Submitted by the candidate
Reed Gusciora started in New Jersey politics working on the 1989 gubernatorial campaign of the late Barbara Boggs Sigmund. Prior to that, he studied international relations at Catholic University in Washington DC, followed by Seton Hall Law School where he earned his JD in 1988. He also worked on Capitol Hill in the congressional offices of US Representatives Andy Ireland (D-FL) and the late Mike Synar (D-OK).
Reed is currently serving his sixth term in the New Jersey General Assembly and is running for his seventh. He is the Vice-Chairman of both the Assembly Judiciary and Consumer Affairs Committee and also sits on the Appropriations Committee. Reed is a resident of Princeton Borough and resides in the Jackson-Witherspoon neighborhood.
Reed has sponsored progressive legislation, benefiting the residents of the 15th Legislative District and New Jersey. He secured over $68 million in Green Acres funding for Central New Jersey and sponsored the laws to adopt California “Clean Car” standards, create voter-verified paper records on electronic voting machines, ban smoking in bars and restaurants, establish a statewide needle exchange and drug treatment program, and a resolution opposing a further escalation of the war in Iraq and supporting the withdraw of military forces.
Not one to shy away from controversy, Reed is also sponsoring legislation to abolish the death penalty; tighten restrictions on weapon sales; force car manufacturers to release information about repairing the vehicles they produce; regulate the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) in state parks; and allow for the use of medical marijuana.
Currently, Reed is proposing several initiatives in order to address the biggest issues affecting New Jersey; property taxes, crime, and environmental protection.
Reed believes that the recently enacted property tax relief program was a good first step, but did not adequately address the rising tax bills for New Jersey residents. While most homeowners saw increased rebates, some did not and others had their rebates reduced.
All taxpayers should receive a substantial and sustainable decrease in their property taxes, so Reed introduced Assembly Concurrent Resolution 230, known as “Proposition NJ.” This legislation would create a constitutional amendment to decrease the average property tax bill by 25% and allows the voters to approve the plan. In turn, the Legislature would have one budget cycle to find alternative means of revenue other than property taxes.
Furthermore, Reed does not support the sale of state assets to private companies, known as “monetization.” State assets need to stay in the hands of the public, so that toll hikes and other user fees will not drastically increase.
Crime and gang violence is another issue facing not only our inner cities, but surrounding suburban towns as well. As a municipal prosecutor for the city of Trenton, Reed sees firsthand the cycle of violence which is occurring and is proposing a fourteen point legislative package, in line with the Governor’s recent anti-crime proposals, in order to address prisoner rehabilitation and re-entry, strengthening the State’s gun tracing systems, and enhance cooperation between the courts, police, and corrections system at the local, state and federal level.
Lastly, the protection of the environment is a top priority for Reed. He is currently a primary sponsor of legislation which would renew the Garden State Preservation Trust through the year 2039 and is sponsoring legislation to create a statewide electronics recycling program, funded by producers of electronics rather than consumers. Reed was also a primary sponsor of the “Highlands Protection Act” and the “Global Warming Response Act,” one of the toughest pollution reduction measures in the country.