As we get closer to the November 8 election date, North-JerseyNews.com will post a weekly notebook of press releases produced by the candidates.
Congressional
5th Congressional District
Local Republican elected officials, community leaders, and residents joined Congressman Josh Gottheimer to re-launch “Republicans for Josh,” a group of North Jersey residents, small business owners, and local elected officials who have crossed party lines to support Gottheimer’s campaign for re-election.
Gottheimer was named the most bipartisan Democrat in the House of Representatives for the third year by the Lugar Center at Georgetown University.
“It’s an honor to have the support of such esteemed leaders in our community, from small business owners to elected officials, who have come together, across party lines, to show their support for our campaign — the ideas, and the Jersey Values we’ve been fighting for, since I first ran for Congress. Like me, they believe we should always put country ahead of party, and that our enemy is not our fellow Americans – but global terror, extremism, and the leaders of China, Iran, Russia, and others who seek to undermine our democracy and way of life,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer. “In Congress, I was chosen by my colleagues as Co-Chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus — 29 Democrats and 29 Republicans strong. We get together every week, with one purpose, to get things done. Not to scream, yell and Tweet nasty things – but to build bridges.”
“Our record is clear: from helping pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, to the veterans PACT Act, to the bipartisan COVID bill, to the CHIPS Act, we work together to find common ground on even the toughest challenges.”
“We helped get the bipartisan gun safety and criminal justice reform bills done, helped take action on the MOU with Israel, and fought for the Iron Dome. We fought for regulatory relief to help cut red tape. And I’m working right now to get the bipartisan Invest to Protect Act across the finish line, which invests in law enforcement and will help fight crime. Locally, my Problem Solver colleague Nicole Malliotakis and I are fighting the outrageous Congestion Tax.”
Gottheimer continued, “I’ve found that if you take the time to talk and listen to one another, instead of just pointing fingers and yelling across the aisle, you can actually get things done. You may not get everything you want — but you can get 80 percent of it.”
“Congressman Gottheimer has always made himself accessible to the residents and leadership of our Township,” said Teaneck Councilwoman Karen Orgen. “He and his staff are always available when a problem arises in Teaneck.”
“Josh has continually reached across the aisle to solve national and Fifth District issues here in Vernon. He has fought to lower taxes for families and small businesses, supported our law enforcement, and made sure our veterans receive the care and benefits they’ve earned,” said Vernon Township Council President and former Ridgewood and West Milford Police Officer Harry Shortway. “Josh’s bipartisan approach has also led to new environmental laws in New Jersey to help stop the illegal dirty dirt dumpers. We all win when Republicans and Democrats work together and Josh is constantly putting Jersey Values over party to improve the safety and well-being of North Jersey families.”
“I believe it’s time we started looking at the individuals we are sending to Congress, instead of just voting down the party line. I want to elect somebody who is principled, who will do the work he was elected to do for his constituents,” said Batya Klein, Gottheimer’s Campaign Treasurer. “Josh believes in bipartisanship and has consistently partnered with fellow congressmen from across the aisle to get things done without grandstanding. He is a proven, effective policy maker who has fought for many of the things that are important to me. That ability to reach out and work together to move America forward is why I am a Republican for Josh Gottheimer.”
“Josh is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress. As a mom and small business owner, his work to make life more affordable for Jersey families and to cut taxes and red tape for businesses has made a real and positive difference. He has a proven track record of success through bipartisanship and he is the right person to be representing New Jersey’s Fifth District,” said Candace Kristin Arslanian, CEO of Candace Kristin.
Gottheimer was joined by Chair of “Republicans for Josh” and Walnut Court Capital Managing Partner Seth Gribetz, Orit Gribetz, former Republican Councilman Allen Rapaport, and Republican North Jersey residents.
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Frank Pallotta was added this week to the National Republican Campaign Committee’s “Young Guns” list for top-tier congressional candidates. The announcement is a sign that national Republicans see tough races in New Jersey’s 5th as winnable.
“Across the country, Americans are struggling to keep up with rising costs, violent crime and an unsecured southern border,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) said in a statement on the addition of Pallotta, DeGroot, and five other House candidates. “Republicans are ready to take back the House and these talented candidates are going to help America put an end to Democrats’ failed leadership.”
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Ahead of the 2022 election, “Women for Josh,” a group of North Jersey women in local and state government and women across New Jersey’s Fifth District, endorsed Congressman Josh Gottheimer for re-election at an event in River Edge.
