Second Gentleman Pool Reports of October 19, 2021

SGOTUS Pool Report NJ #1

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff returned to his home state of New Jersey on Tuesday, visiting a vaccination site at a Newark High School and to promote the federal spending plan in nearby Elizabeth.

Emhoff, who grew up on Old Bridge, was joined at both sites by New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy and U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr.

The first stop was at East Side High School, where students can get vaccinated during lunch periods at a clinic in the school's auditorium.

New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli told Emhoff that 100% of children in the zip code have been vaccinated.

"It's really a phenomenal result," Persichilli said.

"Leave it to New Jersey, the place I grew up," Emhoff replied.

Emhoff said he has visited vaccination sites in 30 states, but this is his first trip back to New Jersey since he became second gentleman in January.

"I've been really looking forward to this trip — especially to do something this important," Emhoff said.

He noted that two-thirds of Americans have now been vaccinated.

"We've got to do better," Emhoff said. "New Jersey is setting the example."

Emhoff and the other officials witnessed a senior at the school — 18-year-old Evelyn Chagmana — get he second Pfizer shot at the auditorium clinic.

"Why was it so important you got the shot," Emhoff asked her.

Through a translator, the Spanish-speaking student said he "didn't want to be someone to pass (the virus) on to someone else" and she "wants to protect her family."

"Thanks for doing this," Emhoff told her.

From there, Emhoff and the other officials met with seven students about why they got vaccinated.

When he told them he went to high school in New Jersey, too, one student asked him where he went.

"Cedar Ridge," Emhoff said. "It doesn't exist anymore."

One student said she was happy sports are retiring after being canceled because of the pandemic.

She also said people her age tend not to be against the vaccine, but adults have been more "stubborn."

Emhoff noted he's a father of two children and did his own research before getting the vaccine.

"Anything we can do, we will," Emhoff said. "But it's folks like you, young leaders going out into the community" that helps the most.

SGOTUS Pool Report NJ #2

First, a correction: Payne did not join Emhoff at the second site.

Emhoff's second stop was a tour of the Elizabeth River Trail in Elizabeth, New Jersey's fourth-largest city.

The trail is an urban walkway along the Elizabeth River, a project that was born from a local, state, and federal government partnership.

Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage noted you can take the trail over the Goethals Bridge, into Staten Island, N.Y.

Bollwage called the trail "a great urban pasture" where people can walk and learn history at markets along the way.

"It's great to see things like this," Emhoff said of the trail. "To take something that hadn't been used and now is something beautiful."

Emhoff also met with officials of Groundwork Elizabeth, a nonprofit that conducts hundreds of cleanups a year.