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quick summary

Larae Smith

LaRae Smith is a community-focused leader with a background in education, faith-based outreach, and public service in Commercial Township. She has served on the local Board of Education, chaired the township’s Land Use Board and Democratic Committee, and has been recognized for her advocacy on economic development and family-oriented programming. In prior campaigns and interviews, Smith emphasized bringing a working-class voice to the table, strengthening youth outreach through faith-based partnerships, and ensuring smaller municipalities have a seat in county-level decision-making.

However, Smith’s current campaign is not visible to the public. Her previous website is no longer active, and there have been no updates to her policy platform or clear communication about her current goals for the county. Despite past efforts to connect with voters and elevate underserved communities, there is no accessible messaging or material available for the 2025 race.

At this point, voters can only reference past interviews and public forums, which may not fully represent her current priorities or positions.

It’s also worth noting that although this is technically a primary race, two seats are open and only three Democrats are running—meaning there is a decent chance Smith will advance to the general election. In that context, voters would reasonably expect the candidates to offer more robust platforms, direct comparisons to their likely opponents, and clear messaging on well-known county issues.

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Rating Explanation

Larae Smith

LaRae Smith is no newcomer to public service. She’s served on the Commercial Township Board of Education, chairs both the township’s Democratic Committee and Land Use Board, and has experience in community education, faith-based outreach, and economic development. Her previous campaigns and interviews revealed a passionate advocate for small-town representation, youth engagement, and the importance of faith-based community support structures.

Which makes it all the more surprising that there is no accessible campaign messaging available for her current 2025 race. Her campaign website from a prior run is no longer active, no updated policy positions have been released, and she has not responded to outreach for participation in this year’s election coverage. Without a new campaign site, recent interviews, or public events, voters have no way of knowing whether her current run builds upon her previous campaign promises or diverges from them.

Smith’s past messaging emphasized the importance of transparency, showing up for community conversations, and bringing a working-class voice to leadership. She has spoken compellingly in forums and interviews about using faith-based programs to address youth development, crime prevention, and poverty. But without a 2025 campaign update, it’s difficult to assess whether these priorities still drive her platform.

It’s especially important for candidates with prior grassroots momentum to maintain visibility and follow-through. Smith previously earned significant voter support from a small municipality, showing she can mobilize a local base. But continuing that momentum in 2025 requires clear communication—especially in an election where other candidates are just a few miles away and still not presenting coherent public messaging.

That said, this rating can easily improve. All candidates, including Smith, are encouraged to raise their transparency score by completing a public questionnaire, publishing a simple website or platform summary, or participating in an interview. The point isn’t to spotlight individuals—it’s to centralize and share information voters deserve to have.

If candidates truly believe in community engagement, then informing that community should be the baseline, not the afterthought. In 2025, the burden should not fall on voters to guess where their local leaders stand.

For these reasons, LaRae Smith currently receives a very low rating for transparency and accessibility.

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Larae Smith

Running for:
Cumberland County Commissioner
Incumbent
Challenger

Websites

This election is on June 10th, 2025

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Transparency/Accessibility Rating: Very Low

Agenda

As of April 16th, there is no information regarding Smith's current campaign.


Info Collected From PRIOR Elections

Agenda

Strong support for OPRA (Open Public Records Act) Facebook

Supports Planned Parenthood. Facebook

Supports more women representation in government. Facebook

Supports the black caucuses of the democrat party. Reposted on Facebook

Support Senior housing and Healthcare Services. Provide county recreational advancements, building a county indoor sports facility and swim center and improving county recreation areas. Support state of the art correctional facility, by improving conditions and programs and drive long standing issues with facility to closure. Also wishes to reduce cost and tax burden of facility.

policy positions

Background and Campaign Message

Experience

Since 2007, La Rae has worked in education with the Commercial Township Board of Education. She is currently a Social Service Coordinator for the United Methodist Communities in Ocean City, New Jersey. With her vast background in Economic Development, Community Education, and Business, La Rae successfully completed a Certificate of Achievement from Atlantic Cape Community College’s Self-Employment Assistance Program in January 2006.

