On Nov. 4, the people of New Jersey will have the opportunity to make an important decision for both themselves, and 9.5 million other residents. After four years, the time for our state’s gubernatorial election has come again.
Candidates for Governor:
Mikie Sherrill (Democratic Party) –
Rep. Sherrill is running with Rep. Dale Caldwell for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. According to her website, mikiesherrill.com, one of her main issues of focus is affordability, with a large emphasis on housing and healthcare. She plans on utilizing underused areas to combat the housing shortage and strengthening first-time homebuyer assistance programs. She also wants to cut healthcare costs and make reproductive healthcare more accessible. Additionally, she looks forward to building a model for NJ food businesses to increase competition, which she believes would lower grocery costs. To cut down energy bills, her target is to build climate-friendly infrastructure, and expand brownfield rebuilding to use underutilized, hazardous areas. Another area of focus in her campaign is education, where she aims to better the mental health crisis within schools by increasing the number of school counselors and support services. A new concept she wants to introduce is the “Report Card.” This will allow NJ residents to track contracts and grants by the government to see monetary transactions and allow for full transparency.
Jack Ciattarelli (Republican Party) –
Rep. Ciattarelli is running with lieutenant governor candidate Rep. James Gannon, with his main priorities being affordability, government reform, and education, according to jack4nj.com. To improve affordability, he plans to set restrictions on all kinds of tax increases and reduce state spending by 30 percent. He also plans to put strong emphasis on changing government structure, such as establishing the New Jersey Department of Government Efficiency (NJDOGE), the “Customer First Initiative” to improve service for visitors in all state offices, as well as other changes such as requiring proof of identity and citizenship before voting to ensure fair elections. In the area of education, Ciattarelli will allow inter-district schooling and would like to create a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” to alter standard educational curriculum to match age-appropriateness. He also hopes to create a new “Energy Master Plan” that will withdraw NJ from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)
Vic Kaplan (Libertarian Party) –
Rep. Kaplan and Rep. Bruno Pereira are running for governor and lieutenant governor, with their main focus on issues related to the protection of natural rights (life, liberty, and property). In an interview, Kaplan said, “I really care about the issue of affordable housing. And when it comes to affordable housing, I very much support people having the access to affordable housing. And I support that without raising taxes.” According to him, this includes tiny homes, RVs, and smaller houses without raising taxes or imposing impact fees, which he believes would reduce homelessness. Additionally, he opposes the government’s power to take private property for public use, or eminent domain. In terms of accessibility of healthcare, he wants to reduce barriers to building new hospitals. Advocating for a non-restrictive immigration policy, he said, “My position is clear. If someone is nonviolent and passes the background check, they should be able to come live and work in New Jersey…I would like to see the state of New Jersey become an ICE-free zone.”
Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party) –
In an interview with Rep. Kuniansky and her co-candidate for lieutenant governor, Rep. Craig Honts, they said that their main focus is to challenge the capitalist system and start a working class movement. Additionally, they intend to work on the issues of civil and immigrant rights, global competition, and economic decline. She supports Israel in the Israel-Hamas conflict and has strongly spoken against the hate towards Jewish community. In terms of immigration, she opposes ICE raids and deportations. She has also expressed concern towards the growing unemployment and inflation. “What we need is a union-led fight for automatic cost-of-living increases in all contracts, pensions and benefits. And a mass public works program to provide jobs for millions at livable wages building affordable housing, hospitals and other necessities.”
Candidates for 14th State District (Middlesex and Mercer Counties) General Assembly
Wayne DeAngelo and Tennille McCoy (Democratic Party) –
Assemblyman DeAngelo and Assemblywoman McCoy are seeking reelection to continue legislative work, especially unfinished bills. DeAngelo said that he hopes to focus on running the Utility and Telecommunication Committee along with the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. McCoy said that she is “focused on workforce development and education so our students are ready for the jobs of tomorrow.” She emphasizes improving access to mental health resources. Additionally, they would like to assist NJ seniors through passing the “Silver Alert” (goes out in the event that they are missing) and the STAY NJ program to lower property taxes. For the local economy, they will continue supporting small businesses. creating partnerships, and improving workers rights. Energy efficiency for the environment is also a topic of concern for DeAngelo and McCoy. DeAngelo believes that they “need to be focused a little bit more on energy efficiency and using less power, as well as figuring out innovative ways to generate power without detrimentally impacting the environment.”
Marty Flynn and Joe Stillwell (Republican Party) –
Rep. Flynn and Rep. Stillwell are running to improve on local community issues through a larger standpoint. “Our campaign has focused on what we call the three Es.. Economy—Our citizens are burdened by the highest property taxes in the nation…Energy—our energy costs have gone up this year by 20%…Education—in a data driven statement, our schools spending has increased yet we still have failing schools in New Jersey.” Specifically, for the economy, they would like to cap property taxes at one percent and freeze senior property taxes. Additionally, their plan to reduce energy costs is to pull out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and bring “clean, efficient modern small modular reactors (SMRs) that are proven safe and clean.” They also plan to resolve their concern for the local education system by enhancing the school funding formula and increasing parents’ rights in their children’s education. Another issue of importance to them is local safety, especially emphasizing reducing robberies and illegal All-Terrain Vehicle activity by strengthening law enforcement.
