“Jack Ciattarelli really came in and said some things that certainly were offensive to folks,” Rev. Boyer said as he talked about the forum. “He certainly had policy issues that were not connecting … I just think that there was a vast chasm between his lived experience and ours.”
Boyer said Ciattarelli offered several well-thought-out answers that showed he’d really thought about the issues, but his policy stances and remarks drew significant pushback. He spoke about efforts to roll back the Mount Laurel doctrine, affordable housing, and reducing police accountability measures, such as not requiring officers to fill out force reports unless they discharge a weapon –– a stance that is seen as dangerous, given that New Jersey police use force against Black people at three times the rate of white people. Some of the clergy noted that Ciattarelli spoke about “taking the handcuffs off” police while showing little knowledge of community street teams and violence interrupters.
When asked about his response to MAGA and the increase in white nationalism, Ciattarelli mostly evaded the question, Boyer said. Instead, he praised President Donald Trump’s achievements. He also drew widespread criticism with his answer regarding attacks on Black history, like when he claimed that Columbus Day was “the first civil rights holiday,” a remark that was broadly interpreted as insulting –– organizers believe that moment “lost the room” for him.
Ciattarelli may have come to a forum designed for Black clergy expecting to meet a very conservative crowd, Boyer said: “He brought up, at least four or five times, biological males competing in women’s sports, so I think there are a couple of things: One, there are several churches, Black churches, that he’s been at. And he’s probably said these things and had his talking points for Black people in those spaces, but he’s not been challenged in those spaces or asked any questions that have any depth to them.
“I think in some conservative Black spaces, super-conservative Black spaces, the transgender issue may connect,” Boyer continued, “but he hadn’t really been in front of, I think, a significant sampling of the Black church. I think he was doing his ‘greatest hits’ based [on] his limited interaction. Ciattarelli himself acknowledged the intensity in the room, because at one point he even said out loud, ‘Wow, this is a tough crowd.’”
Sherrill, despite a lukewarm initial reception, also appeared well-prepared and offered thoughtful answers that earned her respect, said Boyer. She spoke about working with faith-based organizations to develop affordable housing, supporting Black-led birth initiatives, and increasing resources for young people in schools to address the school-to-prison pipeline.
When asked what she had already done for the Black community, a question posed to both candidates, Sherrill pointed to her work as a U.S. attorney and prosecutor, mentioning her re-entry initiatives and efforts to adopt a more compassionate approach to Black communities, acknowledging issues like disproportionate sentencing and targeting of Black communities. She also mentioned her involvement with Bethel A.M.E. Church in Morristown and her efforts in flood mitigation.
“She was able to provide some substance in her work,” Boyer noted, adding that Sherill seemed to have a clear vision for working with Black communities, although he added that her subsequent Yes vote on the House resolution regarding Charlie Kirk was disappointing.
SandSJ plans to host more forums over the next few months to help promote civic engagement. The organization’s next event, the fourth installment of the “Statewide Meeting for the Black Agenda,” will take place on October 8, 2025, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at St. John’s Baptist Church (525 Bramhall Avenue, Jersey City, N.J.).