Maitreya One - Tell us your background. Where are you from and how did you land in Camden, New Jersey?
Jennifer Huse - I was born in New Jersey, but fairly shortly afterwards my parents entered missionary work for their religion. So, we lived all over the country for this reason for years, and then finally wound up back in New Jersey, in Monmouth County. I had been looking into Camden to invest in real estate since 2012. I would come down occasionally and speak with realtors and was trying to map different properties out for some years before we made the move. We had already established buying homes for renovation, plus had another business, friends, and associates in Monmouth County, so deciding to move 1 1/2 hours away had a lot of factors. My husband was finally in a position to make such a huge move, and we made the decision not just to invest, but also to move down to Camden in early 2018.
MO - What made you want to run for mayor?
JH - I have always wanted change in our world, initially through my religious upbringing, then through my activism and advocacy over the years. And specifically, in the last decade of studying social system design and city and community planning, I have increasingly found more solutions and connections to persons who would be able to really assist in bringing about real change. A friend of mine and my husband, who has been in Camden over a decade, had heard both my husband and I speak so much about the change that needs to happen in our city, that he was the person who initially suggested I run. As advocates and activists, we are often trying to reach politicians to get them to work on changes in the areas they are elected to represent. I began to really think about it and research the feasibility of running here, and there is real potential for it to happen. So, I decided to run as an independent candidate for Mayor of Camden.
MO - Can you give us a little background about Camden New Jersey? What's the ethnic breakdown of the city? What's the average income of both men and women?
JH - Camden itself is the most economically disadvantaged city in New Jersey, and one of the most economically disadvantaged in the Nation. It has largely been ignored, extorted, and treated as a dumping ground. That being said, Camden has some of the most amazing people I have ever met and our city is one of the oldest established cities in the country. It has beautiful, strong, and resilient people and incredible architecture.
The most current census numbers give us these approximate numbers: Hispanic 51%, Black 41.4%, White 29%, Mixed 4.5%, Asian 2.4%, Native American 0.6%, Native Hawaiian 0.1%
The median household income is $27,015 and on average a person earns about $15,000 per year. About 36.4% of people here are living in poverty.
MO - What political party are you a member of?
JH - I am a registered Independent and I am running as an independent candidate. I am also a member of The United States Transhumanist Party, which is a Science-Based Political party which looks to transcend the limitations that humanity faces.
MO - What type of fundraising are you planning on doing to help with your campaign?
JH - Since I am running as an independent and do not have the affiliation and backing of a large party, my husband and I expect to take care of any of the costs involved with the campaign. We will not be asking the people of Camden for any money in regards to the campaign. That being said, any donations that come in from persons in the city or elsewhere in the nation are greatly appreciated and will be used for marketing materials and other ways to advance awareness of the campaign.
Even a small amount can go quite far here in that we have a small population size and can really maximize our marketing materials for the most direct reach possible.
MO - In what way do you plan on helping the city of Camden increase their lifespan? What is the average life expectancy for Camden residents?
JH - I am looking to help the people of Camden increase their lifespan in all ways possible but we need to first ensure that everyone has clean and safe housing. We have quite a bit of homelessness and housing insecurity here that needs to be resolved immediately. We also have persons suffering from utilities insecurities and food insecurities. We have problems with pollution of the air, soil, and water that must be remedied. We are a food desert which means that we have limited access to nutritious organic fruits and vegetables. People also need help being able to access the healthcare and medicine they need. We need to make sure that the homes do not have leaching from lead pipes and the risk of fire from faulty and outdated wiring. We need to eliminate the homicides in the city. We need to make sure that every person can have a life where they can afford these necessities without having to work a ridiculous amount of hours each week, with no rest and relaxation to recharge, and constantly under crushing stress. This is just the bare minimum of what has to be done here. But with our proposed Center for Scientific Solutions and the network of health, biology, and other professionals, we are looking not just to bring Camden up in these ways, but also to work towards building Camden to have the highest quality length of life in the world. We are currently slightly under the States’ average life expectancy of 80 years, averaging in at about 77 years.
MO - Why do you think there are absolutely no career politicians advocating for government funding for life extension research so we can cure age-related diseases as well as progeria?
JH - I think that it can only be one of two reasons, either they have absolutely no information in this area and therefore it isn’t something they work on, or that they do not care about working on it or both.
But I hope that people begin to see that our quality of life, and length of this quality of life, are the most important topics we can work on.
Politicians have the ability to affect many peoples’ lives and it greatly saddens me that more are not working on it.
Hopefully, we can make Camden an example to the Nation and world so that others will emulate in their area.
MO - What made you want to go public and speak about life extension in politics?
JH - The health and well being of people and the planet has always been of the utmost importance to me, especially by working on eradicating the sicknesses and unnecessary deaths that plague us all.