“This November, women’s rights are on the ballot. Our rights to make choices about medical decisions, our rights to decide on who we want to marry, our rights on if or when we want to start a family, voting rights, and everything that makes women full American citizens are on the ballot,” said Fair Lawn Deputy Mayor Cristina Cutrone. “It is our chance and our opportunity to show up big and to send a huge message to Washington and across the country that we are not going backwards. And the only way that we can do that is by electing pro-choice, pro-women candidates at all levels. Josh has stood up for women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, and for Jersey Values in a bipartisan way.”
“I am honored and humbled to receive the support and advice of so many influential women in North Jersey. I am thankful to be guided by women who have passionately dedicated their lives to public service and given so much to North Jersey. To be fighting alongside councilwomen, mayors, county commissioners, and assemblywomen to make a difference for our families is the ultimate privilege,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer. “The Supreme Court’s decision devastatingly overturns a woman’s right to choose — in a horrific breach of personal privacy and freedom that puts a woman’s life and health at risk. We must always oppose any attempt by those in Washington or around the country to roll back the clock and stand between a woman, her doctor, and her faith, when making personal health care decisions. Whether it is ensuring equal pay for equal work, closing the disparities in health coverage, or reducing the barriers women face in business, we must all step up. I will keep working in Washington and at home in New Jersey to do my part.”
In Congress, Gottheimer voted to codify Roe v Wade, pushed to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, opposed efforts to implement a Title 10 gag rule to undercut family planning, advocated to increase the Child and Dependent Care Tax credit, and fought to make certain that women have the same opportunities in business — including the same access to credit, education, and training as men. He proudly cosponsored and voted to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, because equal pay deserves equal work.
Gottheimer was joined in River Edge by “Women for Josh” members New Jersey Assemblywomen Shama Haider, Ellen Park, and Lisa Swain; Commissioners Mary Amoroso, Germaine Ortiz, Joan Voss, and Tracy Zur; Oradell Mayor Dianne Didio, Fair Lawn Deputy Mayor Cristina Cutrone, Councilmembers Ellen Busteed, Connie Carpenter, Erin Collins, Jannie Chung, Jackie DeMuro, Randi Duffie, Jacqueline Flynn, Jacqueline Gadaleta, Hedy Grant, Ila Kasofsky, Michelle Kaufman, Amy Martin, Gail Rottenstrich, Tracy Schoenberg, Jennifer Margolis, and Dolores Witko; Legislative District 38 Chairwoman Esther Fletcher, and Legislative District 39 Vice-Chair Donna Abene.
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Republican Congressional nominee Frank Pallotta called on his opponent, career politician Democrat Josh Gottheimer to stand up for the tens of thousands of well-meaning, concerned parents in northern New Jersey and denounce the leadership of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) for calling them “extremists” in a vile ad that recently blanketed the airwaves. Even after public outrage forced the NJEA’s leadership to stop running the ad, Congressman Gottheimer remained silent while proudly accepting their endorsement.
“We all want our children to receive a well-rounded, quality education. All parents ask for is that the education their children receive, be age-appropriate, and consistent with the standards and principles we all hold true,” said Mr. Pallotta. “The NJEA leadership – which studies show does not reflect everyday teachers – are forcing unnecessary curriculum changes on children who at 7 or 8 years old, are not emotionally prepared or fully able to comprehend those changes. Parents, while protecting their children, are unfairly being labeled ‘bigots’ and ‘extremists’ for merely suggesting these lessons not be taught until their children have a better understanding of the subject matter. For Congressman Gottheimer to say nothing as he smugly accepts the anointing of the NJEA’s radical leadership is reprehensible.”
New Jersey was one of a small number of states that moved to change student curriculum without the consent of parents or the elected school boards. When parents merely said they thought they should have a say in what their children were taught every day, radical special interests lined up to drive them from public discourse. That is why, when elected, Mr. Pallotta will sponsor the Parents’ Bill of Rights in the House of Representatives.
Mr. Pallotta added, “As I have said repeatedly, it’s about time we call out Josh Gottheimer’s lies and his false ‘moderate’ persona. Moderates don’t side with radicals over parents. Moderates don’t advocate for changing school curriculum without parental input. And moderates would certainly call out the disgraceful rhetoric coming from a group who endorsed them. Instead, just like his failed attempts to eliminate the SALT cap or his insider trading allegations, Josh Gottheimer remains silent.”
Pallotta is proud to support parents and educators who stand behind our children and advocate for parental rights instead of out-of-touch radical elites who sit in an ivory tower and rule by decree. He is far prouder to be receiving the support of countless teachers who have the great responsibility of educating New Jersey’s children.
