District 4 Coalition for Change Launches Public Awareness Campaign

I've recently stumbled across a group calling themselves the District 4 Coaltion for Change over on the Patch website. Their main purpose is to enlighten those living in Congressman Chris Smith's 4th Congressional District (which includes most of Monmouth County and a large portion of Middletown) about Chris Smith and his far-right, ultra-conservative beliefs and voting record.

Chris Smith's congressional district was redrawn after the 2010 census and many residents in the district are new and have no idea who Smith is or what he stands for even though he was comfortably reelected for the first time in his newly redrawn district in 2012.

 I don't know who started the group District 4 Coalition for Change or who belongs to it (I'm trying to find out, I've recently reached out to them, I found them on Facebook) but I like that they are attempting to educate district residents on Smith's congressional record. In the future I will be posting their material here on the blog. In the mean time why not take a look and and check them out yourself.

 Below is the Mission and Purpose Statement for District 4 Coalition for Change:

On behalf of all residents of New Jersey’s 4th Congressional District, local members of issue advocacy groups are mobilizing together with a common goal: Get Congressman Chris Smith to become responsive to all his constituents so he can better act on our behalf in Washington. Experience has shown that Congressman Smith fails to engage with NJ4 Citizens and other public interest groups on the issues that matter. Examples include: 

• Failure to hold Town Hall meetings

  Refusal to debate his opponents

• "Wait listing" individuals and groups that request meetings with him

• Often not responding to press requests for statements on current issues.

We demand an active, frequent, ongoing dialogue. Starting today, we request that Congressman Smith: 

• Hold local Town Hall meetings

• Participate in public debates with other Congressional candidates

• Move faster through the “wait list” of individuals and groups that request to meet with him

• Increase communication with local press

Congressman Smith is positioned to speak for us, yet he doesn't speak with us. We deserve a congressman who talks with residents and uses his status to advance policies that are aligned with our interests. Residents of NJ-4 will no longer accept a congressperson who fails to interact with those people he is sworn to represent. We deserve better. We deserve our voices be heard and accurately represented on the federal level.