On The Issues
Fighting for New Jersey
Ensuring Excellent Education for our Kids
Our kids are our future. We must ensure they have the opportunity to start life on the right foot in our schools. As Senator, I sponsored “The School Funding Reform Act” to advance educational opportunities and help every New Jersey student thrive. I also authored the “Vocational Education Bond Act” to provide vocational job training and increase school security. Our students are heading into a complex world. As governor, I would make it a priority to ensure they’re ready by supporting a first-class education system, from pre-K through 12th grade, and a range of opportunities for higher education and training, right in New Jersey.
Making New Jersey Affordable
I know high prices hit working families hard. As governor, I’ll be focused on keeping down the cost of living in New Jersey by cutting taxes, building affordable housing, and eliminating wasteful spending. New Jerseyans face some of the highest property taxes in the nation. That’s why I crafted New Jersey’s two-percent cap law – to help hold down property taxes. I also sponsored “The School Funding Reform Act” to help keep property taxes low. As governor, I’ll be focused on creating a tax system and economy that works for New Jersey families and retirees, not just big corporations.
Improving Healthcare
I know from personal experience that our healthcare system can be costly and confusing. My family faced many challenges after our daughter was born with Down Syndrome. I advanced the “Health Care Transparency Act” to help patients know exactly what they can expect from the healthcare professional they see. To protect mental health patients from experiencing interrupted care, I supported legislation to ensure the delivery of mental health services by requiring commitments from providers in state contracts. As your governor, I would fight to lower our costs and increase the availability of high-quality healthcare in New Jersey.
Protecting the LGBTQ+ Community
Love is love. To prevent any backtracking by the Supreme Court, I sponsored legislation to enshrine marriage equality in New Jersey. I also prioritized ending the ineffective and discriminatory criminalization of HIV. Count on me to be a voice for the LQBTQ+ community.
Helping New Jerseyans Raise a Family
As a father whose daughter was born with Down Syndrome, the challenge of raising a family isn’t abstract – it’s a lived experience. I authored New Jersey’s Paid Family Leave program to ensure parents have the resources they need to take time with their children. To keep our kids safe, I sponsored numerous laws to strengthen law enforcement’s ability to protect children from sex offenders. As your governor, I will continue my lifelong fight to help families make ends meet, improve our schools, and keep children safe in every community.
Defending Women’s Reproductive Freedom
I support a constitutional amendment to protect a woman’s reproductive freedom in New Jersey because a woman should have the right to make her own decisions about her body. I was a prime sponsor of the “Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act” that guaranteed all New Jerseyans the right to make their own decisions about birth control, abortion, and prenatal care. Thanks to this law, New Jerseyans still have the right to an abortion despite the Supreme Court’s decision to end Roe vs. Wade. I’ll stand up to anyone to uphold those rights as your governor.
Supporting Senior Care and Retirement
As Senator, I fought to reform the pension system so older New Jerseyans could enjoy the retirement benefits they paid into. That effort protected the pensions of hundreds of thousands of public employees and will save taxpayers $120 billion over 30 years. The Paid Family Leave program I authored gives sons and daughters the freedom to spend more time with and care for their older parents. I will work to expand access to high-quality, affordable senior care as your governor because our seniors deserve the opportunity to thrive.
Supporting Working People and Raising the Minimum Wage
In the Senate, I advanced legislation to protect unemployment funds because the hard-working men and women who might have a legitimate need for a safety net because of unemployment, injury, or a family emergency should have access to the funds they worked so hard to secure.
To help New Jerseyans make ends meet, I repeatedly sponsored laws to increase the minimum wage, successfully raising it to above $15 an hour. I also wrote a constitutional amendment requiring automatic minimum wage increases as the cost of living increases. I’ll continue fighting for low-wage earners and working families as your governor.
Supporting People with Special Needs
This is a personal issue for me. Those two months in the hospital with my daughter were tough on our family. I fought for paid family leave so parents could spend more time with their children without added financial stress. As Senator, I also led calls for additional state support for schools providing special needs education.