![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Aaron-Weiner-e1780432134791.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhen the President of the United States is flirting with the idea of being a king,<\/a> the last thing our county politics needs is a coronation.<\/p>\n My grandfather was a navy officer in World War II, where his boat was blitzed by kamikaze pilots; my great-grandfather was a member of the Lost Battalion in World War I.<\/p>\n Fighting for our democracy is in my family\u2019s blood. When I see our county\u2019s elected seats being treated like bargaining chips in a shady backroom poker game, it makes my blood boil.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why I\u2019m running for Hudson County commissioner in District 4. I\u2019d like to make the case to you for why our fiercely progressive, fiercely independent city deserves a County Commissioner that matches our spirit.<\/p>\n But my machine-picked opponent refuses to debate me.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not surprised by this, because machine politics thrives on secrecy and backroom deals. But it is that exact type of nose-in-the-air politics that have turned voters off to politics altogether. I\u2019m running to end that culture for good.<\/p>\n My name is Dr. Aaron Weiner. I\u2019ve called Jersey City home for the past 13 years, and I love this city so much. It\u2019s where I found my fianc\u00e9e, and it\u2019s where I found a community to fight alongside in support of immigrants, healthcare, and a just economy.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve protested the closure of Christ Hospital alongside members of HPAE, elected officials across the state, and community members who have relied on this hospital for their entire lives.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve marched alongside residents tired of ICE running roughshod over our communities and fearful for the lives of their neighbors, but hopeful because we were all together that day.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve spoken out at hearings and community meetings all across the city in support of building more housing, reopening Christ Hospital, and ensuring our states are safe and accessible for all.<\/p>\n And in every single one of these places, our current County commissioner was absent.<\/p>\n So no, I\u2019m not surprised our incumbent County Commissioner won\u2019t debate me. It\u2019s just another instance of her being absent, of not answering to the community who puts her in power every three years. That\u2019s exactly what machine politics will always offer you: absence.<\/p>\n But just because I\u2019m not surprised she won\u2019t debate me doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t still believe she should. After all, that\u2019s the point of democracy.<\/p>\n Everyone should have the chance to hear from their elected officials, and every elected official should have to answer to the public for their re-election.<\/p>\n So our county commissioner should have to answer for why she hasn\u2019t lifted a finger to save Christ Hospital, which is in her district.<\/p>\n Our county commissioner should have to answer for why she hasn\u2019t held a single town hall or community meeting her entire time in office.<\/p>\n Our county commissioner should have to answer to the public for why, as ICE tore through the Heights<\/a>, her response was to dismiss basic protections against ICE as \u201cineffective\u201d and \u201cimpractical.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n If a debate occurs, I will welcome the opportunity to pitch a different future for District 4: one where our commissioner is as independent and progressive as we are.<\/p>\n One where our commissioner is accountable to the people, not developers or the corrupt political machine. And one where the democracy that my grandfather took shrapnel for is respected for the sacred thing it is.<\/p>\n But until that day, I look forward to meeting all of you at the doors and in our community. We have a democracy to fight for, and I won\u2019t be absent for that fight.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Dr. Aaron Weiner is a physical therapist, a longtime Jersey City resident, and the progressive, independent Democrat running for Hudson County Commissioner, District 4. Dr. Weiner got through school by working as a barista across Jersey City, so he knows what it means to fight to make ends meet \u2014 and he knows that the County government can step up to lift families out of our affordability crisis, if only they had the political will to do it. That\u2019s why he\u2019s running for County Commissioner to reopen Christ Hospital, build real affordable housing, and protect our communities from ICE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In an editorial, independent Hudson County commissioner candidate Aaron Weiner (D-4) gives his thoughts on incumbent Yraida Aponte-Lipski…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[70505,103227,9,11,10,103228],"class_list":["post-266982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-2026-hudson-county-commissioner-races","tag-aaron-weiner","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-yraida-aponte-lipski"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}