Having served as a Councilperson and Mayor since 2017, I have seen firsthand the disconnect between local municipalities and the State government. So many times, even with good intentions, the mandates that come down from the State leave local towns holding the bag. As a Mayor, Steve Fulop comes to the table with this same experience and that experience means he has the know-how to fix this problem. Case in point: affordable housing. We all agree we need more housing in NJ, and Garwood has worked hard to abide by the law and bring that housing to our Borough. However, being a small town, we find ourselves burdened with the increasing infrastructure costs this brings, with no help from the very people issuing the mandate. Mayor Fulop has a plan to fix this.
And speaking of plans, that is the second reason I’m voting for Steve Fulop: he actually has them. You can see for yourself on his website the very detailed policy plans for each top issue we are facing in NJ. From NJ Transit to education, Mayor Fulop is telling the voters how exactly he will tackle the problems. He doesn’t just issue platitudes, as some other candidates have. He doesn’t just say, ‘We need to fix this’ or ‘When I’m Governor, I’ll take this on.’ He provides specific solutions.
From my first meeting with Steve, I knew he was going to run a different kind of campaign, and, honestly, that he was a different kind of politician. He wanted to know, as a mayor, the kinds of issues I felt Garwood was facing and would face in the future. He wanted to know how I thought Trenton could help a small town like ours with those challenges. Small towns like Garwood can sometimes be overlooked at the higher levels of state politics. But not in this campaign, not with Steve Fulop. Mayor to mayor, with two completely different types of towns and constituencies, we’ve talked about what works and what doesn’t for our respective municipalities. We need policies that work for both big cities and small towns like Garwood and Steve made sure his plans reflect that.
It is also not enough to just be against what’s coming out of Washington or to say you’ll remain tough in the face of partisan battles. Our Governor will need to figure out how to run NJ and make it better for our residents with or without backing from DC. Steve Fulop is the only candidate who has made it clear how he will do that.
This is the type of person I want as Governor. Someone with the experience and the knowledge to provide real solutions. Someone who won’t just placate the base but will take on the tough issues.
Steve Fulop will get my vote in June and I hope you’ll join me.
Jen Blumenstock
Mayor, Borough of Garwood
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