5 Questions With 5th District Congressional Election Candidate

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat, and John McCann, a Republican, are facing off in the November general election to represent voters in New Jersey's 5th Congressional District.

Gottheimer is a Wyckoff native, former Microsoft executive, and was a speechwriter for President Clinton. He is a first-term congressman. McCann is a powerful lawyer from Oakland. He defeated Mayor Steve Lonegan, an ex-gubernatorial and senate candidate, to win the spot on the Republican ticket.

Patch sent five questions to Gottheimer's campaign, which he answered in an interview. McCann's campaign declined to answer the questions.

Patch: Why do you want to represent the 5th Congressional District again?

Gottheimer: "It is an enormous honor and responsibility and I really look at the role as a significant responsibility that people have bestowed me with and I’m incredibly honored. I really feel like in working with mayors and the communities that we’ve gotten a lot done and we’ve got plenty of work to do. I’m eager to see if people will allow me to continue to be of service.

"I feel like on the few areas where we’ve really put time on several fronts. An example that I’m very proud of is that in working with mayors, we’ve started to claw back more of our tax dollars back to Jersey. That’s taken a lot of combined effort in working with police and fire chiefs and applying for grants that we never applied for in the past. That’s an area that we need to keep working on. Historically, we’ve gotten 33 cents back on the $1 in our district.

"On the infrastructure front, I’ve found it very hard to get resources invested, not just in our trains, which I think are not where they should be, we have the worst on-time mass transit in the country right now, so I got legislation passed on rail safety. I’ve been also keen to get the Gateway Tunnel built. That is critical, we probably have five years or less on one of the tubes right now, according to the experts, so we’d better get moving on that.

"The other big thing on the economy is clawing dollars back [to the district] because. When you bring more dollars back, that helps the property tax line and reduces peoples’ taxes and the tax burden because we have got to make it more affordable for people here in New Jersey. We can’t afford to tax anybody anymore. Bottom line: How do we make New Jersey more business friendly? That’s one area that I’ve been very focused on as well.

"One of the great things you can do as a member of Congress is to be on the phone and help people. We’ve done a lot with social security issues, with veterans issues, with getting people the medals they deserves, or if there’s a social security or Medicare issue, and we spend a lot of time on casework. I want people to be able to call our office. No problem is too big or too small. That’s a big focus of mine. If you have a problem with a pothole, call me. I feel like we have work to do. I’m very focused on working on both sides.

Patch: What are the three top issues you intend to fight hard for in Washington, D.C. if re-elected?

Gottheimer: "Lowering taxes, cutting red tape, and fighting to keep clawing tax dollars back."

Patch: What experience in your background has prepared you to be an effective leader?

"Being in business and having the ability to get things done. Part of the thing that frustrates me with a lot of people Washington, I don’t get why we pay people to go down there and scream at each other versus sitting at the table and solving a problem. In the private sector, they would fire you for that.

"You can’t insist on getting everything you want. You’ve got to figure out a way to pragmatically solve issues. You stand up and fight for what you believe in. Part of what’s going on now with people is that there are purists on either side, these extremes really undermine the ability to come together and solve a problem. You’ve got to be able to have honest conversations with people. I learned a lot about that while working in business. I think that’s prepared me the most for the job."

Patch: What three words would you use to describe yourself to someone who has never met you?

Gottheimer: Fighter for us

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

Gottheimer: "Depressingly divisive. Our differences in life have always been our greatest strength and I really believe we live in the greatest country in the world and we don’t always row in the same direction. We are working against each other so much when we should be focusing on what’s great about America and making sure that we aren’t undermining our success. In sports, there are unforced errors and I think we’re making a lot of unforced errors right now and I just don’t want to do anything to get in the way of our potential as a country right now. We’re allowing ourselves to be divided instead of being united in our success."

Email daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: Rep. Josh Gottheimer (Official congressional photograph)