The Issues

Tax Fairness and Affordability

New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation. These regressive taxes disproportionately burden the middle class and make it especially difficult for seniors on fixed incomes to stay in their homes and young people to afford their first homes. And with New Jersey’s large and growing public sector debt, the problem could soon get worse. We need new leaders with the courage to tackle the problem. In Trenton, I will work to implement the following measures to provide property tax relief to those who can least afford it:

• Cut waste in state government Conduct a complete audit of state government to identify all areas of waste and potential cost savings. We’ve seen recently that billions of dollars were given away in corporate tax subsidies with little oversight or limitations and questionable benefits to the state and its taxpayers.
• Save on the local level New Jersey has 565 municipalities and an even greater number of school districts. I will estimate the level of savings that are possible through increased shared services and consolidation and propose legislation based on this analysis.
• Reduce public sector healthcare costs We need to control rapidly rising healthcare costs for public sector workers. This would benefit not only workers but put less pressure on municipal budgets and therefore property taxes. I will also seek to bring greater transparency to healthcare costs.
• Shift cost of special education The state is currently not meeting its obligation to fund the majority of the cost of extraordinary special education, leaving local school districts to make up for the shortfall. I would move toward full state funding and administration of Extraordinary Special Education to take the burden off of local municipalities so we can lower property taxes.

Strengthen Our Democracy

Every policy issue is affected by the strength of our democracy. I will work to make sure that the voices of average people are amplified over the special interests that currently have a much greater say in who gets elected to the state legislature and what legislation they prioritize. To achieve this goal, I will work to implement the following reforms:

• Publicly financed state legislative elections Successful Assembly campaigns typically need to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. An increasing share of these funds comes from special interest groups – which send far more checks to incumbent politicians than to challengers in hopes of gaining influence over them. Politicians may then feel obligated to introduce legislation that is virtually copied from some of the same special interests that helped put them in office.
  
  With public financing, small dollar donors could play a greater role than special interests in campaigns and lessen corruption. Public financing would also allow a greater diversity of candidates – including women, minorities and people of “modest means” — to successfully compete for office. For further details, please see my Op-ed published in the Asbury Park Press.
• Expand voting rights We should do everything possible to make voting easier ––something which our current representatives in LD12 inexplicably oppose. I will push for online voter registration, which 37 other states already have and same-day/Election Day voter registration, which 17 states already have.
• High school civics class Our disinvestment in civics education over the past few decades has left many students with an incomplete understanding of how our democratic process works. To encourage greater civic engagement of our youth, I will support a mandated high school curriculum in civics or US government.

Education

New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country, and we need to continue leading the charge for a 21st-century education. I’ll work to modernize our education system by reducing our over-reliance on standardized testing, support broader course offerings, and make sure higher education is affordable for everyone. I will also look to shift the cost of extraordinary special education from local municipalities to the state as a way to help offset recent reductions in school funding.

On average, New Jersey spends about $22,000 per student per year, with some districts topping $30,000 – I would seek to make more transparent how this funding is allocated across different school districts and analyze savings that can be found without sacrificing quality of education:

• Modernize education Standardized testing of verbal and mathematical ability is a necessary component of education. However, it is not sufficient to ensure a well-rounded education which encourages the type of critical thinking skills that are increasingly necessary in our modern economy. I will seek to further the development of these vital skills by supporting expanded school course offerings in areas including debate, journalism, and civics. Given that many high schools already offer such classes, I will look to create “best practices” models of successful offerings in individual school districts that can be expanded throughout the state.
  
  I will also support the expansion of course offerings in areas such as public health and scientific and technical training. Finally, AP and college prep courses should be available in all school districts to equip students with the skills needed to participate in our 21st century economy.
• School funding I will look to further shift the cost of extraordinary special education from local municipalities to the state as a way to help offset recent cuts in school funding to some districts.
• Higher education Higher education is a driver of growth for our state economy. I will ensure that public higher education is accessible to all regardless of family income.

Public Health & Environment, Climate and Green Jobs

Maintaining a clean environment is critical to our overall health and to our state’s economy. Also critical is protecting our state from the worst consequences of climate change. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has continuously rolled back vital clean air and water protections as well as standards put in place to mitigate the threat of climate change. And our current representatives, with poor environmental scorecards from the League of Conservation Voters, are doing nothing to counteract such actions.

• Climate change Our legislative district hugs the Jersey Shore. Rising sea levels caused by climate change threaten our communities’ future more with each passing year. New Jersey is one of the fastest-warming states in the country and the federal government is going backwards on this issue. I’ll take the lead by making New Jersey a national leader in renewable energy that will also help create jobs and grow our state’s high-tech economy.
  
  And because the largest source of air pollution and greenhouse gases in our state is the transportation sector, I will support the growth of electric vehicles, including building the necessary infrastructure. I also support additional investment in our existing public infrastructure such as NJ Transit.
• Public health I support legislation that would authorize New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to maintain, at a minimum, certain federal standards that were in effect prior to the Trump administration in relation to air pollution, water pollution, and safe drinking water.
  
  Additionally, more than 1.5 million residents across the state are currently serviced by water with elevated lead levels. We must upgrade our aging water infrastructure to ensure safe drinking water to all residents. We must also expand our regulation of dangerous classes of chemicals such as the PFAS which contaminate our water and soil.
  
  Finally, there are 14,000 contaminated sites across the state. We must ensure that the most dangerous of them are prioritized for clean-up and that the process is transparent to the public.

Women’s healthcare and reproductive rights

• Planned Parenthood New Jersey should make up for lost federal funding to Planned Parenthood to ensure all women have access to birth control and critical health screenings.
• Women’s reproductive rights These are under attack throughout the country, and in our state by Republican members of the legislature, and must be preserved and protected.