In a single move, Governor Chris Christie, in coordination with Democratic Party leaders have passed legislation to essentially end collective bargaining in New Jersey. Unanimous Republican support with a minor amount of Democratic support (who hold the majority) did this, with the strong support of unelected political bosses.
Our middle class and organized labor took a strong blow while this legislation has done away with the basic right of collective bargaining. A Governor, who, recent polls have showed him at 40% in New Jersey after union-busting, demeaning teachers, refusing to support a millionaire's tax (while he asks seniors and the middle class to share the "sacrifice"), slashing $540 Million dollars in Medicaid, refusing to support marriage equality and working to single handle demean and mistreat anyone who disagrees with him is somehow being considered a prospective frontrunner for the presidency.
This why I am running for a seat in the New Jersey State Legislature.
When I saw the new 11th District Map after redistricting, I decided after years of working behind the scenes, I wanted to place my name on the ballot. The new 11th Legislative District has 36,643 registered Democrats, 26,405 registered Republicans and 68,899 registered unaffiliated voters with incumbent Republicans representing the district. The district is home to Asbury Park, Long Branch, Neptune, Red Bank, Freehold Borough, Tinton Falls and many other beautiful Monmouth County municipalities. Of the 18 towns in the district, 11 of those towns have 4,000 or more registered voters. Out of those 11 towns, 9 of them have more registered Democrats than Republicans, most of them overwhelmingly. 9 of the 11 big towns in the district have more registered Democrats than Republicans.
Get where I'm going with this? It is a Democratic district. Basically all the strong Democratic towns in Districts 11 and 12 got merged while all the strong Republican towns, including Wall (goodbye Sean Kean!), Rumson, Millstone, Brielle, Avon, Monmouth Beach, Sea Girt, Englishtown, Fair Haven, Little Silver (sorry Declan O'Scanlon), Manalapan, and Oceanport all got thrown into other legislative districts. It really is remarkable what happened here!
This district is for Democrats to win. It will be about raising the funds necessary to compete and turning out our base. It will be about turning out voters from nonpartisan towns like Asbury Park and Long Branch, giving them a reason to vote in November.
The incumbents are Senator Jen Beck, Assemblywoman Caroline Cassagrande and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelni. Three good people who are gravely out of touch with this new 11th District. Poor Caroline, I don't think even if I gave her a GPS she would know how to get to Asbury Park. You see, the challenge for Assemblywoman Cassagrande and Senator Beck is they are unknown in a big chunk of the district, which basically puts us at even playing field.
Those in New Jersey politics know me as an activist, somewhat of a troublemaker but may not know my background. It wasn't long ago I stirred the pot by organizing a petition with the help of this website to make sure Senators Buono and Vitale weren't pitted against each other. The Democratic State Chairman wasn't happy with me at all. I admit, I do have a history of mixing things up, but I'm proud of that and I think that is what will be make me an effective legislator in Trenton.
I'm proud of my progressive roots, as a former aide to Rep. Dennis Kucinich and Senator Ted Kennedy. Today, at 26 years old, I'm a small business owner - I have a chain of community magazines and newspapers covering different areas of Monmouth County. I also own a retail store in Hazlet which does embroidery, t-shirts, banners and personalized gifts. I serve as a member of the Board of Directors for the Northern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce and as President of the Hazlet Business Owners Association. I also serve on the Board of Trustees for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Monmouth and Middlesex Counties. That is my day job. My assembly runningmate Marilyn Schlossbach is a talented restauranteur. She owns and operates several restaurants in Asbury Park, Normandy Beach and Shrewsbury, including the popular Langosta Lounge on the Asbury boardwalk. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, she opens the doors of her restaurant to feed anyone and everyone in Asbury Park. Her philanthropy has won her recognition among her peers and customers. Marilyn also serves as the Board of Directors for the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce and on the Board of the Asbury Park Urban Enterprise Zone. She is also very active with Clean Action Ocean and the Surfriders Foundation. Our Senate runningmate, Ray Santiago, is a former New York City prosecutor who has been a Freehold Borough attorney for the past 8 years, operating a small business that serves clients throughout Monmouth County. He is very involved in the Monmouth County Bar Association, the cub scouts and other organizations in our community.
The three of us are business owners, not politicians and we share a sense of values that will shake New Jersey government up.
Imagine what happens to Governor Christie when halfway through his term, Democrats once again get elected to the legislature from Monmouth County - the same county he stomped all over 2 years ago defeating incumbent Jon Corzine with nearly 70% of the vote securing his narrow re-election over Corzine by 3 points. If we get in, we will build to make sure Chris Christie does not walk all over us again in 2013.
During the next several weeks and months, we will be updating you on our race and our campaign to stand up for Democratic principles. We hope you will join us! We can't win this race without you!
If you live in New Jersey, please get involved in our rate.
If you can make a donation, please visit http://www.gopalforassembly.com/... and make a donation of $25, $50 or $100 to support our campaign by clicking the 'Donate' Button.
Thanks so much and thanks for standing with me Kos Community, in helping to turn NJ Back on the right track. It is time to provide new and fresh leadership for all Democrats and all New Jerseyians.