U.S. Senate candidates looking to succeed Sen. Bob Menendez discuss policy and politics | Chat Box

[Music] [Applause] [Music] hey everybody Welcome to chat box I'm David Cruz happy New Year you know someone made the point to me the other day that it's just a little more than four months to the US Senate primary in politics that's both early and late it may seem a ways off to you but but for the political class four months is a blip so far there are four candidates on the Democratic side the incumbent hasn't said if he's running but more on him later as the campaign heats up we're endeavoring to talk to all four candidates over this week and next we have invitations out to Larry ham and Tammy Murphy today we begin with Patricia Campos Medina and Andy Kim I want to start with with the uh the incumbent um he gave a spirited defense of himself uh on the floor the other day let's just take a quick listen to a little bit of that after 50 years of Public Service this is not how I wanted to celebrate my golden jubilee but I have never violated the public trust I have been a patriot for and of my country a patriot you think would would you call Bob bendeez a patriot well look uh I'm not going to spend my time kind of deciding what the the the right word is to describe him uh you know that's for the courts to decide uh that's for the voters of New Jersey to decide but look I think there has been an erosion of trust and that's something that none of us can control I mean I work a job he works a job we work jobs whose job descriptions are in the Constitution of the United States and that should hold us to the highest of standards and yes you know he will have his day in court but when it comes to being in a position of of making decisions over the lives of millions of of families in New Jersey uh we have to make sure that that trust is there and I want to restore that trust that I know has been eroded I want to restore that sense of Integrity his contention is that hasn't been found guilty uh and therefore should be afforded his due process but others have been expelled uh from the Congress under not entirely similar circumstances but with charges pending um did I hear that you uh recommended that he be expelled well I I I think that a expulsion vote makes sense I mean we're talking about uh you know the charges are related to his job yeah it's about him being the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee I mean that is in my opinion the most powerful foreign relations job on Capitol Hill and if there are allegations and charges that he uh misused that position and potentially did things that were favoring other nations that's a serious serious I say that as someone who worked in National Security before I was a diplomat worked on embassies before our understanding out there when you're working abroad is that our leaders back home have our backs and are looking out for our national security and if that's not the case that's something that rises to some of the most serious concerns I would have when it comes to our government all right so let's talk about there are four of you in this race uh right now um the second one in the race was Tammy Murphy who has attracted a lot of the attention here for any number of reasons she's raising a lot of money does that concern you as an opponent look uh I've I'm I'm actually the only candidate in the country that's run against three straight self funders in three straight races so you know I've been outs spent before I I've had concerns what I know is I need to be able to run the race that I need to run and we're raising strong resources too I raised since uh just what in 3 months and one week since I jumped in we raised $2.75 million from thousands of of of people uh all across New Jersey all across this country the latest polls have me up 23 points up over the first lady uh so we're in a strong position so I'm going to run my race I get it I'm going up against some very powerful and Wealthy competitors but um I know how to be able to win and I think that's what comes with being the only candidate that's declared that's actually run and won races before I've won three of toughest races in recent New Jersey history I've never lost a race and I don't plan on starting we should say for the sake of clarity that this was uh the poll that you refer to is a poll that your campaign commissioned yeah that's right yeah and we did it uh to be able to dive into the Dynamics of the race and so far what we see is really exciting are you running as a front runner is that what I'm hearing I'm running as me you know and that's how I've always run my races is just you know someone that's trying to connect in with the voters let the voters decide what's happening here in New Jersey so their campaign tweeted the other day after you got the endorsement of the college young Dems I think it was um that you oppose the president's student loan debt relief plan do you want to clarify your position on that yeah oh I didn't see that response from that look what I was trying to push for is saying that we need to have a legislative fix to this the problem that I've seen when it comes to DC is you know we just have because of our brok legislative system we have all these presidential orders executive orders and then they the next Administration just comes right in and overturns those and then we just have this pendulum swing seesaw effort what we need to have is real solutions to be able to address a high cost of higher education be able to have a legislative fix and I get it it's hard but I want the President Biden to come and try and see what we can do to be able to do that rather than just come in with an executive order so that was my concern is there a legislative fix in your mind well yes I mean I think that that's something that we could have worked on to try to do uh in that kind of capacity and then if it doesn't work what kind of legislation what would well you know we have legislation right now that would dramatically lower uh the interest rates for student loans for instance be able to bring that as close to zero as possible to be able to increase and uh you know we want to dramatically increase pel