The New Jersey Statehouse standoff on Thursday is not about whether you believe in the Covid-19 vaccines or testing healthy people for a virus – it is strictly about how we resolve political disagreements in a democratic institution.
The New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton is the people’s house. Whether it be legislators, or the residents of the state of New Jersey who come to the people’s house to testify and witness our committee hearings and voting sessions, all voices have a right to be heard.
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Reasonable disagreements on policy are expected here and, in fact, encouraged. Reasonable people can, and do, differ on policy. That is called democracy. Policy disputes should be resolved diplomatically and respectfully. The majority party should respect the minority party and vice-versa.
In America, the majority should exercise its power with restraint and respect. In America, those in political power cannot and should not exercise their power by resorting to intimidation and force. That should never happen in the land of the free.
On Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, I experienced the most surreal, disappointing, sad, and disturbing voting session in the four years that I have had the privilege of serving in the legislature. At issue was what should have been a reasonable and respectful disagreement over whether a little-known commission, or the speaker himself, should have the power to ban legislators from their rightful, duly-elected seats, and the residents of the state from the people’s house, if they don’t consent to provide proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative test.
The minority party made efforts in the days leading up to the session to talk to the majority party about how to resolve this disagreement prior to Dec. 2. We also received numerous legal opinions, which prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that State Capitol Joint Management Commission, the majority party, the speaker, the attorney general, and the sergeant at arms, do not have the power to forcibly restrain legislators from taking their rightful, and duly-elected seats, to debate the issues of the day at a voting session.
The minority party, as is its right, also filed a lawsuit in the courts prior to the voting session to challenge the legality and constitutionality of the commission that sought to prevent legislators from entering the state capitol if they did not consent to the new Covid-19 vaccination policy. The judge deciding the case will hold a hearing on Monday, December 13, to determine if the commission’s actions pass constitutional muster.
Moreover, as a member of the Assembly, I have introduced a new bill that would correct the unconstitutional makeup of this legislative commission by removing the voting power of the governor’s appointees. This is a Statehouse commission, and under the principles of separation of powers, the governor should not be dictating rules to the Legislature.
After the minority party took all these reasonable, legal and democratic steps to address this policy disagreement, the majority party did the unthinkable on Thursday. It brought the N.J. State Police into the people’s house to literally block and, presumably, physically restrain legislators from taking their seats at the 1 p.m. voting session. Bear in mind, the state police force reports to the governor, and not the speaker, so it was apparent they did not have the legal authority to do what the speaker wanted them to do — which was to prevent dissenting legislators from taking their rightful, duly-elected seats to vote on 65 bills that were up for a vote in the state Assembly that day.
That afternoon, the majority party made several unprecedented and undemocratic attempts to use state police to intimidate and show force to block the voices of legislators and citizens who have a different, reasonable opinion on this policy issue.
The state police officers on duty were put in a no-win situation. They were told to come to the Statehouse to do what they knew they could not do. After speaking to several minority party lawmakers, it was apparent they could not and would not block us from taking our legislative seats, and they respectfully and cooperatively let us enter the floor of the Assembly.
I was able to take my rightful, and duly-elected seat on behalf of all 225,000 residents of Legislative District 40. And for now, democracy prevails. The law prevails.
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Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips represents parts of Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic counties in the 40th Legislative District. He has been a member of the New Jersey General Assembly since 2018.
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