“Cut the checks!”  That’s the salient message Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli wants to send to Governor Murphy to relieve the burden on New Jerseyans faced with delayed unemployment benefits.  The remark came during his talk with Hudson GOP Committeeman Joshua Sotomayor-Einstein and the Hudson County Republicans via webinar Friday evening.

During the course of his conversation with the Hudson Republicans, Ciattarelli discussed a number of topics, including his economic plans for the state should he become the next governor.

While stressing social distancing behavior and the wearing of face masks as part of the effort to curb the spread of coronavirus, Ciattarelli also emphasized that New Jersey needs to reopen because of the financial hardships faced by so many.  “I think the pressure is building, particularly with the Jersey Shore economy,” Ciattarelli said.  “Its official start is the Memorial Day weekend which is about three weekends away.  It is critical to the state economy and the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans who depend on that season from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  We need a thoughtful and responsible plan to open up the Jersey Shore and we need it now.  We can’t afford to be thinking about it after Memorial Day.”

But of all the issues discussed, Ciattarelli lambasted Governor Murphy most strongly on the matter of delayed unemployment checks for laid off New Jersey residents who have yet to receive their money.  Ciattarelli said the system was “antiquated and broken” and that the result was “people are waiting six, seven, or eight weeks for their first unemployment checks.”

The Republican candidate also said that the delay was depriving residents of federal moneys as well.  “Mind you, if you’re not getting your New Jersey unemployment check, you’re not getting the $600 stipend from the federal government under the CARES Act that attaches to your NJ unemployment check.  This is unacceptable.  People aren’t able to buy groceries, medication, afford their rent, pay their utilities, because their unemployment checks have been delayed, in some places, close to two months.  What we’re saying is, cut the checks!  The applications are in, cut the checks.”

Ciattarelli emphasized that speed needs to be the priority and mistakes could be looked into afterward.  “We’ll go back and worry about the fraud later and those who defraud and abuse the system,” he said, “we’ll severely penalize them, but right now, cut the checks!  There’s over a hundred thousand people still waiting.”

Taking aim at Governor Murphy’s daily press briefings, Ciattarelli said that there was a figure missing who should have a spot on the stage.  “I do believe that the commissioner of labor, who oversees unemployment benefits, should be at the governor’s press briefings each day with an update.  There’s a certain pageantry to the governor’s press briefings which I think are a disservice to the people of New Jersey.  We don’t want to see pageantry, what we want are answers.  Those things that people want to know first and foremost are how we’re going to restart the economy and what is the status of their unemployment checks.”

“Today on TV, Murphy said the head of the unemployment department of the state of New Jersey is a good guy, and to anyone who thinks that he isn’t doing a good job can go to another state.  It seems like an incredible lack of leadership,” Sotomayor-Einstein said.

“Listen,” Ciattarelli replied, “King Philip has been tone deaf a number of times when he said ‘The Bill of Rights?  That’s above my pay grade’, when he said to people waiting for their unemployment checks last week, ‘hey, just stay at it’.  We need him to stay at it!  When people voice their frustration over the performance of the Department of Labor because of the delay in the unemployment checks, when they asked for the commissioner’s resignation—people are frustrated, they’re angry, and that’s their way of voicing out.  Their entitled to their First Amendment rights, so for him to suggest they move to another state represents, once again, tone-deafness and out-of-touchness on the part of the governor.”