Assemblyman Jon Bramnick may be known as “the Funniest Lawyer in New Jersey” — after all, he did win humor contests sponsored by the New Jersey Bar Association in the 1990s — but much of what he ha
By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Assemblyman Jon Bramnick may be known as “the Funniest Lawyer in New Jersey” — after all, he did win humor contests sponsored by the New Jersey Bar Association in the 1990s — but much of what he had to say last week wasn’t always funny.
Mr. Bramnick, who is the Republican assemblyman for the 21st Legislative District, cracked some jokes but also offered some serious advice to a mixed audience of Rider University students and political junkies at the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics’ “Governing New Jersey” series March 5.
”The reason we love politics,” said Mr. Bramnick, who is also the Assembly minority leader, is because shared experiences with others increases endorphins — a chemical substance within the body that makes people feel good.
”Shared experiences with others is addictive,” he said. “It’s exciting. I don’t think there is anything more important than sharing with others. If you don’t like politics, you don’t like connecting and learning from other people.”
Mr. Bramnick shared some of what he has learned from others — politicians, journalists and especially his own father — with the attendees. The late Peter Biondi, who was a Republican assemblyman from the 16th Legislative District, told him that “whatever you do, don’t do anything,” he said.
”Every time you do something, there is someone who doesn’t like what you did. Stay under the radar. The minute you do something they don’t like, you are out,” Mr. Bramnick said, sharing some of the advice that Mr. Biondi gave to him.
From journalist Jake Tapper, Mr. Bramnick said, he learned not to respond to hypothetical questions because “that’s what they (journalists) want you to do. No ‘what-if questions’ — don’t answer them.”
”(But) my father gave me the best advice. He said, ‘If you look too closely at your friends, you won’t have any,’” Mr. Bramnick said. His father meant that closely scrutinizing friends would reveal their flaws and overshadow their good points.
There is a connection between that advice and news reporting, Mr. Bramnick said. In a world with a 24-hour news cycle, “(journalists) need a story. ‘Breaking news’ used to be a major event, but now it is every 20 minutes. If they can put up something negative about you, they will put it up,” he said.
”How can you look at a politician and not find something where they can take you apart,” the assemblyman said. Given the intense scrutiny that elected officials undergo, it may become harder to find people who want to run for office.
No one is given the benefit of the doubt today, Mr. Bramnick said. He pointed to Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, who was stopped by a police officer for driving under the influence. He refused to take a Breathalyzer test and he was charged with drunken driving.
”The press jumped all over him,” Mr. Bramnick said.
But when the dashboard camera recording from the patrol car was reviewed, it showed that the police officer was lying, Mr. Bramnick said. The police officer was indicted and the charges against the assemblyman were dismissed, he said.
The assemblyman criticized the cable-TV news organizations — both conservative and liberal. They do not represent journalism, he said, because how is it possible that the “other side” is always wrong.
”When you say the other side never has any good ideas (and) they are always wrong, that is misleading. (But) that’s now what the United States is about. You’ll have divisions. There is no compromise. If that is the goal, we are not moving in the right direction,” he said.
If an elected official is always going to be under the microscope, Mr. Bramnick said, “I don’t know how you will survive. There is very little time between the time when a journalist writes a story and when they publish it. There used to be time. An editor had to read it. But they have to do it quickly. I have a real concern about that. Now, we have entertainers, not journalists.”
Mr. Bramnick, who served on the Plainfield City Council in the late 1980s and who was appointed to fill an unexpired term in the Assembly in 2003, turned to the Rider University students and shared some tips with them.
”In my 10 years in the Assembly, I learned that interpersonal skills are important,” he said. “If you are in a room and someone is talking to you, look at that person. I don’t care if there is an avalanche over your right shoulder, I am focusing on you. You will remember that I looked at you and talked to you. Don’t look for the most important person in the room.”
He cautioned the students not to say anything negative because it won’t make any difference. Compliments are “tremendous,” even if they are not true, he said. And just because something is on your mind, “don’t say it,” he added.
And it is not necessary to win every argument, Mr. Bramnick said. Let the other person win the argument, because “they will think they won, anyway,” he said.
”Sometimes, call someone and don’t ask for anything. You know the person who calls you only when they need something? They don’t call you unless they need something,” he said.
A handwritten note of congratulations often pays off, Mr. Bramnick said. He told the audience that when he graduated from law school, he applied to many law firms. An attorney in Newark who specializes in matrimonial law wrote back to him and said there weren’t any openings in his law firm.
”Because he wrote back, I sent him matrimonial cases,” Mr. Bramnick said, adding that he does not handle those types of cases. He specializes in personal injury lawsuits.
Mr. Bramnick said he believes that by concentrating on making sure that someone else has a good day, “you will be extremely successful.”
”If you say you are going to do something, then do it. You will be a hero in this society. Keep your word. You have no idea how successful you will be (if you keep your word). It’s very difficult to find people who keep their word,” he said.
Asked why he ran for political office, Mr. Bramnick replied that “it’s in your blood or it’s not. There has not been one day that I have not loved it. You have the opportunity to help other people. If you love people and you can help a person, how good is that,” he said.

