By KAYLA J. MARSH
Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH – Before New Jerseyans head to the polls for the June 7 primary, Chelsea Clinton, daughter of presidential hopeful Hilary Clinton, met with Monmouth County residents.
On May 17, the last day for residents to register to vote in the primary, Clinton campaigned for her mother, the current front-runner candidate for the Democratic Party against fellow candidate Bernie Sanders, at events that were held at Charlie’s Ocean Grille in Long Branch and at the Monmouth County Democratic Headquarters in Hazlet.
She asked the residents for their support and impressed upon them on why her mom is the best candidate for president of the United States.
“I think this is the most important presidential election of my lifetime,” Clinton told a packed crowd at Charlie’s Ocean Grille.
“This election feels so personal to me because I am now a mother and I know that whomever we elect, will play a profound role in shaping the country [and] the world that my children and their generation grow up in.”
Clinton, whose father is former President Bill Clinton, is the mother to 19-month-old daughter Charlotte and is also expecting her second child with her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, in the coming months. So she told the crowd that this year was her first time she was voting for her mother as a mother herself in New York State’s primary.
“I acknowledge proudly that I am deeply bias toward [my mom] … and I am incredibly grateful for the example she has given me now as a working mom,” Clinton said. “I didn’t know I could care anymore about politics and who’s running or holding political office until I became a parent.”
Clinton talked about why she is convinced her mom, ‘is the only person who can help us navigate forward at this moment.”
“I think that what someone has done is a good indication of what they will be able to do, so it really matters to me that my mom has a long and deep record of actually being a change-maker and really delivering progress,” she said.
Clinton spoke of her mother’s previous roles as first lady of Arkansas, first lady of the United States, a New York State Senator and Secretary of State. She also touched on her mother’s her track record and different struggles throughout her career.
She discussed her mom’s fight for Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) and her pushing for universal healthcare coverage and the Children’s Health Insurance Program in the early ‘90’s.
“It matters that people know how to make change and are going to work with whomever they need to, to deliver that change,” Clinton said.
“I also think it matters that people know how to make government work on behalf of our values when in office and when out of office and … so it matters to me that my mom has a record of making government work on behalf of our values even when not in office.”
Clinton also spoke about her mother’s role in encouraging legislation to provide support for how girls and women are treated overseas, as well as support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
“It matters that you know how to make change, but also [know how to] protect [any] change,” she said.
During her time, Clinton took several questions from audience members, which included discussing her mother’s plan for autistic students and individuals and talking about her mom’s urban agenda.
“We are in a county that is important,” Vin Gopal, Monmouth County Democratic chairman, said at the event. “It is the fourth largest county in the state and this primary this June, we have an important choice to make, and this November, we have an even greater choice to make.
“I see the hope and promise of a historical candidate and that is what Hilary Clinton is going to represent and there’s no better person to tell her story than her daughter Chelsea.”