By former Assemblyman Vince Polistina

Since announcing my candidacy for the 2nd Legislative District State Senate seat, created by Senator Chris Brown’s decision not to run for re-election this November, many people have asked me: Why after nearly ten years removed from my last political campaign, did I decide to run?

Here’s the answer.

First, while I haven’t held elected office since 2011, I’ve remained actively involved in the Atlantic County community, raising my family alongside my wife Carolyn, and growing my small, but successful engineering practice based in Egg Harbor Township. As a husband, father, and business owner, the future of Atlantic County and New Jersey matters to me in a personal way.

Second, because it matters to me so much, I could no longer sit on the sidelines while the politicians in Trenton continue to destroy the livelihoods of working families, tax people and jobs out of state in record numbers, and make it more and more difficult to raise children, start a business, or retire here.

Our current Assemblyman, and my opponent for the Senate seat, Vince Mazzeo, might be a good person, but his actions in Trenton are anything but good for the people he is supposed to represent here in Atlantic County. In fact, Mazzeo’s votes are downright awful.

Instead of standing up to Governor Murphy and demanding the State Legislature be respected as an equal branch of government, Assemblyman Mazzeo has instead allowed the Governor to largely run our state by Executive Order for the past year. The result has been disastrous for Atlantic City, with casinos being shut down or limited in operations, despite the Governor admitting casinos and tourists are not a source of COVID-19 infections. Beyond the casinos, these arbitrary lockdowns have forced a staggering one-third of all small businesses in the state to shut down for good and mostly restricted students to remote learning all or most of the time. That’s a tragedy whose consequences aren’t yet known.

Instead of standing with parents and our police officers, Assemblyman Mazzeo voted for a radical new recreational marijuana law that makes it a crime for police officers to notify parents if their teenage son or daughter is caught smoking pot or drinking alcohol. You heard that right – a crime for police officers to do their job! Folks, this isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue, it’s a commonsense issue. I commend the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association and its leaders for taking an immediate stand against this anti-cop, anti-parent, anti-child law and I urge Assemblyman Mazzeo and Governor Murphy to repeal it immediately.

Instead of standing up for women, Assemblyman Mazzeo has buried his head in the sand while Governor Murphy has consistently covered for powerful men in his administration and his campaign at the expense of women who alleged abuse, harassment, or misogyny. The latest example is the horrific and violent attacks suffered by women at a state correctional facility. The U.S. Department of Justice issued a report stating this abuse has existed for years. Despite all that damning evidence and bipartisan calls for his removal by both Democrats and Republicans in the legislature, the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections got keep his job.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Serving in the legislature is an honor and a privilege, but that also comes with accountability. Just being a nice person isn’t enough. Improving the lives of your constituents is what matters.

That is why my campaign will be one of commonsense ideas that we can turn into workable solutions that lower taxes and reduce the size and cost of government, grow small businesses and create jobs, make Atlantic City safer and more prosperous for all, and invest in education, healthcare and infrastructure to improve the quality of life for all.

I look forward to the conversation ahead. See you on the campaign trail.

Vince Polistina is the former Assemblyman from the Second Legislative District and a Republican candiate for state senate.