Wiz in Wayne: Long-shot Gubernatorial Candidate Denounces ‘Goldman Sachs Opponent’
By Insider NJ |
February 19, 2017, 4:12 pm | in News
Wisniewski makes his case.
WAYNE – The late Frank Lautenberg once told Wayne DeAngelo that he remembered the assemblyman’s name because Lautenberg had lived in Wayne, and while Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-19) doesn’t live here, he came here today to present himself as a viable 2017 Democratic candidate for governor.
Standing in front of a mostly Bernie Sanders-type crowd of over 100 people (the campaign told InsiderNJ they had expected about 20), Wisniewski hit on school funding, property tax relief, and student debt.
“We need leaders who will challenge the established thinking,” said Wisniewski, who last week won the endorsement of the Princeton Democratic Club. “New Jersey needs a new direction. This campaign is your campaign to change the direction of New Jersey and the nation. Every single day we’re going to be holding events like this and talking to people.”
The man who unpacked Bridgegate packaged himself as a fierce progressive. On health care, the long-shot candidate running against former Goldman Sachs executive Phil Murphy said he wants New Jersey to have a single-payer medical system. He slapped President Donald J. Trump for waffling on Obamacare and saying different things (repair, replace, keep, etc). Wisniewski wants New Jersey to have its own system, and said he is drafting a bill for a NJ single-payer system.
He lingered on Murphy to mix in some jabs.
Post Princeton, the front-runner’s campaign zapped Wisniewski with a mailer branding him pro-gun.
“Murphy said in Princeton he wouldn’t engage in negative campaigning,” the assemblyman said. “Well, that was then. …The part I like the best is partnering with Christie. Really? I had no idea I had that power” to get Christie to do all those things. “My Goldman Sachs opponent, Goldman Sachs has a big stake in Remington and gun manufacturers. So gun money paid for this flyer.”
On whether to return state-controlled school districts to the local level, the candidate said, “oh my god, yes… when [the] state gets involved, they can’t do any better than the locals. The state needs to provide advice and resources, not take it over. There are social issues involved with education, and we need to keep those in mind.”
He predictably savaged the “multiple choice” Trump Administration.
“We are frustrated with Trump because we didn’t see it coming, we didn’t come out and vote,” Wisniewski said. “It’s up to us to make the difference, and make sure the folks in DC understand we wont go quietly in the night. That’s where this election is so important – you have the chance to change New Jersey and elect someone who has a record of standing up for peoples rights.”
Kathy Kazan, Wayne school board trustee, asked about the funding formula.
“On day one, my commitment is to put enough money to fully fund the school formula,” Wisniewski said.
How?
“Ending corporate welfare programs that don’t work,” he said.
As for an endorsement from Senator Bernie Sanders, the former the Sanders Presidential Campaign State Director said, “he hasn’t made a decision on [an] endorsement, but he put out a statement saying he thinks I’d make a great governor. I expect to eventually get Senator Sanders’ endorsement and the support of our revolution, but this campaign is about you, not Bernie”
Murphy campaigned earlier this month with Levi Sanders, son of the progressive U.S. senator.
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