grants for lower income students something that hasn't kept up for a long time be able to allow students to be to refinance their student loans uh when they can get better rates and other opportunity I mean the main thing is that we should not be profiting off of students and and interest rates there what can we do to make that more available and then the broader question which is why does education cost so much to start with in America you know not just how you pay for it but what is surging those prices well beyond the rates of inflation those are things that require real legislative fixes uh let's talk a little bit about this migrant crisis which was brought home to Jersey because we saw uh busloads of migrants uh coming through the state theoretically and then moving on um to New York should uh New Jersey uh accommodate some of these people well look what I'll first say is that um you know all across the country what we're seeing this is the result of the failure of the federal government side to be able to address comprehensive immigration reform now we'll get to that but that being said you know federal government to be able to then Provide support to cities and states around the country that are facing this you know the challenge that we're facing I mean look these are are these are people uh we are a nation that is always going to protect uh the dignity and decency of people at least you know that's what we're we uh should be doing uh so yes you know look we need to provide some measure of support but the challenge is that uh is that a lot of States a lot of of cities they haven't planned for this they haven't planned for this level of of Challenge and that's what's causing the problem and that's what's causing the squeeze and that's where the federal government continues to drop the ball has um the president failed on immigration I mean when this Administration began I think the first day or the second day of the administration was a big announcement about uh reform to the the country's immigration laws and then since then crickets uh has has this Administration failed on that issue well the way I sort of see this is that there's just been failure for decades on this with presidencies of both parties you know so this is compiling and compounding and and that's what I find so frustrating but let me tell you something that I've learned in my five years in Congress a lot of the people that you hear from the most you know sniping and and arguing about immigration and saber rattling that way as I've talked to them there it's become very clear to me that they don't actually want to solve this problem you know that's something that I find so frustrating is the people that I work with k colleagues of mine that that that moan about this all the time when you actually try to confront them and say well let's see what we can get done it becomes clear to me they don't want to solve it because it's such a good political weapon to them it's too easy to to fundra they want to scare the American people they want to use this to be able to point fingers and blame so that's the problem is that like we don't have serious legislators we don't have people that actually want to solve problems and as I've tried to engage as someone who is trying to solve these problems I I get so frustrated you know whereas only you know only thir what was it only 11 years ago we had 69 Senators actually vote to pass comprehensive immigration reform was it a perfect Bill no but it was substantive you know our Congress is so far from that and that's what I hope people see is we got to have serious legislators with experience so we have two Wars going now the uh is Israeli uh Hamas uh conflict is now in the front burner for us Ukraine of course not been moved to the back burner um are you someone who supports uh ceasefire uh look I I'm someone that first of all thinks what happened on October 7th was a horrific terrorist attack and Hamas certainly showed that they are not uh an organization that seeks peace or seeks to solve this solution through diplomatic means uh and what we've also seen is we've seen this war unfold in a way that has been just devastating to to Gaza to the whole region I would and have supported efforts to be able to bring uh this conflict to a close I supported the efforts back in November that was a bilateral ceasefire effort that would try to uh have that negotiated element to be able to release the hostages bring the conflict to a close what I worry about right now is that this is on the cuss of potentially becoming a wider Regional War we see the potential for Hezbollah and Iran getting involved so yes I I do think that there can be efforts right now sege the humanit humanitarian support create the conditions for the diplomacy that create that bilateral ceasefire to be able to bring this to a close and be able to have the kind of security for uh Israel and for the Palestinians so I I see you uh treading lightly there U one you didn't you talked about a a bilateral ceasefire um but I also didn't hear any criticism of the Israeli government is I have concern look look I mean you know when I hear uh certain Israeli leaders talking about uh about uh uh movement and and and and and and pushing uh uh people out of Gaza you know perhaps you know for a longer term if not permanently that doesn't stand for what I believe in that is not the right steps to be taken and as someone who's worked you I worked in Afghanistan and Elsewhere on counterterrorism issues I know that yes it's important to think through how you go about doing this you know or is this conflict taking place in a way that's just going to create and breed more hatred and violence going forward for Generations I worry about that so I do have concerns about that but to go back to your earlier Point look ceasefire by definition is negotiated you know as someone who worked in diplomacy before I've seen that you know you you can't you can't you got to make sure uh that that there is that recognition across the board of of that otherwise we're just going to have cycles of violence so yes let's try to bring to bear the kind of International Coalition needed to actually try to solve