Former school board member and 2020 city council candidate join incumbent John Moor as a contender for the Mayor’s seat. Felicia Simmons is running to unseat John Moor in November’s election. She has worked in the last two years as the community organizer on two of the most impactful campaigns in Asbury Park history. Asbury Park Affordable Housing Coalition’s Rent Control Referendum Campaign to cap rent increases at 3% per year and the inclusionary Zoning Ordinance Campaign that requires 20% of all new multi-family housing units to be affordable to low- and moderate-income Asbury Park residents. Simmons plans to turn that experience into a win of her own and bring to light the struggles that she and many other city residents share.
“This is a campaign for the people, by the people, with a plan to take over the city in a way that is beneficial to all parts of the city,” Simmons said at a campaign event at Sami’s Mediterranean Street Food. “There’s no part [of the city] that is less valuable than the other part, she added. “We’re a unique breed of people that come together under art, under love, under greatness; we’re an active group of people. We don’t sit back and be complacent.”
Her main platform planks are ensuring the community has fair access to their:
Mayor,
Council at large,
Those residents are organized to make public presentations on their issues,
Creating a budget for the city focused on the fair distribution of funds and economic opportunities for all residents & regions of the municipality, and lastly,
We engage all residents, businesses, and community groups to develop a unified vision for Asbury Park.
(Above Felicia Simmons attending the “Health, Quality of Life and Economic Disparity Forum” in Asbury Park.” 2017)
Simmons said she’s not going to sit back and put Asbury Park’s problems on someone else, she believes it’s our problem, and we have an opportunity to fix it so we can all stay and live in a productive, beautiful city by the shore.
(Above Ms. Simmons pictured here w/her son Zachariah Simmons-Byrant(L) & Rev Jesse Jackson Sr. Civil Rights Leader)
“We’re not going to sit back and be complacent as part of our city is pushed out, as part of our city is undereducated, as part of our city is underdeveloped, we’re not going to sit back and continue to let these things happen.”
A life-long Asbury Park resident, Simmons graduated from Asbury Park High School, class of 1998. She serves as President of the Monmouth & Ocean County National Action Network, Education Committee Chair of the Asbury Park NAACP, Co-founder and Community Organizer for the Asbury Park Affordable Housing Coalition, and President/ Executive Director of the Westside Community Center. She says she is “Above all else, a mother, daughter, artist, and friend.” Vote Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
(Pls review the fundraiser video https://youtu.be/BzYf6di9Z-I)
For more information about Felicia Simmons, visit
www.feliciasimmons4asburypark.com ###
