NJ Primary 2021 – opinion

As we embark upon another electoral event, it is great to see so many candidates who are looking for the opportunity to run for office on local and gubernatorial level.

This is all good; however, let’s look at something else.  When a person puts their name out there looking to run; it opens the doors of many inquiring minds to ask and want to know more about the candidate who will have various powers that eventually affect the Taxes paid, the community service, and public trust.  The question becomes – who are they, where did they come from, what’s their background, work ethic,  what are the intentions of those who are running, will they do the right thing for us over the next four years, what of their policies, their team? Or is there a machine behind them for self-serving prophecies?

Over my 30 years of experience in and around politics, from local to assembly, Senate, gubernatorial and presidential, one gets to see and hear about many things; from personal to amazing contracts awarded.

I’ve seen great candidates lose out caused by back-end last-minute deals. Whereas I’ve seen people who shouldn’t run yet who do run and become elected feeding into the corruption of huge donor support.

With this being shared, President Abraham Lincoln said it the best “A house divided against itself cannot stand” – words spoken back in 1858 and here we are in 2021 and what do I see?

I’m watching the Republicans bashing and attacking one another?  What is that message you are sending out to the public, pointing fingers while digging into a person’s past? Is that how we win elections? It’s very wrong across the board.   I personally know each one of you running and you are not that kind of person, please don’t let the public think of you as that. Allow the public to get to know about the great qualities that each and every one of you brings to the table.

 For the past 6 weeks I have received numerous text messages through their campaign teams from all over Ocean County and a few others in the 609 and 973 area codes; about the “dirt” on each candidate? Have we forgotten who we are and what we stand for.? This negativity only hurts the party as a whole.

Unfortunately many times it’s not the candidate personally, it’s their campaign manager and its marketing team who does the research and looks to tarnish the opponent’s opportunity for today and tomorrow.

 I get it when it red against blue or blue against red,, a little foreplay is one thing.   But, we should not be  Red against Red or Blue against Blue.

As a Progressive Conservative Republican, as an example – for any of those who’ve attended met the candidates or attended any of my talks when I first entered the race for Ocean County Commissioner.

I found myself in a room full of people who I personally know and who are also looking to run, these are people with who I’ve shared years of – personal conversations,  lunch, dinner, or may have taken part in contracts to get things done for the people first.  The public would attest that in my talks how I would bring up the names of my fellow candidate who all have good intentions and each one of them has something to bring to the table.   I oftentimes said – “I’m not going to tell you who to vote for, I want you to decide on who’s the right candidate  for you”  

My thoughts win or lose, if you leave a good impression and stick to your words backed by integrity – people will remember you. They will remember you four days from now to four years from now if you decide to run again,  as long as you did the right thing.   If the candidate lost this run, it’s ok – there will always be another election. Yes, it may feel disheartened at the moment, but think of all the people we have connected with along the way and what we take away and learn from it.

In this scenario, I would like to point out two current Ocean County Commissioner candidates:  Bobbi jo Crea and Michael Thulen . Here are two candidates both part of the same party, moving forward by getting their word and message out. Not one negative comment from either side.  Had I decided to continue my run and invest a million into my campaign provided by donors and investors, I would have done the same. By keeping focused on what’s important, such as – getting the message out to the people and what is important to them. We are looking for the public’s vote in good faith; that the candidate to be elected will do the right thing for us.  It’s really that simple.

As I shared earlier, we’ve all been in the same room together including the current gubernatorial candidates – going back years.  I’m just taken back on how good candidates are so-called bashing one another looking to tarnish others.  We are much better than that, I know how important it is to run and what comes with it.  If the Republican Party is ever looking to return in strength, we need to  “Work – Together”  than spending countless hours and days attacking one another.  We need to fix our own back yard first, before looking to fix others.

I see similar issues on the Democratic side with many of their voters annoyed over the same if not similar issues – they tell me all the time – the conservative Democrats who want good policies to work on both sides.   I oftentimes say – ” We need to get back to the John F Kennedy and Ronald Regan days, when elected officials put the people first, politics second and things got done for the people who were happy in life, work and their families.”    From the early 60’s till the mid 90’s politics were for the people first, there were job opportunities and the ability to advance, both sides oftentimes won,,,  However – today in 2021, people fighting to survive, keep their home, their apartment, medical expenses, searching for good jobs, and finding food to eat. While avoiding being homeless – living in the woods or in their cars, communities torn apart, as I’ve seen happening all over NJ. the real important quality of life issues we should be focusing on.

 There are many social issues and concerns among the many communities of all nationalities that need help, support, guidance, and its direction.  If anyone who’s running for office, let’s not forget what’s important, step aside from those negative accusations and let’s get back on track of good candidacy and political campaigning.

With that being shared, if and when I decide to run in the future – I will always put the public and its people first, including Democratic voters who want positive change with a candidate who they can also work with and wants to get things done for the good of man/woman/ inclusion/ for all – kind.

With less than 24 hours left to the primary, I want to hear from you [not the campaign managers words or comments]  Hirsh Sign, Jack Ciatterelli,  Phil Rizzo and Brian Levine  – How we fix New Jersey.  You guys are the best – You can do this!

I know all of you, I also know that all of you have the public’s best interest and their back, now tell them we the people and show the people of NJ  why.

Best of luck to the primary, I hope afterward – that the candidate can come together, make public apologies as needed and work together to Fix New Jersey.

Victor Finamore

 Republican candidate for NJ 21