"It always seems impossible until it's done." Nelson Mandela
About myself. I am from New Jersey. I grew up in a town called North Arlington. I went to Rutgers University in Newark and I have a degree in Economics. I have been primarily in Construction all my life. I was a home improvements contractor for years and later became a Building Inspector, Electrical Inspector, Construction Official Zoning Officer, Flood Plain Manager, etc. I have been in thousands of people houses across the State in various capacities. I've worked for 10 different municipalities and I've been a whistleblower twice. I've seen what goes on inside these towns and it's not always good. I'm also very familiar with State law and Administrative code since Building Departments are run under State law, not Municipal code. Zoning is under Municipal code.
Make no mistake about this, I am one of us, I am not an elitist and I'm not beholden to a Political Party or some billionaire donor. My run for Governor is all about the State of New Jersey, not my future political career. I have some money, a heart problem, and a condo in Florida. I can easily be down there fishing in the sun, sipping beers and enjoying the good life for the rest of my days. But I am in a position where I can make a difference for the people here and we are not going to miss this opportunity.
NJ has currently 115 EPA Superfund sites. The Lower Passaic River, and Hackensack River sites are 2 of the biggest in the country. There are 3 Superfund sites in South Kearny, and there are Superfund sites in Newark Bay, Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay and River. These are just a few.
If these sites were cleaned up, this land would become the most valuable real estate in the world.
I have been opposed to the Gateway Tunnel Project from it's inception. It started out as the ARC Tunnel Project. It's always been in the billions of dollars and it's always been for 2 more train tunnels to New York. Today it is now an 18 billion dollar project. That money is a combination of Federal Funding, Port Authority money, and State Funds. This project was ill conceived, riddled with corruption, and will not bring any real benefit to the people of New Jersey. That money could have been used for the cleanup-up of the Hackensack river, the Lower Passaic rivers, and South Kearny, and a redevelopment of the surrounding areas in South Kearny, Jersey City, and Newark creating a new New Jersey Global Business Center. Everything is already there. Highways, Trains, a Seaports, an Airport vacant land. It just needs to be redeveloped from Industrial to Office and Technology use. No Governor of New Jersey should be building trains lines so people can commute to New York for work They should be building the infrastructure and atmosphere so as to bring jobs and business here.
I will make this a priority, and also create a 20,000 acre Meadowlands State Park and Wildlife Preserve, with a new NJ Global Business Center, 4.5 miles from Wall St.
've been looking into connecting Newark Liberty Airport to AC Airport via high speed rail. There are several criteria that would have to be met before a project like this would be economically feasible, but it could make a lot of sense. The area between these 2 airports is NJ's fastest growing area, and it would utilize AC Airport and help alleviate Newark Liberty which is overwhelmed and where demand continues to grow. If we could bring growth and development and transportation to South Jersey, we could start to utilize South Jersey for our affordable housing crisis. Make no mistake, this is not about the gaming industry, which is a disaster. Atlantic City Airport is about 2 1/2 times the size of Newark Airport and Atlantic City is one of the poorest cities in New Jersey. Creating an atmosphere which will cause a shift of some of our states business operations to the South Jersey Coastal areas will benefit the State immensely if done correctly.
I will put a moratorium on any tax or toll increase, including property taxes across the State. I would only remove the moratorium after we get a permanent, statewide cap on property taxes of around 1.5% of the current appraised value for residential and 2% for commercial property. This would be the maximum you could be taxed on a property in NJ.
There would be an exception. A municipality would be allowed to raise property taxes above the cap level only if a majority voted to do so on a referendum vote in that town. And that would be for a set time limit of 6 years. That municipality would have to get a majority vote again for another 6 years to raise property taxes above the cap level. The decision will now be in the hands of The People, since they are paying it.