Senator Tony Bucco and Assemblywoman Aura Dunn say they are on the record condemning “outrageous” tax treatments.

To date, what they have actually done is deliberately misrepresent the legal and ethical use of New Jersey’s farmland tax assessment program for their own partisan political gain.

If they are truly invested in fighting against “big tax breaks for the well-to-do” and making sure the rich and well-connected aren’t “sticking us with a higher tax bill” today they must denounce President Donald Trump for his systemic and illegal tax avoidance.

Newly acquired records show that President Trump has been gaming the tax system for decades, using questionable, potentially illegal, measures to avoid paying his fair share.

And when he finally did have to pay up after being elected, what did this billionaire’s team of accountants claim he owed? A mere $750.

Adding insult to injury, Trump also wrongly deducted personal expenses like his homes, personal travel, and $70,000 in hairstyling to reduce his bill, and funneled millions of tax-free dollars to his children by mislabeling the transactions as “consulting fees.”

If you or I did this, we’d face hefty fines and jail time.

Our social contract fails if there are no consequences for fraud or criminal behavior (particularly for white collar crime, which remains chronically underprosecuted). Tax avoidance hurts us all and damages our government and its ability to serve the people.

Trump’s decades of fraud and double-dealing has cheated hard-working, honest taxpayers, and deprived New Jersey of revenue that could support purchasing critical PPE for our hospitals, expand addiction and recovery programs, or help to fully fund our schools.

As both candidates and sitting members of the legislature, Senator Bucco and Assemblywoman Dunn have a moral and ethical obligation to call out a member of their own party who has been blatantly defrauding their own constituents and harming New Jersey’s best interests.

About Darcy Draeger: Darcy Draeger is running for State Assembly in LD-25. Darcy is an analyst with almost 20 years of leadership experience in the financial services industry. She spent most of her career in Global Equities at UBS AG, where she led a team specializing in risk management and operational controls. Darcy lives with her husband and two children on their farm in Chester Township where she raises sheep, chickens and honeybees