Will Jennifer Williams Be New Jersey’s First Transgender Councilmember?
metroweekly.comMetro Weekly in an interview she’s hopeful and optimistic that the “cured” ballots will break in her favor, determining the winner of the race.“It’s strange, but I always felt calm about this race in a lot of ways,” she says. “I felt there was a chance I could actually win because I was born in Trenton, I grew up here, and I know my city enough to know I wouldn’t have problems getting elected as an openly LGBTQ person.
When people get to know you, they meet you, they get to see what you can do, they believe in your abilities and your skills, they can see that you care about them, about what they want, and about trying to make the city better.”Williams knew that she could not rely on press or mail pieces for her campaign to be successful, but had to meet voters in person, at their front doors, in order to overcome any negative press coverage she might receive due to her gender identity. “I learned from previously running [for Assembly] that I had to meet voters on their doorstep,” she says. “They had to meet me, look me in the eye, and have a conversation.
That’s what made a difference.“We talked to so many voters who shared the same issues about how our city isn’t bringing in jobs or economic development, crime, clean drinking water, the basics of life.
And that’s what we campaigned on.”Williams encountered some blatant transphobia on the campaign trail, with one voter even calling her a slur while speaking on the phone to another person with Williams still in earshot.
