By NICK CORASANITI
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Four years of increasing activism and growing political awareness recently brought Lacey Rzeszowski to Rutgers University here, to a packed room of nearly 280 women, each on the cusp of launching a bid for public office for the first time.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Four years of increasing activism and growing political awareness recently brought Lacey Rzeszowski to Rutgers University here, to a packed room of nearly 280 women, each on the cusp of launching a bid for public office for the first time.
Spurred
by the 2012 shooting rampage in Newtown, Conn., she had pressured local
and federal lawmakers on gun control legislation, first on the backs of
postcards and then in live confrontations in town halls and
congressional offices. Her advocacy led to calls for her to run for
office, but Ms. Rzeszowsk had repeatedly declined.
Now,
seeking solace and inspiration following the 2016 presidential election
and the Women’s March on Washington, Ms. Rzeszowski, 42, is squaring
off in a tough race against a local Republican for a seat in the New
Jersey Assembly.
 |
| Lacey Rzeszowski, 42, spoke at an event in Summit, N. J., on Saturday. Ms. Rzeszowski is squaring off in a tough race against a local Republican for the State Assembly seat in New Jersey’s 21st District. |
Political
activism of all persuasions, ignited largely in response to President
Trump, has swelled in the wake of the 2016 election. A monsoon of
marchers swept through Washington following the inauguration, letters
and phone calls flooded the White House and Congress, and protests
erupted at congressional town hall meetings across the nation. But in
the social media age, where protest movements often remain relegated to
cable news screens and hashtags, some have wondered whether the fervor
and energy would be reflected in local, state and federal ballots.
The
answer seems to be a resounding yes. A surge in demand for programs
around the country like the one at Rutgers, along with a significant
spike in off-year small dollar fund-raising for local races, suggests
that the protest movement is producing a flood of first-timers, led
predominantly by new female candidates, on local ballots, from school
boards to town councils to state legislatures.
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