Daryl J. Kipnis, who is seeking the Republican nomination for his candidacy for the New Jersey State Senate in New Jersey’s 17th Legislative District, held a Campaign Kickoff Reception event at The Imperia in Somerset on Jan. 5.
“The people of New Jersey are a remarkable people — we have a certain resilience, fortitude and ‘hearts-on-our-sleeves’ way of going about our lives that is apparent no matter where we go. We’re from Jersey,” Kipnis said.
“There is a ponderous burden that is crushing our spirit that has multiplied by many orders of magnitude as of late. You read about it and hear about it all the time in the news, on social media and in speaking with your friends, colleagues and neighbors. You hear that New Jersey now leads the country in people leaving the state.”
Kipnis further discussed recent events and reports of businesses leaving the state and or closing outright; the failure of the state to keep its promises to teachers, police officers and other public service employees with respect to the pension system; New Jersey having the highest rate of distressed mortgages in the nation at three times the national average; and the state leading the nation in the number of millennials living at home with their parents, according to a press release provided by his campaign.
Kipnis expressed criticism of the Democratic Party majority currently controlling the state Legislature and described the recent passage of the gas tax legislation as a display of indifference to the people of New Jersey. He then gave the Philadelphia “Soda Tax” as an example of what can happen in New Jersey if the people do not elect leaders who will serve their interests.
Kipnis vowed to become the “conscience of the Legislature” that will “take up both sword and shield against unconscionable taxation and over-regulation” and will “consider the impact of every decision not just on the next election cycle, but on the next generation of New Jerseyans,” according to the statement.
He set forth his pledge to advance his policy platform, which includes: repealing the 2016 gas tax legislation; reviewing state government processes to make improvements to efficiency, user-friendliness and cost-effectiveness; investigating and creating opportunities to provide long-overdue property tax relief to New Jersey homeowners; drawing upon his experience as an attorney to take an active role in the vetting of state judicial appointments to ensure that skilled practitioners that are also principled Constitutionalists will join the bench; working to provide law enforcement with the resources they need to keep communities safe, as well as end the “narrative” against them and help them solidify relationships with the communities they are sworn to serve; working to achieve new levels of excellence in all forms of education so that parents will be able to choose the best course for their children; opening the lines of communication with major business entities to find out exactly what it would take to get them to invest or expand their existing investments in the Garden State and create jobs for residents; advancing legislation to eliminate the burdens on first-time business owners or those who wish to become franchisees of a franchise new to New Jersey; and honoring the state’s commitments to teachers, police officers and other public service employees to fund and provide cost-of-living increases to the pension system.
Kipnis pledged to deliver a level of transparency and accessibility “unparalleled by any of his predecessors” by keeping his constituents informed via social media and otherwise of issues before the Legislature coming up for a vote, and, most importantly, how he intends to vote in any given instance and the reasons why while simultaneously giving constituents the opportunity to inform his position on any given issue, according to the statement. He pledged not just to be reactive, but also proactive.
“These are things which I believe people are owed … from their state senator, and unfortunately, the people of Franklin, Milltown, New Brunswick, North Brunswick and Piscataway simply aren’t getting [these] right now,” he said.
“It’s all about respect — to which everyone is entitled — no matter what their views are, where they live or how they voted in any previous election of any kind. I know what it is to raise a family here, and I want everyone to be able to afford to keep their kids under their roof, and eventually, for their kids to afford to move out and start families of their own. It is from the perspective of a rank-and-file citizen, husband and father that I will approach my duties as a state senator.”
The Kipnis for State Senate page can be followed on Facebook.