Piperno and Eulner Blast Gopal For Lying to Residents

Assemblywomen Criticize Senator Gopal for Ultra-Partisan Behavior and Call for Accountability in Budget Process

In response to Senator Vin Gopal’s disingenuous statement following last month’s budget vote, Monmouth County Assemblywomen Marilyn Piperno and Kim Eulner have released their own statement denouncing his “fabricated claims.”

“As your representatives, we must make sure that every penny of the state budget is allocated in a way that serves everyone. And while we continue to show our support and advocate for Monmouth County nonprofits, it is wrong to associate their funding needs with another overinflated budget that fails to fully fund our schools and does nothing to fix the rising crime and unaffordability plaguing our citizens,” said Piperno and Eulner.

“It is a bald-faced lie that we voted against funding for Monmouth County nonprofits or disregarded their important work. Shame on the ultra-partisan Senator Vin Gopal for repeatedly using such obvious political tactics to manipulate and lie to his constituents. But this is not out of the norm.”

The Assemblywomen further criticized Senator Gopal for consistently using his “self-perceived political power” to push his own agenda and that of his party. They highlighted his support for $75 million in cuts to LD11 schools and his vote against mandatory parental notification for underage consumption or usage of alcohol or cannabis as examples of his partisan behavior.

They also addressed the larger issue of secret budget projects confounding the budget process, highlighting the importance of allocating the state budget in a way that serves everyone, is transparent, and where lawmakers are held accountable for their actions. Their criticism of Senator Gopal’s partisan behavior underscores the need for elected officials to prioritize the needs of their constituents over their party.

“We make decisions solely based on the best interests of the residents of LD11, not blind party loyalty. And our residents deserve representation with the highest standards of integrity,” said Piperno and Eulner. “That’s why we strongly recommend Senator Gopal act in our shared constituents’ best interests and refrain from further misleading statements designed to distort the truth.”