Fair Haven Mayor Michael I. Halfacre announced his 2010 congressional bid July 7 at a press conference held on the lawn of borough hall.
Halfacre, a Republican, will challenge incumbent Rep. Rush Holt (D-12th District) for his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
After talking it over with his family and close friends and gauging the interest of party leaders and activists, Halfacre said he decided to run.
“I’m very pleased at the reception I’ve gotten from people across the state encouraging me to run,” he said
State Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-12th District) introduced Halfacre, with other members of the Monmouth Republican legislative delegation and various local elected officials in attendance.
“The sunny weather seems to foreshadow the bright future that’s to come when Halfacre is elected. Look at his record. He controlled spending, made government smaller and improved shared services,” said Fair Haven Councilman Chris Rinn.
Halfacre spoke about growing concern among Americans over record federal spending and ever-expanding government involvement in the private sector.
“I believe my record as a tax-cutting fiscal conservative will be an attractive alternative,” Halfacre said.
Despite losing state aid and a troubled economy, Fair Haven has cut its taxes for the second year in a row, he noted.
“At a time when unemployment is almost in the double digits amid unprecedented federal spending, I think voters will find my message an attractive alternative to Rush Holt, who has never met a federal dollar he didn’t want to spend,” Halfacre said.
“We have seen what eight years of that kind of tax-and-spend governance has done for the state of New Jersey; it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that it will be bad for the United States as well,” he continued.
Halfacre said he considers himself an extraordinarily fortunate man. He grew up in Fair Haven and described his childhood as an idyllic middle-class suburban upbringing.
“It was a slice of small-town America. I learned to swim during the summers at the Jersey Shore and earned an athletic scholarship to Florida State University,” Halfacre said.
From there, Halfacre earned an academic scholarship to the University of Dayton Law School. His first job out of law school was with attorney and current Monmouth County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Oxley.
Halfacre’s solo practice in Little Silver focuses on real estate law.
“As a small businessman, I know what it’s like to live within our family’s means. I make financial decisions every day that affect my family and either will or will not put food on the table. As mayor, I make decisions every day that affects the taxes paid by my residents. That decision making is a sacred trust,” he said.
According to Halfacre, Holt has spent a career on the public payroll.
“He has never had to run a small business, balance a budget, cut spending, or worry where his next paycheck was coming from,” said Halfacre.
Halfacre served as the Board of Education attorney in Fair Haven, a prosecutor in several local towns and a councilman in the borough before running for mayor in 2007.
Halfacre spoke about his accomplishments as mayor.
“We have improved our infrastructure and public spaces, we have reduced the size of our debt, and the size of our government. It has not always been easy, but we have been able to make hard decisions that allowed us to maintain our quality of life in the face of tough economic times and a reduction in state aid of over $165,000. Despite the loss of funding, the economy and the improvements we have made to our town, we have lowered taxes two years in a row, an achievement that few municipalities in New Jersey can claim,” he said.
Halfacre said that the only thing missing from the 12th District is a representative in Washington who is an effective advocate for the district.
“Instead, we have a representative who is out of touch with the values and needs of the 12th congressional district, on issues large and small,” he said.
“Rush Holt has voted for every bailout, stimulus package and budget put in front of him. He voted for the AIG bonuses before he voted against them. Not only did he vote for a cap and trade bill on emissions, which will massively increase energy costs to consumers, he actually complained that the bill didn’t spend enough money,” Halfacre said.
“Even here in New Jersey, where Rush keeps a pretty low profile, he found his voice just long enough to advocate for Gov. [Jon] Corzine’s scheme to increase tolls 800 percent,” said Halfacre.
Halfacre said Holt is equally out of touch when it comes to serving his constituents.
“While he votes in favor of government takeovers of the auto industry, financial industry and health care industry, he has failed to prevent the closing of Fort Monmouth, has been AWOL on the issue of keeping civilians out of Earle housing, and has been a day late and a dollar short in helping to clean up Branchport Creek.
“Nowhere has his ineffectiveness been more glaring than in his inability to assist in bringing home Sean Goldman. In all of these instances, other officials have had to pick up his slack,” Halfacre said.
“In his 10 years in Congress, Rush Holt has been ineffective and has compiled a voting record which is not representative of the district he represents,” said Halfacre.
Halfacre said that Federal Election Commission filings for the latest quarter of his campaign would show nearly $35,000 raised.
“I don’t think any of the last several Republican candidates have raised that much for the whole campaign and we’ve gotten there with 16 months to go,” said Halfacre.
As campaign manager, Halfacre hired Tom Fitzsimmons, who ran Beck’s successful campaign against well-funded incumbent Ellen Karcher.
“It is time for him to step up and lead at this most critical time in history,” Beck said as she introduced Halfacre.
“I’ve been telling people: I am not a sacrificial lamb, this time is different, I am going to raise enough money to run a real campaign and get my message out. I am running to win,” Halfacre said.
First, Halfacre will face Holmdel’s Alan Bateman who has filed to run in the Republican primary. Bateman ran unsuccessfully against Holt last year.
Later the same day, Halfacre held a second press conference at the Statehouse in Trenton.