District 7 General Election 2024: Sue Altman

LAMBERTVILLE, NJ — On Nov. 5 there are four candidates running for election in the House of Representatives 7th Congressional District general election.

Democrat Sue Altman is running against Incumbent Republican Tom Kean Jr., Libertarian Party Lana Leguia, and Green Party Andrew Black.

Sue Altman

• Age: 42
• Town of residence: Lambertville
• Position sought: U.S. House of Representatives, NJ07
• Party Affiliation: Democratic
• Family: N/A
• Education: B.A., Columbia University; M.B.A. & M.S., University of Oxford
• Occupation: Executive Director, New Jersey Working Families Alliance
• Previous elected/appointed office: N/A
• Campaign website: suealtman.com

Why are you seeking election for the U.S. Representative District 7?

New Jersayans deserve leaders who are ready to show up and fight for their constituents’ interests, not their own. Sadly, we haven’t always been that fortunate, especially here in NJ-07. Unlike our current Congressman, I will never turn my back on my obligations to this district and will stand firmly for the New Jersey values I grew up on – our fundamental freedoms, the dignity of hard work, and making myself available to constituents no matter their political party.

Overdevelopment has been a concern across the District. How do you plan to address this?

We live in the most densely populated state in the country, but NJ-07 also has some of the last great open spaces in New Jersey. We also have a huge number of communities whose rural character is a way of life – that has to be respected and preserved in our discussions about how and where we build.

This should be the baseline of the conversation, but that’s not happening right now. Too many communities aren’t being consulted as major projects are built. I’m very concerned about warehouse sprawl in our district, and in general, about additional development being pushed without building up the transportation infrastructure necessary to accommodate even more traffic and population density. I plan to have very active constituent services throughout our district to make sure our office is deeply involved in community discussions with business leaders and developers, to ensure any development serves the interests of NJ-07 and its people.

Rising taxes and inflation are impacting residents across the state. How do you propose offering some relief to constituents?

New Jersey has a high cost of living, but the 2017 Trump tax bill gutted the essential SALT deduction so many families rely on – double-taxing already overtaxed NJ families. This hasn’t been rectified, even as the economy has become increasingly hostile to both consumers and small businesses. My first economic priority in Congress would be joining my colleagues in NJ and NY in their efforts to ensure the SALT deduction is restored.

The single concern I hear most frequently from voters is skyrocketing prices of housing, groceries, and gas. There are multiple factors at play, but a huge one are the anti-competitive corporate price-gouging maneuvers some major companies use to overcharge consumers and make it harder for small businesses to compete in the marketplace. We need stronger enforcement of existing laws to ensure bad actors are held accountable for overcharging consumers, and we need to take several steps to ensure that small businesses are able to survive and thrive in a modern economy – including tax breaks for first-time business owners.

There has been an increase in home and vehicle burglaries in towns across the district, do you think enough has been done to combat this? What else would you propose to address this issue?

What other issues do you feel need to be tackled in District 7?

What sets you apart from the challenging candidates?

Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your campaign?