Martin Marks of Cranford and Harris Pappas of Springfield today announced their candidacies for NJ General Assembly in the General Election.  

Marks, a dentist is the former Mayor of Scotch Plains where he served on the Township Council for twelve years from 1997-2008.  Pappas, an independent insurance broker served on the Springfield Township Committee from 1992-94 and is well-experienced having held several senior level positions in both state and county governments in New Jersey over several decades.  Marks and Pappas will run under the Conservative banner in the General Election. 

Marks and Pappas said the District 21 Assembly seats have been occupied for many years by Jon Bramnick and Nancy Munoz, both self-described “Moderates”.  

Bramnick has served as the Republican Minority Leader in the Assembly and “is best known for his attacks on Republican President Donald Trump and for overseeing the largest loss of Republican seats in the lower house since Watergate.” 

In announcing his candidacy Marks said, “It is a shame that someone like Jon Bramnick who is viewed as a Republican leader in our state has gone out of his way to attack a sitting Republican President and his supporters.  If he cannot be supportive of a Republican President, Mr. Bramnick should have just kept silent.  I wish he would have spent as much time assailing the extraordinarily liberal policies of Governor Murphy as he has going after Donald Trump.  By publicly proclaiming himself a ‘Moderate’, Bramnick is simply thumbing his nose at the Conservative New Jersey voters who make up a sizeable bloc of Republicans in this state. I intend to give a voice to the Conservative voters of the 21st District.” 

Pappas added, “Throughout this campaign we will point out the endless occasions where Bramnick and Munoz have refused to stand up for the conservative principles that are hallmarks of the Republican Party.  Perhaps the most egregious slap in the taxpayers face was when they were facilitators of the 23 cent per gallon increase in our gas tax.  Jon Bramnick championed the passage of the tax increase and voted in favor.  Nancy Munoz refused to vote at all after previously voting yes for the gas tax several months earlier.   Even worse is the fact that revenue from the gas tax hike didn’t meet expectations, and was automatically boosted another 4.3 cents/gallon just last year.  This tax is likely to continue to spike upward for years to come.  With the additional billions of dollars in new revenue earmarked for our transportation infrastructure, why are our roads now in their worst condition ever?  This is simply unacceptable by any reasonable standard.” 

Both candidates said they are “eager to meet the voters of the 21st District and offer a real alternative to the Murphy Democrat Tax and Spend Machine.”