this problem uh for a long time I want to see a long durable piece I'd love to see a permanent piece an actual two-state solution and hopefully if ever anything comes out of this horrific crisis it's a greater push to that permanent peace all right Congressman Andrew Kim you prefer Andrew or Andy uh my mom's the only one I think that calls me Andrew so I've gen when you're in trouble yeah exactly I think I'm fine with going by Andy all right Congressman Andy Kim with us I'm sure we'll see you as the next four months unfold thanks for coming on of course Patricia Campos Medina joins us now Senora good to see you thanks for coming on thank you for having me I know that you you saw the the clip that we played about from Bob Menendez where he calls himself a patriot uh for and of the country is he a patriot this is a case where he has to uh demonstrate uh his innocence to New Jersey voter and to the courts we um I wish him well he is innocent until uh other found otherwise by the courts so as uh I wish him well to him and his family we um as a Latino Community as Latino leaders are disappointed where he finds himself in this moment because he had a good Legacy of actually working for key issues so we're disappointed and we wish him well but this election is about the future of political leadership for New Jersey it's about the future of political leadership for Latina and for political representation that continues to do the hard work of advancing critical policy Solutions so some some very difficult issues that new jerse is facing and and Latinos are facing nationally we had Andy Kim on earlier uh in the show and he said that he uh supports expulsion for uh Bob Menendez do you I what I would like to say is something that Michelle Obama said recently about how as political leaders uh we have a responsibility to lead by example and that it matters the character of the people who represent us so I believe that it's time to move forward and move Beyond Senator Robert Menendez and acknowledge the good work that he did but with time to move forward and I think that just like we want to hold our political system accountable for Donald Trump we also need to hold every other political representative who fails to uh uh to live up to a code of ethics the same way so expulsion or no expulsion it they should the the Congress and the Senate should act and just like they want to hold Trump accountable and they they held uh Congressman Santos accountable for for his lies uh we should also hold Senator mandez accountable all right four candidates in this race right now not counting uh Senator Mendez who's not yet said if he's going to run for reelection why are you are you running as an underdog you're the underdog in I am the underdog in this race yes I am and I I this is not new to me being the underdog I have worked for uh to represent workers low wage workers union workers for 25 years I have push for policies legislative solution for Working Families for the right of workers to join a union none of those fights are easy none of those fights are are always I always said that low wage workers fighting against giant corporations and the inter of billionaires we are always the underdog so I have the experience of building political coalitions of building a stakeholders support for intractable uh uh problems that workers face in our economy and I am ready to take the helm and continue building coalitions advancing policy solutions to economic issues that at the end of the day is what new yorky voters want to see real solutions to the bread and butter economic issues at this moment in time so you're an organizer involved in politics um you know that the Partyline system in New Jersey gives great uh advantages to those who happen to get the party line uh are you one of those who is for abolishing the party line number one and number two are you going to try and get the party line I have a long record as a political activist as a woman in New Jersey politics uh calling to abolish the line uh we have trained uh hundreds of Latina women uh black women women of color to run for political office and the number one uh uh discouragement that women of color black women in Latina women face to running for office is the line because it's anti-democratic and he actually acts against black women and Latina women actually putting themselves out there he gives an advantage to the incumbents now I have a record I'm not new to calling to abolish the line but I also know that that's the system that we have now the system doesn't work I I am no one of I will never say that the system work and we should use it the system works against black women and Latino women and women of colors and it doesn't give voters Democratic voters or Republican voters because this is an issue for both parties choice so I am running because we need to give voters choice and I will be speaking to every Democratic voter reminding them all my activism on behalf of building a Democratic party that is inclusive of urban voters of black and Latino voters and remind the party that they don't win elections if they don't include Latino voters and black voters in their formula for winning and not giv us a choice it's part of failing to live up to their call for a diverse coalition to win Democratic elections in the state let me get to a couple of issues that you would be dealing with as a as a senator let's talk about this migrant crisis uh which came very much home uh to New Jersey because we had busloads of migrants who were sent to New Jersey and in theory on to New York um should New Jersey provide uh Aid Comfort services to uh these folks immigration reform and the issue of the refugee crisis is a very personal issue to me I am an immigrant woman uh I came to the United States at 14 years old from El Salvador I was separated from my parents for eight years waiting for resolution to to the uh Refugee request in the 1980s so this is an issue that I have lived and know personally the impact that it has on families uh I live through family reunification I live through a a a first period of crisis of refugees uh from Central America in the 80s so I have a real solutions that I've been working for