I have been passionate about this since a very young age. If I am going to make the switch over from advocacy and activism to politics, I have to run on the things that are important to me and not try to change myself into something I am not.
I cannot imagine running for a position where I would be able to affect so many people and not want to constantly work on improving the health and length of all of their lives.
MO - What's your stance on universal health care? Do you think it's a human right? Why? And why do you think it's important as a life extensionist?
JH - Everyone having access to quality healthcare is probably one of the more important steps we can take for our people to begin to improve the quality of life. On a citywide level, I am interested in bringing in all feasible ways to have access to top healthcare and medicine for every person in our city. So far I have come across the Mayors for Universal Healthcare, which is a team of Mayors that is trying to gain momentum here for their cities, and also nationwide. Our administration is based around problem-solving for advancements to the city and ALL persons’ quality of life. So, we would be very interested in all approaches for this to happen.
MO - As a new politician, do you think trying to convince the public that reversing the aging process through science & technology can damage your run for mayor?
JH - The idea of applying the scientific method to the issues that we face is very important to me. Throughout the years we have applied science and technology to our health conditions and towards extending our lives. I am looking to bring Camden up to the top quality and length of life we have and to continue to do research to solve the health issues that we have, and also to be able to continue to improve our individual health, quality, and length of life. I cannot see why people would not want the administration they elect to care about bringing their health and quality of life up in every way possible and I of course would not want to run a campaign where I was not concerned with the health and quality of life of all.
MO - Are you a cryonicist? In what way could you help the legitimacy of cryonics once elected as mayor?
JH - Yes! Very much so! For persons that do not know what this is, it is an additional and newer science-based end-of-life option which can be offered in addition to traditional cremations or burials. I would work to bring awareness of this other end-of-life option so that people would be able to be informed of all of the options available to them and to have access for anyone in our city that might be interested in this option. I think it is very important that we keep ourselves in a constant state of information and connection to the people that live in our city and will endeavor to set up communications systems which will help all of our people to keep them informed of all of our progress and opportunities.
MO - In Camden, New Jersey, Martin Luther King lived on 753 Walnut st. while he was a graduate student at the now-closed Crozer Theological Seminary in upland Delaware county. New Jersey won't recognize the house he stayed in as a historical site. What info do you have about this and if so, how are you making this public, and will you make this part of your campaign?
JH - Luckily, MLK’s house has been recently purchased by pastor Amir Khan and he is going to be restoring it to a museum and we are going to try to help him as much as we can.
MO - With the increase of automation, what type of job creation will your administration help bring to the city? Will there be any collaborations with the tech and life extension industry?
JH - I am looking to increase the automation in the city in as many ways possible that will benefit the citizens here.
We have to balance bringing in automation with making sure that all of our people have a high economic quality of life, so that they are not replaced by automation, but that it provides more opportunities for them. It is a balance while continuing to operate in a monetary system. There are so many advancements in tech and the healthcare industry that there is plenty of room to bring this in to improve our quality of life and offer new opportunities for education and employment. There are plenty of people in our network interested in bringing this in.
MO - The Theory of Evolution is a well-established fact. Creationism is being pumped up from all sides outside of education. Do you think the city of Camden needs strong science classes in elementary schools with a strong curriculum in basic science and the working knowledge of Theory of evolution before junior high school so our children will be able to deal with reality on its own terms?
JH - I think that Camden already has strong science classes. We have Leap and STEM and just built a science and technology High School. I think for all public schools we should be trying to bring in as much advancement in sciences and technologies as possible. This should be something that is ongoing and periodically reviewed as new information and technology comes out. We have private religious schools here and this is something that the schools themselves dictate, and if the parents wish their children to enroll there that is entirely their choice.
MO - In politics, we have been experiencing a surge in conservatism, right-winged politics, and their connection to fundamental Christianity. What will your administration do to widen the gap between church and state in your city?
JH - Well, I think in general we are a science-based problem-solving administration. There is no issue with anyone's personal belief in God as long as it does not involve harming other persons. I think it is pretty clear that we are all working on it in the most efficient way so that we can continue to meet all of our people’s needs and to progress as much as we can in all of these areas. Working on applying changes of different laws, bringing people the top healthcare we can, working on cleaning up litter and pollution, housing the homeless, and more requires methods of problem-solving and we wish to do this for all people regardless of individual religious belief. There are also many organizations here that while they do have religious faith, they are working to help all members of the community regardless of if they share the same faith, and they are doing a very good job. We hope to work with as many people that are making a difference and help encourage that growth and change as much as possible.
MO - I know you're a major Venus project advocate and you knew the late Jacque Fresco. In what way has your experience with the Venus project influenced your outlook on politics?
JH - My experience with The Venus Project has given me over a decade around some of the greatest futurists in the world. The exposure to the ideas of social system planning, city and community design, the ideas of having human rights built into our operating system has been invaluable.
