District 7 Primary Election 2022: John Flora

DISTRICT 7, NJ — John Flora is running for election in the House of Representatives 7th Congressional District primary election on June 7. He is running against eight other candidates.

Republican Flora is running against seven other Republicans including Kevin B. Dorlon, Erik Peterson, Thomas H. Kean, Jr., Philip Rizzo, John Henry Isemann, and Sterling I. Schwab.

On the Democratic ticket, incumbent Tom Malinowski is running against Roger Bacon in the contested primary.

Are you running for office in District 7? Contact Alexis Tarrazi at alexis.tarrazi@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Patch.

John Flora

Age: (left blank)

Town of Residence: Freedon Township

Position Sought: Congress District 7

Party Affiliation: Republican

Family: Married, two sons

Education: Graduated Hopatcong H.S. Earned Associates Degree Keystone college; Florida International University

Occupation: Beverage industry

Previous Elected or Appointed Office: Currently Mayor of Freedon Township, previously 10 years on school board, 9 as board president

Why are you seeking to run for District 7?

I am running because middle class people like me and my neighbors are not being represented in Congress. Our values are not respected and slowly, but surely, the great nation that is America is slipping away from us. The people serving in Congress – for the most part – do not understand the struggle of the average working family and are more concerned about representing fringe groups on the left than they are about representing the interests of the people who work hard, pay taxes, run businesses and obey the law. The redistribution of wealth that is endorsed by Democrats is a real danger to American families and so are the attacks on law enforcement and the coddling of criminals. All of these issues, along with the loss of personal and political liberty are propelling me to run for Congress.

Do you feel flooding is an issue in the district? How would you like to address it?

For most of the district chronic flooding is not a major issue; it is one however, that is exploited by climate alarmists such as Rep. Tom Malinowski and his supporters in the far left Sierra Club. Every rain storm is not an indication that the world is ending, or that flooding issues can only be solved by forcing people in New Jersey to drive electric cars. In cases where flooding occurs, it is usually associated with overdevelopment or unwise development. My research indicates that FEMA allocations for flooding are minimal for the majority of the district. As a congressman I will end the practice of the current representative of using weather as an alarm bell predicting the end of civilization.

How do you feel about Roe v Wade potentially being overturned?:

The original Roe V Wade decision has been a contentious and divisive ruling for our nation for 50 years. Many legal scholars on both sides of the aisle see it as a bad decision because the court, not elected legislators carved out an unlimited access to abortion. I believe the people that Americans elect should make law, not unelected judges. If Roe is indeed overturned Congress and 50 state legislatures have the opportunity to enact laws setting the parameters of abortion.

What other issues do you feel must be tackled in the district?

A big part of this district is rural and agrarian. The Democrats’ war on fossil fuels is creating huge hardships for many people in CD-7. Fuel price increases – and increases in petroleum-based products, such as fertilizer, are making it much more expensive for area farmers to raise crops and sell produce. Some of those costs are passed on to consumers; the rest are absorbed by the farmers. The failure of the Biden Administration to back domestic oil and natural gas production is a hurting our district and our congressman adds to it.

The Green New Deal – both the national and the New Jersey version created by Gov. Phil Murphy -- is going to have a dramatically negative impact on the district. Forcing people into electric cars and trucks will decrease reliable mobility for the district and increase the cost of basic transportation. The forced conversion to electric home heating – which is part of the Green Energy charade -- will impose huge costs on homeowners and small businesses. Jobs will be lost. The lack of transparency on these costs is one of the things I will fight in Congress.

Finally, an important issue not only for the district but for the entire country is the abuse of government power we have seen the past couple of years. The pandemic demonstrated what will happen if government is not checked by the people. We have come through two years of one government edict after another - from closing certain businesses – restricting where people can go, telling families not to gather, and keeping our children out of school - are a chilling foreshadowing of the Marxist-style government that liberals like Rep. Tom Malinowski supports.

The thirst for control over our lives will not end with Covid-19. Liberals and activists will continue to seek more ways to restrict our choices and gain control over our lives – whether it is taking away our gun rights, or limiting free speech, or forcing us to accept waves of illegal immigrants in the U.S.

American democracy cannot survive if we allow government to impose rules on us that take away basic freedoms because the elected officials and bureaucrats tell us the rules are “in our best interest

What sets you apart from the challenging candidates?

What separates me from my opponents is simple: I have a history of solving problems and making a difference – and getting things done. As school board president on took on the biggest utility company in the state and I forced them to back away from a plan that would endanger our children. As mayor I have fought the special interests that want to increase spending on homeowners. Two of the candidates running in CD-7 have served for years in the state legislature and have done nothing to improve New Jersey for working families or businesses. There are two kinds of people who go to Congress those who want to be somebody and those who want to do something, and I am the ladder, my record proves that.

I also have a track record of taking on the most powerful political force in New Jersey – that’s the New Jersey Education Association – the teachers’ union that is behind almost every spending increase in the state - and the catalyst for some of the worst social legislation in the state – such as the new sexual education curriculum that is being pushed by Democrats to appease the radical progressive left. I have never taken a dime from the NJEA and never will. My opponents have taken NJEA donations and endorsements.

What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign?

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