LAKEWOOD-The influential council of the Lakewood VAAD has endorsed Wall Street Millionaire Phil Murphy for Governor in next week’s election. The VAAD citied Murphy’s long and deep connections to the Orthodox body which consists of local Orthodox business owners and rabbis who discuss public policy issues that affect the city of Lakewood.
The VAAD endorsement is always a coveted endorsement by politicians seeking election due to the number of votes the endorsement could generate for the candidate.
Murphy, a Democrat is running against Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno. The election will be held next Tuesday.
Below is the statement released by the VAAD regarding their endorsement of Murphy:
We endorse Phil Murphy for Governor. Phil has a long and deep connection to us, and he and his policy team have invested much time in learning of our communities, and of what is important to us.
Phil knows that we have been shortchanged by up to $50 Million dollars each year by a discriminatory State of NJ school funding formula – one that does not look at Per-Capita or Median Household Income but looks at the ratio of real-estate ratables to public school kids only. By 100% NOT counting nonpublic kids in evaluating wealth it treats Lakewood as the richest towns in NJ, when it is anything but.
Phil’s proposed changes to Public School Funding policies can do more to bring fiscal and tax relief to Lakewood’s tax strapped families than any other single policy solution.
Phil knows that the defective State Funding Formula for Public Schools causes us to pay exorbitant real estate taxes (50% of your real estate taxes go to the public schools), and that fixing this funding defect will reduce the stoked resentments (which falsely allege that Orthodox kids who receive legally mandated remedial services and busses are the cause of public school funding problems).
Phil is committed to fix the broken formula. It’s in his platform on education. It took 20 years, but finally there is a candidate for governor who is unafraid to say that NJ families are being shorted by the funding formula – and he is unafraid to state that we in Lakewood have been falsely accused of “cheating” public school kids.
Phil understands that a struggling young family needs help. He understands that it is unreasonable to expect a young family, whether newly working, or in school or Yeshiva, to pay $30,000 for health insurance. He is therefore pledged to protecting and expanding NJ Family Care, which has helped so many of our families buy insurance at affordable rates, and to protect the adults who purchase their coverage through NJ Family Care.
Phil knows that CHS has brought thousands into the workforce and that so many rely on it for childcare. He is committed to it, seeing it as a positive investment in the economy and workforce.
Phil knows that our private schools deserve funding too – and he publicly stated this in his interview with the APP – and he is unafraid to suggest that NJ join Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan and some 30 other states in treating religious school parents more fairly.
Phil knows that Lakewood is a success, and that we don’t get our fair share back.
Phil is committed to a fair and equitable economy and to growing the economy which will benefit all.
He is a mensch who during his time as US Ambassador to Germany was a leader in the fight against antiSemitism.
Notably, as US Ambassador, he invested personal time, money and energy in giving chizuk to the Torah Kehilla of Germany, and although he carried many responsibilities, he placed special emphasis on encouraging the opening of Yeshivos in Germany.
During those years he had no idea that he would one day be running for Governor of our state, it was our Kehilla’s fortune to have a kesher with him even then, when his sensitivity to Torah Jewry was seen as exceptionally unique and unusual.
We don’t agree with Phil on certain matters, especially pro-life and family values, and we have shared with him our community’s views on these, and that they are rooted in our ancient Mesorah, and that we will continue to forcefully advocate for those values.
A word about the other candidate who we regretfully did not endorse: Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno erred in her words, and we know that they do not reflect her character nor her heart. Lt. Governor Guadagno has a long track of exceptional public service and we are grateful for that, and we hope to see her continue her long and vital contributions to NJ. We also cannot support her running mate, Mayor Rendo, who seems to have spent years trying to keep Chassidishe Yidden out of his town.