NJ 2025: The year in interviews

Throughout the year, NJ Spotlight News interviewed scores of newsmakers – the people behind the politics and policies driving the news.

Here are three of those interviews by NJ Spotlight News Anchor Brianna Vannozzi that illustrate the breadth of stories told this year.

Interview: Adi Alexander, father of Tenafly-born hostage 

After 16 months of war between Israel and Hamas, one American hostage is still alive, and his father said he is “hopeful” his release will come soon.

Israeli American and Tenafly native Edan Alexander was taken captive on Oct. 7, 2023, as a member of the Israeli military at just 19 years old. Now aged 21, the Tenafly High School graduate is at the center of negotiations between U.S. and Middle East officials over the next phase of the ceasefire deal, which remains in a fragile state.

“We have to remain hopeful, the hope is mandatory,” said Edan’s father, Adi Alexander, in an interview with NJ Spotlight News. “It’s really up to our new negotiating team to reshuffle the cards and get negotiations for the second phase started.”

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12th) announces retirement

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12th) announced she would not seek reelection when her term ends in 2026.

A progressive voice in the Democratic Party, Watson Coleman was elected to the state Assembly in 1998. She served as chair of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee from 2002 to 2006 and served as Assembly majority leader from 2006 to 2010.

In 2015, Watson Coleman was elected to represent the state’s 12th Congressional District, becoming the first Black woman to represent New Jersey in the House of Representatives.

Interview: Paul Aronsohn, New Jersey Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities

In a report, the state’s Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families offers an urgent warning and blueprint to the administration of the next New Jersey governor on both the progress and failures of New Jersey’s system of care for vulnerable residents. Despite calls for change, it’s a system that’s rife with abuse, neglect and unsafe conditions and bureaucracy that caregivers need to tackle as they try to seek help.