7th Congressional District
An influential public employee union that backed Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) for Congress in 2018 and then Republican Tom Kean, Jr. in 2020 has now flipped back to Malinowski.
The New Jersey State Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association has decided to support Malinowski’s re-election bid in New Jersey’s 7th district.
Kean had won the endorsement last time based on his longtime support of firefighter issues as a legislator, and his service as a former volunteer firefighter.
The union president, Eddie Donnelly, cited Malinowski’s support for repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision, which reduces social security benefits for individuals who earned a pension through a job that didn’t participate in payroll tax withholdings.
Donnelly said that his union had some issues with Malinowski in the last election, including a lack of communication with paid firefighters in his district.
“He took the time over the last two years to fix that,” Donnelly said.
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The American Blockchain Political Action Committee (PAC) has announced its list of candidates it has endorsed for political office based on their legislative leadership and focus on the importance of distributed ledger technology for America, which remains a leader in innovation globally.
11th Congressional GOP Candidate Tom Kean Jr. and 5th Congressional GOP Candidate Frank Pallotta have been endorsed by the organization.
“After careful consideration, we have made the decision to announce the American Blockchain PAC’s list of endorsed candidates. These are transformative candidates with technocratic values,” said Todd White, Founder of the American Blockchain PAC. “It is our belief that the incoming 118th Congress will make empirical decisions on the direction of the United States in cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technologies.”
“Socioeconomic issues have further exacerbated divisiveness. Blockchain and cryptocurrency inherently transcends across political, social, religious, and economic strata; areas that have traditionally been weaponized to divide nations and people,” said Adelle Nazarian, CEO of the American Blockchain PAC. “Each of the American Blockchain PAC endorsements has the capability to cut across these traditional divides by focusing on the technocratic and innovative properties of this prescient technology which has the ability to either transform or further divide our nation,” said Adelle. “We are watching. The world is watching.”
The American Blockchain PAC believes these candidates possess the essential skillsets and vision to unite the People of this country based on common goals and values steeped in economic innovation and technical advancement.
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The campaign for Tom Malinowski has accused Tom Kean Jr. of scrubbing his campaign website to remove any mention of his opposition to a woman’s right to choose. A page titled “Tom Kean Jr.: The Conservative Leader” can still be found on the internet, enabling his campaign to share it with his MAGA-aligned audience, but cannot be accessed from the regular campaign website that the general public visits.
Kean’s “conservative” platform read: “Tom Kean Jr. is a fierce defender of the sanctity of life, fighting every step of the way to protect the unborn from egregious abortion laws proposed in New Jersey, and will continue to do so in Congress.”
On his last day in New Jersey’s State Senate this January, Kean Jr. voted against a bill codifying the protections of Roe vs. Wade for women in New Jersey. This is presumably one of the “egregious abortion laws” he denounced on his “conservative” website during the Republican primary.
“Tom Kean Jr. can scrub his website, but he can’t hide his record,” said Malinowski. “I support codifying Roe vs. Wade for the country. He voted against codifying it in New Jersey, capping a 20 year career of opposing a woman’s right to choose. Voters will remember that in November.”
Kean’s actions are part of a national trend. Across the country, Republicans have scrubbed their websites of their extremist anti-choice agenda in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. Kean’s original “conservative” website also denounced what it referred to as Governor Murphy’s “CRT agenda,” pledged he would work to “build the wall,” and links to an ad promising he will “hammer the radicals” over footage of President Joe Biden. His current public website omits all these statements, while claiming he will “work across the aisle.”
During his 20-year career as a Trenton politician, Kean Jr. voted repeatedly to deny funding for Planned Parenthood, which would have denied New Jersey women access to essential care, including mammograms and cancer screenings; supported former President Trump’s Supreme Court nominees; and was endorsed by National Right to Life – a group that campaigned to criminalize abortions with no exceptions for rape or incest.
11th Congressional District
Mikie Sherrill for Congress released a new digital ad this week, which features the first-hand account of a local registered nurse, Maxine, whose horrifying experience brings to light the imminent threat of Paul DeGroot’s support for allowing states to ban abortion without exceptions. Maxine’s story is part of a six-figure digital campaign.
In her powerful and moving story, Maxine shares her experience of a 17-year-old woman dying in her arms, the result of an illegal abortion before Roe v. Wade. “Woman will die because of the policy that Paul DeGroot supports,” she says. “We can’t let him take us back.”
