Q&A With Congress Candidates Frank Pallone And Rich Pezzullo

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Across the nation, many Democrats are hoping to unseat Republicans in the upcoming fall 2018 midterms. But here in New Jersey's Sixth Congressional district, which stretches from Woodbridge Township down to Asbury Park, it's actually the opposite: A proudly-Trump supporting Republican says the time is right to topple the Democratic congressman who has represented this area for years.

Patch caught up with each candidate, Democrat Frank Pallone, who has represented New Jersey's Sixth District since 1988, and Rich Pezzullo, the Republican hoping to unseat him. The midterm election is Nov. 6. Patch asked the two men a nearly identical set of questions. Their answers are starkly different: Pallone wants to restore and expand the Affordable Care Act. Pezzullo wants it dismantled entirely. Pallone is one of Trump's loudest critics on the left, while Pezzullo calls his opponent "obstructionist" and says he would vote for Trump again if the presidential election was tomorrow. Read on to learn about these two very different men who want to represent you in Congress:

What are the top three issues facing America/New Jersey right now and do you intend to fight them in Washington?

Rep. Pallone: Economy — We need to strengthen the economy and increase wage growth for all Americans. A robust infrastructure initiative would provide middle-class jobs and help the United States compete in a global 21st century economy. We could pay for an infrastructure bill by rolling back the GOP corporate tax cuts. I introduced the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act or LIFT Act in this Congress that would provide money to secure and expand broadband internet access, make improvements to our drinking water infrastructure, modernize the electric power grid, and increase energy efficiency in buildings and homes. The bill also provides funds for hospital infrastructure and money to revitalize brownfield sites in our communities.

Healthcare — It is important that we stop President Trump’s sabotage and expand and strengthen the Affordable Care Act.

Retirement security — We must prevent cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Instead we should expand and strengthen these programs, including long term care for Medicare recipients.

2. You've held this seat for a long time and many say it would be impossible to unseat you. Why do you think you've been able to keep this seat for so long? What do you say to people who think it's good to have fresh, new representation in Congress?

This is a democracy. Citizens can choose to vote incumbents out and often do. I run on my record and try to do my best to serve the people I am elected to represent. That is why people support me. I believe that experience is important.

3. Your opponent, Republican Rich Pezzullo, is an outspoken Trump supporter. What are your thoughts on President Trump and the many Americans, including some of your constituents, who support him?

A tremendous problem with President Trump is his inability to govern efficiently. He makes decisions without thinking enough about the consequences of his actions and often changes his mind on a whim. He rarely consults with Congress and therefore cannot accomplish his goals even when they are correct.

4. How you would describe the current political climate in our country right now? And if you view it in a negative light, what steps would you take towards improvement?

The country is dominated by a president and congressional leadership majority that are more ideologically right-wing than any other in recent history and are fundamentally changing the federal courts to follow suit. There needs to be some balance so that those in the center and left have some input. Americans can provide some balance in Washington by electing a Democratic majority in Congress this November.

1. What are the top three issues facing America/New Jersey right now and how do you intend to fight them in Washington?

Pezzullo: Obamacare needs to be repealed. I work in the business side of healthcare and I have seen how Obamacare is reducing the availability of doctors and the overall quality of care. The central management built into that law is driving doctors out of the business of medicine. It needs to be completely repealed. Any European country you want to point to is smaller than our largest state. There is no comprehensive EU solution because it cannot be handled at the republic level. There is reciprocity between different state solutions, so an injury in one state gets a baseline of benefits if you're outside your home state.

Letting each state determine how to manage healthcare makes sense It does in Europe, and it might make sense here. The mechanics on a state-by-state basis would be worked out by the best and brightest in each state. We need more brains working on the issues of healthcare access and affordability. Centralizing control in D.C. limits the brains to the ones available to the swamp. I have no business designing a healthcare system for the people of Wyoming and would resist the idea of the Congress getting involved in the healthcare delivery business.

We need to end illegal immigration. The costs of illegal immigration are straining local budgets, county budgets and are crippling the federal budget. There are numerous issues involved with the process of immigration and the real need for asylum in a hemisphere plagued by violence and drugs. But without a way to control entry, every effort to manage immigration and naturalization is doomed to a frustrating failure. A physical structure is the most cost effective way to give our society a way to control the flow of people across the border. A wall will send a unmistakable message to the depths of South America about the resolve of the American people to control our borders. Currently, people don't take our immigration laws seriously, and that leads them to take unnecessary risks for themselves and their children. No child deserves to be dragged through a punishing desert in pursuit of a lie. We start to solve the problem when we commit to building the wall.

