Singer Looking Forward to Challenges That Come With New Districts

State Sen. Robert Singer said he’s trying to remain optimistic after Sunday’s re-drawing of the state’s legislative map, which locked him into the same district as Sen. Sean Kean.

Singer, a Republican, ended up in the same district as Kean, also a Republican, after the state-mandated redistricting was completed after weeks of hearings on Sunday.

The state must re-draw the boundaries for Assembly districts every 10 years, based on U.S. Census data in an effort to keep the population in those districts equal.

That responsibility is handled by a 10-member commission, split evenly at five from each party. When no resolution on a new map could be reached, a judge ordered an 11th, non-partisan member added to the body. The selected person was Alan Rosenthal, a Rutgers University public policy professor. 

"The good part is that I'm still representing two thirds of the district I did before," Singer said in an interview Monday.

Singer previously represented four counties, from Mercer County down to Ocean County.

The new district is strictly Monmouth- and Ocean County-based, stretching from Howell to Point Pleasant Borough. Neighboring towns, including Brick, Manchester and Point Pleasant Beach are now in the 10th district, along with Toms River. 

Kean, who could not be reached Monday, used to represent the 11^th district, which included much of Monmouth County.

"It didn't make our towns less Republican, it just stirred the pot and that's a sad connotation," Singer said. "If you look at the way it was done, it was done without a lot of sense."

Singer said he will now have to relocate his legislative office from Jackson to a yet undetermined location.

Singer said he was on good terms with Kean and he hoped the two could work together.

“We're longtime friends," he said. "We're hoping things can be worked out."

As he looks forward to the November elections, Singer said he is ready for the months ahead.

 "Challenges always excite me,’’ he said. “Meeting new people and new horizons are something I absolutely look forward to."