Anthony Diaz

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Anthony Diaz

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

July 7, 2020

Personal

Birthplace

Newark, N.J.

Religion

Baptist

Profession

Co-founder of the Newark Water Coalition

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Anthony Diaz (Democratic Party) ran for election for an at-large seat of the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders in New Jersey. He lost in the Democratic primary on July 7, 2020.

Diaz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Previously, Diaz was a candidate for at-large representative on the Newark Public Schools Board of Education in New Jersey. Diaz filed to run in the at-large general election on April 25, 2017, but his name did not appear in the election results.

Biography

Anthony Diaz was born in Newark, New Jersey. He graduated from Science High School in Newark and pursued his undergraduate education at Rutgers University. Diaz's career experience includes working as an activist, retail manager, and an I.T. director at a charter school in the Bronx. He co-founded the Newark Water Coalition.

Elections

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Essex County, New Jersey (2020)

General election

General election for Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders At-large (4 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders At-large on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patricia Sebold (D)	19.6	247,302
✔		Brendan Gill (D)	19.4	245,701
✔		Rufus Johnson (D)	19.3	244,645
✔		Romaine Graham (D)	19.1	241,755
	Submit photo	Alexandra Campisi (R)	5.8	73,053
	Submit photo	Monique Headen (R)	5.6	70,949
	Submit photo	Gynise Gotto (R)	5.6	70,797
	Submit photo	Bernarda Quezada (R)	5.6	70,475

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,264,677
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders At-large (4 seats)

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders At-large on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Romaine Graham	22.4	78,221
✔		Patricia Sebold	21.2	74,055
✔		Brendan Gill	20.5	71,657
✔		Rufus Johnson	20.5	71,533
		Simone Jelks-Bandison	5.3	18,546
		Anthony Diaz	5.2	18,022
		Sabre Burroughs	4.9	17,170

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 349,204
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders At-large (4 seats)

Alexandra Campisi, Monique Headen, Gynise Gotto, and Bernarda Quezada advanced from the Republican primary for Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders At-large on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Alexandra Campisi	25.4	9,559
✔	Submit photo	Monique Headen	25.0	9,432
✔	Submit photo	Gynise Gotto	25.0	9,425
✔	Submit photo	Bernarda Quezada	24.6	9,282

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 37,698
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2018

See also: Municipal elections in Newark, New Jersey (2018)

General runoff election

General runoff election for Newark City Council Central Ward

LaMonica McIver defeated Shawn McCray in the general runoff election for Newark City Council Central Ward on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		LaMonica McIver (Nonpartisan)	56.3	1,578
	Submit photo	Shawn McCray (Nonpartisan)	43.4	1,216
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	8

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,802
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

General election for Newark City Council Central Ward

The following candidates ran in the general election for Newark City Council Central Ward on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		LaMonica McIver (Nonpartisan)	40.9	1,811
✔	Submit photo	Shawn McCray (Nonpartisan)	16.9	748
	Submit photo	Rashon Hasan (Nonpartisan)	14.3	631
	Submit photo	Rafael Brito (Nonpartisan)	9.2	409
	Submit photo	Jaime Gonzalez (Nonpartisan)	6.6	292
	Submit photo	Luther Roberson (Nonpartisan)	3.2	140
	Submit photo	Czezre Adams (Nonpartisan)	2.8	125
	Submit photo	Basil Parker (Nonpartisan)	2.7	119
		Anthony Diaz (Nonpartisan)	2.6	114
		Other/Write-in votes	0.9	39

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,428
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2017

See also: Newark Public Schools elections (2017)

The Newark Unity slate of candidates—Reginald Bledsoe, Josephine Garcia, and Flohisha Johnson—was victorious in the general election on April 25, 2017. This was the last election the Newark Public Schools Board of Education held before the board regains local control of the district. The board has held advisory status since it was taken over by the state of New Jersey in 1995. A total of 16 candidates filed to run for three seats up for at-large election, including one incumbent. Three of these candidates made up the Newark Unity slate, which was endorsed by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Three other candidates formed the Community Team slate. Following the 2016 election, all nine members of the board were Baraka-endorsed candidates and had been members of either the Children First Team or the Newark Unity slate.
Besides board incumbent Philip Seelinger, the candidates who filed to run in this election were Swapan Basu, Reginald Bledsoe, Patricia Bradford, Denise Cole, Anthony Diaz, Josephine Garcia, EZDehar Hatab, Jameel Ibrahim, Flohisha Johnson, Charles Love, Sheila Montague, Ryan Talmadge, Deborah Terrell, and Jimmie White. Bledsoe, Garcia, and Johnson ran as a part of the Newark Unity slate. Cole, Seelinger, and Talmadge made up another slate called the Community Team. Sixteenth candidate Sharon Smith filed for election but later decided she did not want to run in the race. Her name still appeared on the ballot. Diaz's name did not appear on the ballot.