for for a long time we got to remember that this country is founded by immigrants and we have been we have the ability to uh uh invest in a better in a resettlement program for refugees once they have applied for political Asylum remember these refugees that came to New Jersey I are following the law they have applied for political Asylum and they are trying to be resettled what we need to do is what Congress has failed to do for 30 years and it's reform our Refugee and political Asylum laws and our immigration laws and fund our Refugee resettlement program so that when refugees are going through the process of resettlement and the federal government can work directly with states to provide them the support they need to provide services for resettlement and frankly if we don't want refugees to end up on on on on homes or waiting to work we actually need to give them a permit to work because it is part of something that Congress can do and the Biden Administration do because while these refugees wait for political adjudication of their political Asylum they want to be together with their families they want to provide with their families and we have our practical tools and solutions that we can get done but Congress needs to act needs to fund resettlement programs and actually need to reform our Refugee laws that uh is not too dissimilar from what other Democrats and some Republicans have said but the the crisis is now um New Jersey doesn't get any federal funding for uh resettlement efforts but there are going to become instances where people want to be here we stay here physically what responsibility uh does the state have uh for providing help for them New Jersey is the fourth largest recipient of immigrants in this country we are at a very diverse state from uh from immigrants from all over the country we have the resources to provide resettlement that doesn't mean that we don't need additional help from the federal government or better coordination from the federal government and and we but that is a something that I am prepared to enter into in to lead and L a voice because this is where we're lacking Federal leadership uh on immigration policy there has to be a more proactive effort from a federal elected officials to actually get the Biden Administration to coordinate better with States and to target support for where immigrants are are are going now remember this has become a political uh game by Republicans and sending a refugee es and announce to States we have to stop immigrants and refugees are human they're human lives and we have to focus on the humanity of of what they're leaving behind and how they want to keep and provide for their families we also need big Solutions and that we need a national voice and I'm ready to give that that National voice to this issues we need actual coalitions and discussions with our Southern borders we will not stop an immigration crisis by building the Trump wall we need to actually engage in real negotiations and discussions with our Southern partners with Mexico and Central America with Venezuela and Haiti remember a lot of the crisis is coming from from the Caribbean to actually put Solutions on the table has this Administration dropped the ball on immigration or is there just plenty of blame to go around there's plenty of blame to go around of inaction for 30 years by the United States Congress to actually enact immigration reform for 30 years we have not done it we just have built let the problem uh build up and we need real leadership and this is one of the areas where Senator Menendez did have I was to say that ironically enough the last attempt came from from Senator Menendez right and the recent solutions from him and so it is this is what I said that we at as as Latinos are very disappointed where he finds himself now because he had solution heat he lost his platform in his Effectiveness to Le with an ethical position to move hard discussions forward and that's why we have to claim this spot and and continue that Legacy I'm running out of time um of course we have two major conflicts going on now I want to talk about the one that is on the front burner now uh which is uh Israel and Hamas uh are you someone who supports a ceasefire and how do we get to peace in that region fix it for us in the 60 seconds that we have left I am the only candidate on this race who uh who actually live in a war zone I was a child during the brutal Civil War of El Salvador I suffer personally the impact of violence or War I was separated and displaced for my family for a long time so I know personally the the uh the impact that war has on families and that is why I issue a statement calling for a permanent ceas fire so that we can focus on War I condemn the terrorist attacks of Hamas against the people of Israel but in defending itself Israel must comply with international law to protect civilian children women and child and it breaks my heart to see the level of tragedy happening in Gaza right now and as the most powerful country in this world that has a military power to do to use soft and and hard power we must be calling to for for the protection of Civilian and we must call for a six fighter so that we can focus on a diplomatic solution for peace uh that doesn't escalate the war in the region all right Patricia comp thanks for coming on and we'll see you on as we go along thank you so much for the opportunity to talk directly to bers in this in the state and that's chat box for this week thanks also to Andy Kim for joining us you can follow me on X at David Cruz andj and find more content including full episodes when you scan the QR code on your screen I'm David Cruz for all the crew here at Gateway Center in downtown nework thanks for watching we'll see you next week major funding for a chat box with David Cruz is providing Ed by the members of the New Jersey Education Association making public schools great for every child promotional support is provided by Insider NJ a political intelligence Network dedicated to New Jersey political news Insider NJ is committed to giving serious political players an interactive forum for ideas discussion and insight online at Insider nj.com [Music]