We have spent many years trying to reach politicians around the world to implement these ideas that are for better quality of life for all people and the planet. Since advocates and activists usually are always trying to get through to politicians, it would be nice if someone who had proposals for all of the people in their town/city/state/county would run besides myself only. Sometimes people think real change can only be affected on a state or national level, but a lot of difference can be made for the people of your areas on a local level, and with these changes you can also reach out to others in local offices, and also in the state and national offices to network for good.
Photo: Jennifer Huse & Jacque Fresco. The Venus Project. Florida
MO - You are a strong advocate for medical cannabis. In the war on drugs, many black and brown communities got torn apart due to the selling of cannabis. Now that it's legal in many places. How will your administration help create jobs in this booming cannabis industry so that the people of Camden can not only benefit from the healing properties of cannabis, but the city can benefit economically? Basically, how will you bring jobs to Camden in the medical Cannabis industry?
JH - There is actually interviewing for an ad hoc committee to discuss how to implement the cannabis industry into Camden. It is very new and I hope that it will be a great panel of people that are very well versed in all of the different aspects of the cannabis industry. Our Governor just recently legalized recreational use in the State, but many regulations are coming in little by little. Regardless, it will make a big difference in not having arrests and retention in regard to the plant and also expungement of cannabis-related charges. The first things we want to be doing are stopping the oppression of persons that wish to use this medicine and the punishment of people that have been trying to provide this medicine all along with all of the expungements. Then, simultaneously work on ways to get persons into the legal industry that wish to work there. Any person or family of a person that was wrongly affected by the war against this plant should have the first paths to be able to work in the legal industry. We also should be pursuing on a citywide level how this invaluable nontoxic plant medicine can be harvested to be as inexpensive as possible. This medicine treats a variety of conditions that many people suffer and die from and should be able to be delivered to sick persons in our city at little or no cost. Medical applications are different from specialty forms of medicine so that persons may want to purchase from the dispensary and may have more cost to create.
MO - Access to locally grown food is very important to the health and well-being of any society. The close connection to nutrition and mental health is very important especially for our children. How will you help our most vulnerable residents in Camden who are struggling just to put food on the table?
JH - Our administration’s proposals are in regard to quality of life for all of our citizens.
Food is directly related to quality of life. We are looking to bring many options to our city, including a city orchard, fruit and nut trees planted throughout the city for persons to freely partake from during seasonal months. We are looking to expand non profits that wish to help persons to learn how to cultivate their front and back yards and perhaps even vacant lots with food during seasonal months.
We are also looking to incorporate techniques for the children in our schools to learn how to grow and distribute fresh food to the community throughout the school year and summer months. Enclosed growing will allow for food that can be grown year-round instead of just during the seasonal months. And we also wish to build a vertical farm that will eventually provide fresh fruit and vegetables to all of the people in our city and be a new source of revenue by selling it to surrounding areas.
MO - Tell us about your plan to decriminalize sex workers: why is this important for the City of Camden? How many women were locked up for prostitution last year in the city of Camden?
JH - This topic is very important to me, I think it should be decriminalized everywhere, and things that I think should be done everywhere, I would like to try to implement in our city. There are so many negatives to keeping the oppression of persons choosing to work in the sex industry. Oftentimes persons working in the profession are afraid to go to the police if they are abused by persons they work with or by customers because they are afraid of imprisonment, fines, and other repercussions. Many areas are starting to decriminalize this profession with much success. By endeavoring to bring all of our people to the highest quality of life, we have to look at not criminalizing persons for consensual behaviors.
MO - The last thing Dr. King spoke about for black and brown people before he died was economic empowerment for black and brown people. Economic injustice is what communities are faced with all over America. The gentrification of every black community in America has happened in the last 20 years. What are your plans to help the City of Camden help its residents stay in the communities and be able to take out small loans to start a business and employ our own people from the same community?
JH - This issue as well is very important to me. It was one of the main factors in running in this election. For years Camden has been largely neglected and ignored. Now all of the sudden there starts to be some interest in it. I am seeing the properties the city owns get sold off for nothing to investors, there is also an increase in investors buying the non-city-owned properties. But, all the while the prices are climbing, making it harder for the people living in Camden to acquire properties. This must be addressed, and I will do so.
MO - What's your stance on reparations for African Americans? I didn't see anything on your platform specifically about this, but most black people in America would like some form of reparations.
JH - I have never looked into this form of initiative on a city level so I do not have any information on it. But our initiatives are to bring all of our people to the highest quality of life possible. The things mentioned on our platform can be achieved on a city level and can help bring all our people improvements.
MO - Most black people don't want white police officers policing their neighborhoods anymore. The sister Makhia Bryant who was defending herself from a bunch of girls who came to her house got killed by the police she called for help. How are you going to help stop police brutality in your city?