Results

Newark Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Josephine Garcia	17.93%	3,595
Reginald Bledsoe	17.01%	3,411
Flohisha Johnson	13.66%	2,740
Charles Love	7.82%	1,568
Deborah Terrell	7.45%	1,494
Patricia Bradford	7.30%	1,465
Philip Seelinger Incumbent	5.88%	1,180
Denise Cole	5.25%	1,053
Sheila Montague	3.79%	761
Swapan Basu	3.65%	732
Jimmie White	2.99%	599
Ryan Talmadge	2.37%	475
Sharon Smith	2.28%	458
EZDehar Hatab	1.55%	311
Jameel Ibrahim	0.91%	182
Anthony Diaz	0.00%
Write-in votes	0.15%	31
Total Votes		20,055
Source: Essex County Clerk, "2017 School Board Election," accessed May 26, 2017

Funding

See also: Campaign finance requirements in New Jersey and List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2017

School board candidates in New Jersey had to file reports of their campaign financial activity with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. Each candidate is required to appoint a treasurer (a candidate may serve as his or her own treasurer) and create a campaign depository (a bank account) and file this information with the commission. Candidates must establish a reporting committee, which has the sole name under which a candidate receives contributions, makes expenditures, labels his or her political identification statements, or otherwise does business. No later than 10 days after establishing a candidate committee, the candidate must file the Single Candidate Committee Certificate of Organization and Designation of Campaign Treasurer and Depository form.

A candidate must begin filing reports with the commission on a date that depends upon when the committee's financial activity begins. If a candidate committee is set up within five months or less of the due date of the 29-day pre-election report, the committee must file a 29-day pre-election report as the initial election fund report. If the committee is established more than five months prior to the due date of the 29-day pre-election report, the committee must file a quarterly report as its initial election fund report. Beginning the 13th day before the election day and ending on election day, if a candidate receives more than $1,600 from a single source, the committee must file a report within 48 hours.

There were five campaign finance reporting deadlines in 2017 for this school board election. Each deadline required the candidate to file a cumulative campaign report.

• March 20, 2017 (29th day pre-election report)
• April 5, 2017 (48-hour reporting began)
• April 7, 2017 (11th day pre-election report)
• April 18, 2017 (48-hour reporting ended)
• May 8, 2017 (20th day post-election report)

Diaz had not reported any campaign contributions or expenditures to the commission as of April 12, 2017.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Anthony Diaz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Diaz's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Anthony Diaz and I was born and raise in Newark, NJ in the South Ward. I attended Science High School in Newark and graduated in 2004. My work experience has been as a retail manager and an I.T. director for a charter school in the Bronx. I have been an organizer and an activist in the city of Newark since high school. I helped start an underground newsletter and formed the Science High School Student Union. At Rutgers University in Newark I wrote for the student newspaper and helped organized a protest against budget cuts against the university. Several years after I left Rutgers, I began to help organize the Black Lives Matter Chapter of Newark. We began to help the community organize against police brutality and also started doing books and breakfasts programs all over the city. I decided to run for school board but I did not secure enough signatures to be placed on the ballot. In 2018, a few community activists and myself decided to form a political organization called A Movement of the People and we ran for municipal office in the city of Newark. I ran specifically for Central Ward councilman and lost. In December of the same year I helped co create the Newark Water Coalition to educate and advocate for residents on the lead crisis in the city of Newark. Now in 2020, I have decided to run for Essex county freeholder after servicing the people in an unofficial capacity.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I fully support the closing of the ICE detention facility.
• I fully support the legalization of cannabis and expungement of all nonviolent drug offenses.
• I fully support defunding of the police department.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about budget issues and the reallocation of resources. We have plenty of money in the municipal and county coffers but often times we prioritize the wrong things. It is time especially now that we put people over profits and start pouring money back into our communities with health wellness both physical and mental programs. I think we need more social workers. We need to reduce taxes and ease the burdens of our residents and keep people in the state of New Jersey and give people a hope and be an example in Essex county of what good leadership can look like.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

