Candidates In Tight District 1 Assembly Race Invited to Meet and Greet in Ocean City

Ocean City Councilman Michael DeVlieger has invited the four candidates in the First Legislative District Assembly race to participate in a non-partisan meet and greet this weekend, just as Stockton University announced results of a poll that show the race is “extremely tight.”

Only 3 percentage points separate the candidates less than two weeks before Election Day, according to the poll released on Friday.

Incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Bob Andrzejczak holds a slight lead with 25 percent support, including voters who say they lean toward supporting him. His running mate, challenger Bruce Land, is at 23 percent including those who lean.

The Republicans, incumbent Sam Fiocchi and challenger Jim Sauro, are both at 22 percent. Eight percent of those polled are undecided or refuse to pick a major party candidate.

DeVlieger invited all four to participate in the meet and greet on Sunday, Oct. 25, 6 p.m. at Arlene’s, 624 Asbury Avenue in Ocean City.

“I’ve gotten a lot of mail, but I haven’t spoken to the candidates in person,” DeVlieger said during Thursday night’s council meeting. “I like to look someone in the eye and shake their hand.”

The poll was conducted with 516 likely First District voters by the Stockton Polling Institute of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University. Live interviewers on the Stockton campus called both landlines and cell phones from Oct. 16-22, 2015. The poll’s margin of error is +/- 4.3 percentage points.

“The First District is usually one of the most competitive districts in the state. It appears to be up for grabs once again,” Hughes Center Director Daniel J. Douglas said. “In a low turnout election with state Assembly at the top of the ballot, it could swing in either direction.”

The district includes parts of Cape May County, including Ocean City, as well as Atlantic and Cumberland counties.

Andrzejczak is viewed most favorably among the candidates, with 49 percent having views that are very favorable (19 percent) or somewhat favorable (30 percent). Fiocchi, is viewed favorably by only 34 percent. GOP running mate Sauro has 32 percent favorable ratings. Forty-one percent view Democrat Land favorably.

Thirty-nine percent rate incumbent Democrat Andrzejczak’s job performance as excellent or good, with 38 percent rating it as fair or poor and 21 percent unsure. Twenty-seven percent rate Republican Fiocchi’s job performance as excellent or good. Forty-nine percent rate it as fair or poor, with 23 percent unsure.

The top issues in the Assembly race as identified in the poll are taxes (18 percent), jobs (15 percent), the economy (14 percent) and property taxes (12 percent). A bare majority of 51 percent say the candidates are addressing issues that are important to them, while 37 percent say they are not and 12 percent are unsure.