By David Cruz
There was a flip-flop in the 10th congressional district primary. After telling NJ Today he would not support same-sex marriage, presumed frontrunner Donald Payne, Jr. was backtracking today.
Ask people in the 10th congressional district what the big issues are and they’ll tell you: crime, unemployment, education. Marriage equality is actually way down on the list, but when President Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage, it became the top issue of the moment, and came up when the candidates were interviewed. In a field of candidates who agree on almost everything, one stood alone.
Payne told NJ Today Managing Editor Mike Schneider he was studying the issue last week.
Schneider: At this point, you’re not prepared to say that you would support same sex marriage?
Payne: Not at this point in time, but we are looking at it.
That put Payne in direct opposition to the other three candidates in the field. Sen. Nia Gill co-sponsored the Marriage Equality Bill in the State Senate; Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith also made his position clear on NJ Today.
Smith: People are entitled to their human rights and desires, now on the religious front their will be religious differences, but that’s not the sphere of the government. That’s why in this great country we have a separation of church and state.
Schneider: But you’re not prepared at this time to say you support same-sex marriage?
Smith: Yes, yes.
Schneider: You support the President.
Smith: Yes, that’s what I said.
We asked Councilman Ron Rice, who said he has been a long-time supporter of marriage equality, what he thought of Payne’s position.
“I think he needs to follow the example of his father, and his father supported marriage equality,” said Rice. “I support marriage equality, and I think the 10th congressional district does, too.”
In the heavily African-American 10th district, support for same-sex marriage lags behind the rest of the state. The black church, one of the most influential institutions in the community, has always been opposed. Rev. Reginald Jackson, pastor of St. Matthew AME Church in Orange, says supporting marriage equality is a tough decision for a politician in a district like the 10th.
“It’s not an easy issue because you do have the issue of where you stand in terms of your faith. It’s an issue of where you look at it in terms of civil rights or human rights and it’s an issue of who you love, and so it’s not an easy issue,” said Jackson. “I don’t object or oppose either Senator Gill, Councilman Rice or Mayor Smith for their position and neither do I believe Councilman Payne is being disingenuous. I think it’s something he still wrestles with, as many people are.”
So, we reached out to Payne today to give him an opportunity to explain his position. Turns out, his position had changed.
Payne: I’m proud to say that I stand here and say that I support marriage equality.
Cruz: Last week, you seemed to suggest that it was a process you were still going through. Was it a process of evolution, not unlike the president’s? Were you in one place before and now you’re in another place now.
Payne: Well, I don’t want to use the president’s word, evolution, but I think that is what’s happening now among quite a few of us. I don’t want use his term, but pretty much, yes.
It’s difficult to say how much of an impact a candidate’s support of same-sex marriage would have had on this primary, but in a field where the candidates agree on almost everything, Payne realized it was safer to be on the same side as his opponents, rather than somewhere else.
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