Democrats Announce Slate for NJ District 16 Legislative Race

Kingston—Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker announced today his running mates for the 16^th Legislative District campaign.  State Senate candidate Laurie Poppe and Assembly candidate Roy Freiman will join incumbent Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker in the 2017 race to represent Legislative District 16. The district was a Republican stronghold until Zwicker defeated Republican Assemblywoman Donna Simon in 2015

Zwicker, a scientist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, stressed his commitment to evidence-based decision-making in representing the residents of the 16^th Legislative District and has a record to back it up.

“Two years ago I promised to be an independent voice in Trenton—to make decisions based on evidence, not ideology,” Zwicker said, “I stayed true to that promise, putting the interests of the 16^th Legislative District and New Jersey ahead of politics. I am working with legislators from both sides of the aisle to expand our innovation economy, make college more affordable, and hold the line of taxes. That is why I bucked my Party’s leadership and big special interests to vote against the gas tax. And it is why I go door to door to listen to the concerns of our residents. As a scientist, I know the importance of facts and evidence in making the right decisions. It is why I ran last time and it is even more important now. “

The other candidates echoed this sentiment, stressing their commitment to addressing the challenges facing New Jersey.

“As a businessman, I know the most important factor in succeeding is to provide solutions to customers’ issues. I also know that collaboration is the key to finding the best solutions. Yelling at people who disagree with you doesn’t work,” said Freiman, a former executive at Prudential Financial, “New Jersey faces many challenges, from our broken pension system to an economy that is still struggling to produce the good jobs and the careers our state needs to grow. I will use the principles of collaboration to get to the right solutions in the legislature. Working with Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, we will team up to grow our economy and put the interests of Central Jersey above partisan politics.”

Poppe, a lawyer and social worker, took this a step further, saying, “We need leaders in Trenton who are willing to stand up for what’s right instead of putting special interests ahead of the people they’re supposed to represent. I work with New Jersey families every day, so I know the challenges that hard-working people in our state face, and my experience in collaborative law has taught me how to balance competing interests while moving toward common goals. That’s why I’m proud to run alongside Andrew, who’s always been an independent voice, to implement common-sense solutions that benefit everyone.”

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