Said Sherrill for Congress Campaign Manager Jackie Burns: “Paul DeGroot has no respect for a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions, including on abortion. Just this week we saw, once again, what happens when Roe protections are gone as West Virginia passed a severe, sweeping abortion ban. Women across the country like Maxine know the dangers of a world without Roe, and Paul DeGroot’s policies will take us back to that.”
In 1972, a year before Roe v. Wade was decided, a young woman died in my arms.
She had had an illegal abortion. She was 17 years old.
So, when I found out that Paul DeGroot supports states being able to ban abortion without exception, I was terrified.
Women will die because of the policy that Paul DeGroot supports.
We can’t let him take us back.
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Former Assistant Passaic County Prosecutor Paul DeGroot said at a press conference Sept. 15 that Mikie Sherrill’s attacks are “blatant lies” and that his stances on abortion are in line with those of most New Jerseyans.
“Others in my party are afraid to talk about this issue, but not me,” DeGroot said. “Mikie Sherrill is the radical who’s out of step with the majority of New Jersey. She wants to use abortion as a wedge, and she wants to make people afraid and fearful.”
Pressed for his specific stance on abortion access, DeGroot indicated that he supported the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling overturning the constitutional right to abortion, believing instead that it should be left up to individual states.
“I am not forcing Alabama’s and South Carolina’s values on us, nor would I want to force Jersey values on South Carolina,” he said. “Let’s not keep pressing on the issue that the values of Alabama and South Carolina are not worthy of their state. That’s what their state wants. And New Jersey is clear on what it wants.”
That means, he said, opposing federal legislation that limits abortion rights nationwide, as some Republicans introduced in Congress this week. DeGroot added that, in New Jersey, restricting abortions to within 20 weeks of conception with further exceptions for rape, incest, and the health of the mother struck him as reasonable.
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Paul DeGroot was added to the National Republican Campaign Committee’s “Young Guns” list for top-tier congressional candidates. The announcement is a sign that national Republicans see the tough race in New Jersey’s 11th district as winnable.
“Across the country, Americans are struggling to keep up with rising costs, violent crime and an unsecured southern border,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) said in a statement on the addition of Pallotta, DeGroot, and five other House candidates. “Republicans are ready to take back the House and these talented candidates are going to help America put an end to Democrats’ failed leadership.”
DeGroot, is a first-time candidate and former Assistant Passaic County Prosecutor who is hoping to defeat Sherrill in the Morris, Passaic and Essex County-based 11th district. DeGroot had looked like an underdog heading into his primary election against Morris County Commissioner Tayfun Selen, but thanks to a wildly strong performance in Passaic County, he eked out a victory.
Local
Mike Greco, Chairperson of the Jersey City Education Association’s Political Action Committee (JCEA PAC), announced this week that the JCEA PAC has voted to endorse the Education Matters team of Noemi Velazquez, Afaf Muhammed & Chris Tisdale in the 2022 Jersey City Board of Education race.
Greco stated that the JCEA PAC voted for endorsement based on the track record and voting record of Velazquez as a BOE trustee as well as her work helping many people throughout Jersey City over the years, the advocacy of Muhammed in her community, specifically youth advocacy and Tisdale’s vast knowledge of issues involving public education and his vision to implement these key ideas in our district.
The JCEA President Ronald Greco issued the following statement regarding the endorsement.
“On behalf of the nearly 4,000 Jersey City Public School educators and school support staff, I am pleased to announce our endorsement of The Education Matters team. These candidates have the proven track record of experience, commitment & vision needed to continue to move our district in the right direction and we will be committed to putting in the work to make sure they will have the opportunity to do so.”
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Pompton Lakes Council President Jennifer Polidori received the official endorsement of Passaic County’s own State Senator Kristin Corrado for re-election to the Pompton Lakes Council.
“I am proud to endorse Jennifer Polidori for re-election in Pompton Lakes,” said Corrado (R-40). “Jennifer is running to continue the work she’s already done – supporting Pompton Lakes families, advocating for main street businesses, and prioritizing protecting the parks, lakes, and beautiful open space throughout her hometown for all to enjoy. With her proven track record of effective leadership, I am excited to support Jennifer and see her continue to serve the good people of Pompton Lakes.”
“During my four years as council woman for Pompton Lakes I have had the opportunity to work with Senator Corrado on numerous occasions… Kristin has been an outstanding mentor and role model,” said Polidori. “She approaches everything with a level head and advocates passionately for what she believes in. She is honest, hardworking, and fair, it truly is an honor to receive an endorsement from a Senator that embodies all these characteristics and is so highly respected amongst her peers.”
