Hector Oseguera is an anti-money laundering specialist who is running for Congress in New Jersey's 8th congressional district, challenging seven-term incumbent Rep. Albio Sires in the Democratic primary. Recently, I spoke with him about his campaign and what his priorities will be if he is elected.
What motivated you to run for Congress?
"Very simply, I'm concerned about the future of my district. I was born and raised in this area, and the same people who were in charge when I was growing up are in power now. All the statistics are moving in the wrong direction. We have a very corrupt political system, housing is unaffordable, people go without adequate healthcare, and most of the elected officials run un-opposed. I wanted to give the people here another choice."
You're going up against Albio Sires, who's been in Congress for a while. How are you going to take on him effectively? What's your strategy?
"I'm going to take him on by having a very real presence in the district. He has been in Congress for a very long time, and in that time he's become an absentee official. Albio expects the political machinery to carry him across the finish line with absolutely no campaigning on his part. The way what I win is by being present and mobilizing people to recognize how absent our Congressman has been. The way I win is by effectively filling the gap that Albio has left in this district."
Regarding your policies, you mentioned corruption, housing, and health care. You also list policies such as a Green New Deal and social justice on your website. Which of your policies will you prioritize if elected?
"Anti-corruption is by far the biggest pillar of this campaign. In my opinion corruption is the real issue behind all those other issues I talk about. Housing is unaffordable because of corrupt developers. Healthcare is unaffordable because of the insurance and pharmaceutical lobby. The environment is deteriorating because of the corruption of the fossil fuel industry. So when elected, my anti-corruption campaign will be my biggest priority."
Speaking of your anti-corruption plan, it includes banning candidates from taking PAC money, closing the revolving door, banning lobbyist bundling, establishing public financing of elections, making Election Day a national holiday, etc. In addition, will you commit to cosponsoring the We the People Amendment (introduced in the House this session as H.J.Res.48) that would declare that corporations are not people, and that money is not speech?
"I absolutely endorse the spirit of the House Joint resolution. My concern is that a Constitutional Amendment is very difficult to pass and usually takes very long to ratify. Money in politics isn't an issue we can wait on to resolve. So while I absolutely would co-sponsor H.J.Res.48, support it, and would want it to pass, I don't think we can wait on a Constitutional Amendment to take serious steps to get money out of politics."
At this point, Joe Biden is the overwhelmingly likely Democratic nominee. Would you support him if/when he wins the nomination, and if he is elected, how do you work to move him to support at least a handful of your (and the progressive movement's) policies?
"I have committed to supporting the Democratic nominee, regardless of who that ultimately is. I agree that at this point the consensus is that Joe Biden is the likely nominee, but there is still a lot of voting to be done and I may be one of the few people who does not consider the Democratic primary to be completely over just yet, though I admit that clearly Joe Biden has the momentum at this point. If he is elected, I would seek to work on issues that have popular support and use the platform that an elected official has to generate the sort of grassroots mobilization necessary to make those progressive priorities a reality."
Any final thoughts?
"I would say that I believe this year will be big for the progressive movement. Most people just focus on the Presidential race, but there are a lot of exciting down ballot races that can have a much deeper impact in the lives of the American people. I know that Bernie has done a lot to activate the base, but even if he is not the nominee, I sincerely hope that the tremendous explosion of progressive energy remains mobilized and ready to make lasting change."
Thank you to Hector Oseguera for agreeing to this interview, and if you'd like to learn more about him, make sure you check out his website. And if you live in New Jersey, and you like what you see, make sure to vote for him in the primary, scheduled for June 2.
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