The great and the good of NJ politics will descend on Atlantic City this week for the NJ League of Municipalities’ annual conference, a who’s who of business, government, and politics. By day, delegates and speakers hit the convention center for networking and to check out the latest goods and services for municipal governments. By night, the #NJLeague has spawned an ecosystem of cocktail parties and dessert receptions from dusk till dawn.

Don Guardian is Assemblyman-elect in NJ’s 2nd legislative district. An enthusiastic and tireless campaigner, Mr. Guardian outworked the competition to complete a GOP sweep in the district. He’ll be the only openly gay member of NJ’s 120-seat General Assembly. Mr. Guardian discussed breaking barriers in the GOP and what it’s like to be back in the town that once elected him mayor.

Jay Lassiter is an award-winning political polemicist and podcaster based in Cherry Hill, NJ.