She has been recognized by the First District New Jersey Congress of the United States House of Representatives and Cumberland County Democratic Women receiving the Outstanding Women of Cumberland County Certificate of Commendation presented by Cumberland County Commissioners. She is Chair of the Land Use Board in Commercial Township, Chair of the Democratic Party for Commercial Township, and serves as an elected official of the Commercial Township Board of Education. Her volunteer work in recreational leagues, faith-based activities, and community service speaks volumes to her compassion and integrity. She serves as a champion to the voices of people in this great community that she loves.

Candidates Forum Responses

When asked what makes her the most qualified candidate for Commissioner at the Candidates Forum held at Bridgeton High School, Smith spoke about her leadership in economic development and education.

When asked about how she would deal with poverty, homelessness, and substance abuse, Smith spoke about leveraging the faith based organizations and community outreach programs.

Inform the Vote would like to note that Smith left the Candidates Forum approximately halfway through for an official public duty (maybe School Board, but we're not sure).


Girl Let's Talk Interview

Full Youtube Interview

Summarized/Paraphrased Q&A

To note: A "general discussion point" is a summarized part of the video that might not have come from a direct question and answer format, but part of a tangent or general discussion.


1. Host: Tell us who you are.

Smith: I was born and grew up in Bridgeton. I went to Stockton State. After school, I stayed close to home so I could make an impact in my community, stay close to my family, and stay involved in my activities (class president in high school, varsity sports, girl scouts, basketball leagues). That was the right move for me and has led me to running for county commissioner. I have been consistently running for leadership positions, where I wound up on the Commercial Township Board of Education. I can be a voice for the smaller districts in the county. I can also provide a common sense voice for the community, as a lot of decisions are made behind closed doors, ‘the big boys situation’. I want to bring the voice of the middle and lower class residents.


2. Host: What made you realize you wanted to run for commissioner?

Smith: Coming from the small municipality of Commercial Township, I first ran and lost. Then I was reached out to by Donna Pearson (current Democrat commissioner) and Nancy Sungenis (former democrat party organizer). They were surprised that coming from a small municipality that I was able to get so many votes and lose by just a hair. At that point the light bulb went off regarding “Why not me?”, when I’m already doing a lot of community work, so why not get the title and do more? Our community needs more people who want to get their hands dirty and do the work of sitting in the meetings, having the discussions, and holding people accountable. The democrat party needed people who weren’t afraid to put their name on the ballot and be interviewed. Dr. Perella, John Capizola, and myself are out in the streets talking to people, not just handing out literature. We’re listening and going to events.


3. General discussion point (La Rae Smith): This is not necessarily about getting votes, it’s about people. It’s about doing good work to help the people. It’s about knocking on the doors and asking “Do you need some help? Do you need services?”

General discussion point (the host): If you’re not getting involved with knowing who to vote for, can you complain?

General discussion point: We have to show our children that split second decisions have consequences, because our families and communities are setting the bad example that even if you do something wrong and go through the system, the children get the impression that it’s ok, without realizing that the consequences will follow them.


4. Host: How do we teach our children that life is not a game, but it’s full of consequences and that they should make good choices?

Smith: We used to have strong faith-based initiatives. We should bring recreational activities that are partnered with the faith-based organizations. They should be coordinated in a way that connects the kids from the school directly to after school activities and programming, which will help keep them out of the bad environments. They can also be used in conjunction with modeling programs, where kids can learn good behavior and decision making from good role-models.


5. General discussion point: COVID exposed that we have been programmed to only go to work to keep a roof over our heads, and so we’ve left the parenting up to the schools. By the time we get home from work, we are too tired to do anything else. We’re not checking homework, and sometimes the kids aren’t even getting homework. It has gotten to the point where we are graduating kids who can’t even read.