Instead of focusing on one city we can focus on the county. We can be an example to other states and the budget if worked correctly can do a lot of good in the community. One example is in last year's budget the county spend 14.5 million dollars on a parking lot and in the same budget public assistance grants were only 3 million dollars.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my family because no matter what they always persevere. If I had to choose a known figure I would say Malcolm X because he worked hard and with a lot of integrity and is still a great example of it is never too late to find your life's purpose.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The giving tree.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, Integrity, Vision

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I think that I have a track record of success serving people in an unofficial capacity. I have a heart of giving and desire to serve. I think these are two dynamic traits of someone who holds office and wants to serve people in official way.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Accountability to the community and using the budget to prioritize the needs of the community.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want my legacy to be one that gave people the tools to empower themselves to be greater. To do good and help others do good. I feel like you do that by being an example so others can see how to do it. I do not mean being perfect but also flawed so people know that I am human but I am doing the best that I can to push the community forward.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember being in school and watching the twin towers fall. We could see the fire and smoke from our high school in Newark. I was 15 years old at the time and I will never forget that the world was dramatically changed after that event.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was at the Newark Museum when I was in high school. I was a gallery docent and assisted in giving tours and helping with family events and summer camp. I had that job 3 years of high school.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Alcoholism has been one of the biggest struggles in my life but I am happy to say that I have been sober since 2013. I think that I have learned so much about myself and this journey and it has helped me become a better person and deal with a lot of the emotional trauma in my life.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

I think people honestly do not even know what freeholders do. I think people need to be aware that a county council person actually has a lot of power and set laws and standards that effect hundreds of thousands of people.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

I don't think experience is necessary but it definitely does not hurt to understand policy and procedure in terms of what you can and cannot do. I like the idea of being inexperience because then we can be bolder and dream to do amazing things.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

I think the ability to give people hope is needed. It is one thing to sponsor a law or to change a budget but what good does that do without the support of the people.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

What was at stake?

Issues in the election

Baraka-backed Newark Unity slate returns to election

Ballotpedia staff summarizes issues in the Newark school board election.

The Newark Unity slate of candidates, endorsed by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, ran in the 2017 school board election. This election was the seventh consecutive race to feature a slate of candidates backed by Baraka. Reginald Bledsoe, Josephine Garcia, and Flohisha Johnson made up the slate, which published the following statement on its website:

“	Our focus must be on a high quality, equitable school district, in support of all of Newark's children. ​ The next school board will, in all likelihood, shepherd in local control for the first time in over 20 years. Having voices from diverse backgrounds including, parent, advocate, supporter, educational leader as well as legislative experience and the willingness to stand up for all of our children will help shape what local control will look like from all angles. We need a school board with experience fighting in support of local issues from a local perspective. We need a school board of strong characters, men and women from diverse backgrounds with whom our parents and children can look up and recognize a partner in their education, striving for excellence and accepting nothing less.	”
—Newark Unity Slate (2017)

Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka

Three candidates—Leah Owens, Tave Padilla, and Deborah Kim Thompson-Gaddy—ran as members of a slate of the same name in the 2016 election. All three won spots on the board, leaving it fully composed of Baraka-backed candidates.

Baraka helped form a seven-member majority on the Newark Board of Education from 2011 to 2015 through his Children First Team slate. The 2015 election resulted in the Children First Team (CFT) accumulating a seven-member majority on the nine-member board. The team, organized by Baraka, first became a part of the board elections in 2011. Baraka was then the South Ward representative on the Newark City Council. He served on the council from 2010 until 2014, when he was elected mayor of Newark. Baraka backed three candidates for the board each year. From 2011 to 2014, the CFT won at least two seats in each election.

Student activists halt candidate forum

A Newark Public Schools candidate forum on April 5, 2017, was temporarily halted by a group of students who showed up to protest charter schools in the district. The students, who were connected with NJ Communities United, stopped the forum with a mic check asking the school board candidates to establish a moratorium on charter school expansion and end the One Newark Universal Enrollment program. The students passed around a document asking the candidates to sign it and pledge to accomplish their two demands. Seven candidates signed it: Patricia Bradford, Denise Cole, Josephine Garcia, Jameel Ibrahim, Sheila Montague, Philip Seelinger, and Charles Love.