College debt. College debt is crushing an entire generation. We have quietly allowed a cruel discrimination to creep into our society, where people who don't hold academic degrees can be denied employment. That needs to stop. It's discrimination of a sort as evil as discrimination based on race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. I would move to make it a violation of civil rights to deny an employment opportunity because a person does not have a certain academic degree.

Non-traditional providers, like coding boot camps, have developed a model for short-term training. So far, these providers have had the most success in highly defined technical fields: coding and programming skills, for example. But this model might have promise in other areas as well.

The boot camp model holds much promise for delivering the specific package of hard and soft skills workers need to advance to management – in a way that is far cheaper, faster, and more accessible than a college degree. Unfortunately, only degree programs are eligible for federal funds. That's snobbery and just wrong. I want to change that.

We should stop looking for ways to provide free college and find ways to get people the skills they need and reduce the barriers that prevent them from realizing their potential.

Additionally, we should treat college debt repayment as a bona fide charity. This would encourage relatives and employers to send checks to the Treasury to pay down the trillion dollar debt bomb in college liability, which is developing.

2. Frank Pallone has held this seat for a long time and many say it would be impossible to unseat him. Why do you think he's been able keep the seat for so long, and why do you think you have a good chance at unseating him?

Frank Pallone has held the seat because more people pulled the Democrat handle than Republican due to events in their communities, not anything he did at the federal level. Most residents in his district cannot even name him as their representative. My opportunity for success comes from the fatigue felt by those who know him and a general frustration with the obstructionist behavior of Congress which Pallone stokes at every opportunity.

3. Rich, I know you are an outspoken Trump supporter. What are your thoughts on President Trump and the many Americans who support him? Would you vote for him if the presidential election was tomorrow?

I have tremendous respect for President Trump. We attended the same high school and I know the impact that five years at New York Military Academy had in shaping his character. He craves excellence and would rather die than fail. He brings that dedication to the Oval Office each and every day.

I respect the Americans who support him and I respect the opinions of the Americans who do not.

Unless somebody shows up who can improve on the success he has delivered already, I would certainly vote for him again. Trump had a great plan for getting America back to work. Cut taxes; let people keep their own money. Reduce regulations. Get government out of the way. Pallone resists the pro-American efforts of President Trump. His obstructionism is not good for America.

I support Trump because we see minority unemployment at record lows. Female unemployment at record lows. We see more jobs created than there are unemployed people to fill them.

Trump went to a school where dictators sent their kids. Mob bosses sent their kids. Rich people too busy to raise their kids sent their kids there. Donald Trump grew up in an environment where problems get settled behind the gym and he dealt with all these types of people. Kim Jung Un is just another "Dictator's Kid" and Trump has been dealing with people like that for more than half a century.

So what does that get us? Korea is at the peace table and we didn't ship pallets of cash to the regime to get our hostages back. Putin is a thug and Trump knows how to deal with him, as well ISIS is practically dismantled and the Justice department is targeting MS13. The VA is finally getting fixed and the military received a much-needed pay raise and equipment upgrade. The Keystone pipeline is creating jobs and market opportunities and contributing to making the United States the preeminent supplier of energy in the world. Soon we will be shipping liquid natural gas to China in breathtaking volumes.

So, in a nutshell, if you like being able to afford keeping warm in the winter, having a sense that your career will have more options going forward and that your kids will be safe in the neighborhood — you have to appreciate that those are promises made and delivered by Donald Trump.

4. How you would describe the current political climate in our country right now? And if you view it in a negative light, what steps would you take towards improvement?

The purpose of an election is to settle an issue where two sides disagree. We did that. Two years ago. I am patiently waiting for his opponents to realize that we have more important things to do than rehash an electoral decision. My efforts are to support the agenda of secure borders, economic opportunity and reduced regulations, which will make the country better for ourselves and our children.

The midterm elections will be Tuesday, Nov. 6. Here is a map to see if you live in New Jersey's Sixth Congressional District: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Photos provided by their campaigns.