POlicy

I’m fighting for bold changes in Trenton to make life more affordable and more fair. It’s time for LD-4 to finally get the kind of representation working families deserve. Someone who’s ready to take on the real pressures facing our communities and deliver results across New Jersey.

Education Funding

As a lifelong South Jerseyan and higher education leader, I understand how deeply our PreK–12 and public college systems are woven into the fabric of New Jersey’s economy. Schools are more than learning spaces. They are community centers, job hubs, and engines of local stability. Our teachers, bus drivers, custodians, and cafeteria staff are not just workers. They are neighbors and family, helping raise the next generation of compassionate, capable citizens.

But for too long, New Jersey has tolerated a broken status quo. Our state’s school funding formula is inconsistently applied. Aging school buildings, some nearly a century old, still suffer from failing HVAC systems, unsafe water, and crumbling infrastructure. At the same time, public colleges and universities are facing skyrocketing fringe costs, deferred maintenance, and an affordability crisis that is pricing working-class students out of opportunity.

Now, with cruel federal cuts deepening the wounds, we cannot afford to wait. New Jersey must lead. When I’m elected to the General Assembly, I will fight for a New Jersey Educational New Deal. This plan will:

Fully and fairly fund public schools and colleges
Modernize school facilities across the state
Cap and reform fringe rates that burden our public colleges
Shield local taxpayers from the growing costs of maintaining and improving our education systems

Education is a public good. We should treat it and fund it that way.

Utility Costs

New Jersey residents are being crushed by rising energy bills, with some of the steepest utility rate hikes in the country. Yet while families struggle, energy companies continue to post profits, advertise like private brands, and exert influence over the very state agencies meant to regulate them.

This is not a failure of technology or resources. It is a failure of political will.

In the Assembly, I will take action to directly lower utility costs by cutting out corporate middlemen and returning power to the people — literally and economically.

I will introduce legislation that:

Bans former energy executives from serving on the Board of Public Utilities
Prohibits BPU members from attending paid speaking events in their official roles
Prohibits energy companies from sponsoring events, sports teams, or running ads during years when they raise rates

These are monopoly providers. There is no excuse for ratepayer money being spent on marketing instead of infrastructure or relief.

I will also sponsor legislation that enables towns and counties to develop their own solar microgrids. By generating energy locally and keeping profits in the community, we can reduce dependence on corporate utilities and deliver lower, more stable energy prices over time. Affordable energy should not be a luxury. It should be the standard.

Transportation

There’s no other way to put it. South Jersey is a transportation desert.

You might’ve had one of those days. Work goes well, but you end up stuck in traffic for an hour on the way home. Dinner plans fall apart. You miss picking up your kids on time. You’re paying more for childcare just because the roads failed you.

Meanwhile, public transit barely exists in most parts of South Jersey, and what we do have doesn’t reflect how we actually live.

In the Assembly, I will push to transform South Jersey’s transportation systems and bring real investment to our region. I will:

Shift control of NJ Transit away from corporate contractors and back into public hands
Rebuild South Jersey’s bus systems based on community needs and local work schedules
Propose funding for new rail lines that connect South Jersey counties, Philadelphia, and Delaware
Use highway medians for expanded rail service to cut traffic and reduce emissions
Fully fund NJ Transit staffing, operations, and safety needs

Transit isn’t just about getting from point A to point B. It’s about giving people their time, money, and freedom back. We deserve a system that works for us.

Ethics

Whether it’s the Board of Public Utilities or the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, too many layers of government in New Jersey are riddled with conflicts of interest. These aren’t always obvious, and that’s the problem. It’s become easy for the state’s political class to take advantage while regular people struggle to get by.

In the Assembly, I will make ethics reform a top priority. I will:

Sponsor legislation to strengthen and expand conflict of interest laws across all state agencies
Push for public reporting on recusals and ethics violations across state commissions
Prohibit state officials from steering contracts or appointments to family, friends, or political donors
Support term limits for appointees who serve on regulatory commissions
Ensure that ethics enforcement is independent, transparent, and actually enforced

Ethics in New Jersey matter. For too long, the people in charge wrote the rules to benefit themselves. Now that the era of rigged primary ballots is over, let’s finish the job and build a government that works for us — not just the insiders.