Candidate statements from the forum

Each of the 13 candidates present at the forum were asked to speak about five issues in the Newark school system. The issues included "participation of community and parents, fiduciary responsibilities, effective educational policy, effective curriculum programs and the balance between autonomy and accountability," according to TAP into Newark. The table below highlights the candidates' statements.

Position summaries for school board candidates
Swapan Basu	Reginald Bledsoe	Patricia Bradford	Denise Cole
"I have seen the pitfalls of our education. Why the students are not thriving, why the students are not achieving, and I have a solution for that. We have to improve student performance. To do that, we need to hire and retain qualified teachers."	In stating the importance of vocational training and traditional educational training: "We have to make sure all of our students are college and/or career ready."	Stated that she "unequivocally supports the public school system." "I’d like to see our children go to school around the corner from where they live."	"My longterm vision is for every student to graduate with a post-graduation plan. From early childhood to high school. From acceptance into college to vocational training."
Josephine Garcia	EZDehar Hatab	Jameel Ibrahim	Flohisha Johnson
Speaking about her vision for Newark schools: "Local control is not just about getting local control, but about maintaining local control."	"I hope that Newark district schools become the national model for improvement and excellence...Families and relatives will be competing to live in Newark because our schools are stellar schools."	"There are ten floors of employees, wall to wall, and probably most of them have never been in the school system. I want to eliminate the unnecessary contracts that put salaries in peoples’ pockets, but don’t necessarily help the students."	"Without parent involvement and parent engagement, the school advisory board is nothing. We need that. We need the voice of the community."
Charles Love	Sheila Montague	Ryan Talmadge	Deborah Terrell
"There are too many students graduating Newark public schools going to college, taking remedial classes in math or reading. There are too many students trapped into a permanent prison pipeline. And there are also too many of our babies being killed everyday."	"As a career educator and lifelong learner I am committed to ensuring that all Newark students receive an excellent education regardless of any socioeconomic, mental, emotional or language barriers, physical challenges. There are no barriers."	"I believe in well rounded education. That means taking kids places inside and outside their community, teaching them disciplines inside and outside of their classroom and giving them diverse athletic opportunities."	"We need to reengineer our school system, because it’s really not a school system. Right now it’s a cluster of schools. We have charter schools, we have community schools, we have magnet schools, but is there a system that all of our children in this city can be educated in to the best of their ability? Right now it’s not there."

Philip Seelinger
"Every child deserves an education that is the same for everyone. I am proud of being in Newark."

Issues in the district

District makes progress toward return to local control

Former New Jersey Education Commissioner David Hespe

Former New Jersey Education Commissioner David Hespe returned more local control to the Newark Public Schools Board of Education in the area of personnel in August 2016. In a letter addressed to the district's Superintendent Christopher Cerf, Hespe wrote,

“	In the most recent (7/2016) evaluation, the district scored 100% in Personnel, demonstrating its ability to sustain the substantial progress achieved to date, and showing evidence of adequate programs, policies, and personnel in place and in operation. As a result, I am recommending to the State Board of Education that this area be returned to local control.	”
—David Hespe (2016)

Remarking on the step toward full control, Superintendent Christopher Cerf said, "I could not be more excited by today's news." The district also regained local control of operations in October 2007 and of fiscal management in June 2014.

Newark Public Schools still had a gap to fill in the area of instruction and program, according to Hespe's letter. He stated that the district's Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC) score in this area was below the minimum requirement of 80 percent.

Hespe's letter was written at the same time the district released a three-year strategic plan outlining its proposal for further progress toward regaining local control. The plan listed tiers of priorities that the district planned to target from 2016 to 2019.

Priority 1: Strengthen Academics and Student Supports

Priority 2: Ensure Great Talent in Every School and Department

Priority 3: Engage the Community

Full control was expected to be restored to the district by the 2017-2018 school year. The district first began moving toward local control in 2015, when an agreement was made between Gov. Chris Christie (R), Mayor Baraka, and an appointed board to remove the "advisory status" of the Newark Board of Education. The state originally took over the district in 1995.

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