LIVINGSTON - A physician by trade and a three-term elected official in his hometown here, Mayor Shawn Klein pursues an at-large commissioner's seat in the Democratic Primary this June in hopes of lending his unique expertise to the improvement of Essex County.

He hails from a political town, named for New Jersey's first governor and the stomping grounds at one time or another of Tom Kean, Sr., Chris Christie, and Brendan Byrne.

Amid the political attorneys and academics, why does a medical doctor, an ophthalmologist, want to focus on county government?

"When you are in an exam room with a patient, everyone's rowing in the same direction for the best outcome, and in those circumstances, you see the best of people and it makes you optimistic about people generally," Klein told InsiderNJ over coffee this morning.

"Politics is not that way," he added. "But government can be that way. Personalities, egos, people saying bad things about you - that's part of politics. But you really can do good things in government."

Klein applauds Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, who today received the formal support of Governor Mikie Sherrill. 

"But the board has not been a partner equal to him," said the mayor.

One of 11 candidates running for four seats, he wants to take new energy into the meetings and offer - no pun intended - a fresh set of eyes on the $916 million budget.

"Joe D has provided a lot of good government," Klein said. "I just think he needs a commissioner board that is the equal of him. When you listen to the state of the county, it's amazing how much of county government is involved with schools. The county operates three county tech schools and a college. I love school. Education might be my favorite part of the whole thing. I love teaching and excellence in school. I'm really excited to think of walking the halls to see what's going on there. Also - I think about the social safety net and the fact that the county is involved with SNAP. The state delegates those funds to the counties and with SNAP laws changing [in the Trump years] and a lot of confusion in government, if I get this spot, and it's an at-large spot - I want to look at strengthening - or making more efficient - the safety net. The county has done well. Where is there room for improvement?"

Klein points to his local record and notes his dedication to Livington, where he grew up one of eight strong friends, six of whom returned to their hometown to make their lives with their own families. In Livingston, he learned about civic pride and volunteerism, and educational excellence.

"At the end of my third term on the council [and three, one-year terms as mayor], Livingston is in a good place right now," he told InsiderNJ.

Essex County Commissioner Pat Sebold is retiring after over three decades as a commissioner, so the geography and the timing line up for Klein - as he seeks contact with voters beyond Livingston armed with his local record.

"Public safety is the number one budget item in Livingston and a public official's most important responsibility," he said. "From the COVID highs, we've brought crime down 75-80 percent in two and a half years, employing iniatives like a license plate reader.

"Kids drive stolen cars into towns to steal other cars," he explained. "License plate readers ding when they see a stolen car. Not only does this technology protect residents, more than that it protects the kids in those cars. These are mostly adolescents who are not making the best decisions about their lives. It protects everybody, and it enhances Livingston's reputation."

If you're a thief, don't go there.

"We've also pulled more police officers out from behind the desks so there's more presence out there," Klein noted. "I'm really proud of that, that we turned back what felt like almost a crime wave a couple years ago."

Other initiatives include cutting edge energy aggregation projects.

Along the way, "We have been fiscally increased to Double Aa1, which shows we're paying attention to taxpayer money and that we want efficient government and we want to solve problems."

Officially in the contest as of last Friday, Klein said, "I'm a physician by training. I love being a doctor. I love being in the operating room. There is nothing as important as that: helping one person at a time.

"When you are in government, you can help 30,000 people at a time," he added. "My mom told me once and I made it a mantra: 'you do what you can.' I do public service in part as an example to my kids, hopefully to inspire them to act in a similar way."

Government and medicine.

To quote another Livingston politician, "Perfect together?"

Certainly not for everybody.

But they are for Klein, who admits to being naturally intellectually curious to the point of being flummoxed in college when he had to pick a major, while - to this day - he never finds himself at a loss to address what he describes as "the possibilities of what's out there in the world, in terms of problem solving."

"It's always been in me," he added. "I'm a people person and I like to talk to people, and to engage with other public officials to help solve people's problems."