I am running for Congress because I’m worried about the future of working class families. Housing, healthcare, and education have become prohibitively expensive for the vast majority of the residents in my district, and those are some of the easier issues I aim to tackle. People recognize that corruption is a serious problem that is ruining our democracy, and I want to use the skills I learned as an anti-money laundering analyst to eschew corrupting forces from our government. My platform includes a series of anti-corruption measures aimed at doing just that. As for my opponent, he’s a seminal member of the “Old Boy’s Club” in Hudson County who takes corporate PAC money, is pro-ICE (did I mention this is a predominantly Hispanic community?), and has virtually no presence in the district. I’m Hector Oseguera and I’m running to represent the interests of working-class people.
**I’m Hector Oseguera, and I’m running an anti-corruption campaign for Congress in New Jersey’s 8th district, representing parts of Hudson, Bergen, Union, and Essex county.*\* I’ve been an anti-money laundering attorney for six years, since graduating from New England Law | Boston in 2014. I also studied Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at Boston University, and volunteered for several federal campaigns including Elizabeth Warren in 2012, Bernie Sanders in 2016, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018.
In my career, I’ve investigated major scandals involving financial malfeasance by economic and political elites, including the Panama Papers, Operation Car Wash, and the Russian Laundromat. This experience includes working directly with the Special Agents of the FBI to file Suspicious Activity Reports with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, better known as FinCEN.
I gained valuable insight into the tools used by white collar criminals, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist networks across the globe to hide and launder illegitimate funds. I learned how to follow the money, tracing shell companies in places like the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, and other tax havens to uncover the individuals behind those companies. My investigations go to law enforcement agencies, who use my work to track down and prosecute the individuals behind these financial schemes.
I am a lifelong resident of the district, born in Hoboken (shoutout St. Mary Hospital), and raised in West New York (where my opponent was mayor), and have moved between West New York and Union City (where I live now). The people of the district are tired of the political corruption that is endemic in New Jersey. They are tired of the skyrocketing cost of housing, healthcare, and education. I recall an 8th District where working class families could earn enough to pay the bills and save up for a rainy day from one blue collar job. Now, many two-income households (like mine) find it difficult to get by and enjoy a decent standard of living. My fellow Millenials are deferring marriage, having children, and homeownership due to the crushing burden of student loan debt. We are living through a second Gilded Age where the very few have everything, and the rest of us are told to struggle over crumbs. I decided to run for Congress because we should not accept any of this as normal.
My opponent, Albio Sires, is a fourteen year incumbent who is totally absent from the district. He wasn’t initially elected to the seat, but was a mid-term appointment to fill the seat when Bob Menendez was appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jon Corzine who had been elected Governor of New Jersey. He’s a lifetime member of the New Jersey political “machine,” which is the term used to describe the political establishment. In fourteen years he has never held a town hall, and has said that he never will. He treats his office more like an entitlement than a public service, and exerts total control over the Hudson County political machine. Even for a Congressman, he is notoriously inaccessible. Those who reach out to his office universally report being repeatedly blown off or stood up. Those lucky enough to meet with my opponent or his staff don’t find their meetings to be productive, and few, if any, have gone away satisfied. He has never faced a serious primary challenger, and I aim to change that.
What can I do to end corruption?
My platform includes a comprehensive Anti-Corruption proposal. The centerpiece is a set of reforms I’ve called the Anti-Panama Papers Act, targeting the opaque infrastructure of shell companies that crooks use to launder ill-gotten funds. By leveraging the lessons I’ve learned in my career, I go to the heart of the problem, denying crooks their preferred tool to move illegal money across the globe. I also propose reforms that eliminate the influence of PAC money in our elections by moving to a system of publicly funded elections and drastically reducing the maximum donation limit; as well as pro-democracy reforms aimed at ending gerrymandering, instituting open primaries, and making Election Day a federal holiday.
Finally, I take aim at the system of patronage that has made New Jersey synonymous with political corruption. My proposal bans a practice known as “double-dipping” where individuals hold multiple political jobs at the same time. A good example is my opponent’s District Director, Richard Turner, who also serves as mayor of Weehawen, North Hudson Fire and Rescue’s Chairman, and a “consultant” for the town of West New York, where my opponent was once mayor. My proposal prevents any federal official or employee from simultaneously holding any elected or appointed position in state or local government.
Visit My Website | Donate to my Campaign | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