JH - The situation with Makhia is horrible. I think a lot of steps to improve policing have occurred in our city. What I would like to do is take steps to continually improve the approach toward community policing. Fortunately, our police chief and department have already repeatedly stated they are interested in being an example of community policing to the nation. During the recent protests, they marched with the people instead of taking stands against them and have sought to hire persons from the community to be officers. I would like to expand any efforts towards de-escalation, together with new programs for ways that we can improve in community policing. I am interested in all peaceful approaches toward how we can continue to refine our police force and provide as much assistance as possible to the police force’s desire to be an example of community policing.
MO - Why is the food in the public schools so bad, lacking the nutrition our kids need?
JH - I think there are various reasons why this may be so commonplace: primarily lack of nutritional information and also in places, lack of funding, which leads to the most inexpensive and often least nutritious options. I am very happy to have connected to PS 55 in the Bronx and speak to their principal and head of their food department in regard to implementing some of the programs they have there into our public schools here. It is so important that our children get healthy, delicious food so they can focus properly and their bodies can feel as healthy as possible. And I have the hope that we will also be able to provide nutrition to the children's families and other members of our community through my proposals.
MO - I know you heard of the Windows of HipHop school in the Bronx. The principal is Mr. Torres. He has the first HipHop school in the United States. They even grow their own food and have a million-dollar studio built. Do you think it's possible to duplicate the same success in Camden? If so, how?
JH - Yes I have, Mr. Torres, and what they are doing at PS 55 school in the Bronx is an outstanding example of the curriculums that should be a bare minimum at all schools. I have spoken with Mr. Torres and I would hope to be able to integrate these curriculums into the schools here. It is very important that all of our children have access to fresh and nutritious food, exposure to science and technology in their curriculums, and also to have access to medical and dental care, and have uniforms provided. People have been working very hard to improve the schools here in Camden and have done a wonderful job. The introduction of these types of additional programs would only enhance the quality of life of our students. The programs in regard to growing fresh food and vegetables also allows us to provide more into the community as the methods they employ allow more than the children consume.
MO - Do you believe ex-felons have the right to vote? If so, why?
JH - Absolutely, persons are still persons of our nation regardless of what they have been incarcerated for. In fact, New Jersey just recently passed a bill allowing all persons that were arrested on a felony to be able to vote as soon as they are released, even if they are still on probation and even if they still have outstanding fines they are paying. This is something that I think should be done everywhere. Also, there are some States that are even more progressive and they allow voting even while incarcerated which is something I think that we should progress to here, and everywhere.
MO - What's your stance on the death penalty and solitary confinement?
JH - I do not feel that anyone should be put to death unless they choose it. If a person is too sick or in too much pain and wishes that, then we should help them facilitate the most peaceful transition. But short of that I do not think anyone's life should be taken. I think that while this may mean that some persons need to be detained away from society because their behavior is dangerous to others, this does not mean they should be tortured and further harmed. There are countries all over the world that have improved their detention centers even with persons that have exhibited very violent behavior.
You will never successfully rehabilitate someone by causing them more harm. I think that solitary confinement is torture and so is exposing persons to conditions where they are not taken care of properly.
Again, while someone may even have to be kept away from persons inside a detention center because of behaviors, they do not have to be tortured. We have one prison in our city and I would try to do my best to improve the conditions for the detainees, their families, and the staff in every way possible. I would hope that we could work on it with allies from around the nation and world and we could make an example to the nation.
MO - You live in a predominantly black city. Due to racism, black people are condemned for the way we speak. Ebonics is the language of Hip-hop. Will your administration go public with saying ebonics should be treated like a new language and should bring it in the classroom? Teach standard English using ebonics in your public schools. Will your administration once elected Recognize ebonics as a language?
JH - Being able to introduce this as a recognized language is a fairly new concept for me. I have long known that there has been discrimination in many other forms of speaking such as accents, dialects, and more. Now that I am beginning to find out there is a possibility of introducing this on a local level, I am interested in meeting with more persons that are experts in this field to see how we can potentially introduce this concept in our universities and possibly even our primary schools. I am also interested in ways that we can work in other avenues to end speech discrimination. I think that PS 55 in the Bronx is also working on this concept and I am very excited to introduce anything that we possibly can from their curriculum. Since this is already a school that is actively working on this curriculum and connected to so many people that can help, I think they would be a big help in being able to get the support of the different school boards that may influence the introduction of these new programs.
Learn more about Jennifer and the mayoral election, which takes place on November 2nd: https://www.jahformayor.com/
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About:
Jennifer A. Huse is a transhumanist, who co-owns JSD Homes LLC, Eatontown, and volunteers for The Venus Project. She is a mayoral candidate of Camden, New Jersey, and seeks to transform Camden into a city with a significantly improved quality of life for all.
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