Amid cynicism and doubt, Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp said he doesn't believe people have lost faith in government institutions and in their own discerning capacity to recognize government service excellence. "I don't think we are at a place where the electorate has lost that faith," Mapp told InsiderNJ. "They have lost faith with some members who have lost faith in the public."

Running in the Democratic Primary for the congressional seat occupied by retiring U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12), Mapp differentiates himself on the question of experience from the rest of the large field. He wants to appeal to those who still believe, not in the utter rejection of everything, but in the precise accountability of office he represents, in short, fundamentally, integrity. "People want to know there are people of experience running, with a record of accomplishment," Mapp said. "People come to me because they know my ability. "

They also want a fighter, the polling consistently shows, not someone who may have complacently become part of the problem. Mapp has a record of fighting and bucking the establishment. He fought the late Jerry Green in his hometown and Ray Lesniak, for years, defeating county superstructure to become mayor. "I've had to fight and claw my way, fighting to lead this city of Plainfield, which is now experiencing a Renaissance. The people appreciate the struggles. They know I will always fight.

"The other candidates have ideas about what they want to do," added Mapp, a certified public accountant by trade. "None has governed [in an executive capacity] except [East Brunswick Mayor] Brad Cohen. There are a couple of candidates who have legislative experience. I have also been a legislator, as a council person and as a county commissioner. They've never had to govern, as I have. They have supported this or that. They have never been in the driver's seat."

But they're all running for a congressional seat, after all, a legislative not an executive, job. "The reason having the executive experience makes me a better candidate is because in Congress you have to give and take, and as a chief executive, I know how to negotiate. I know how to set policies and perimeters. I have had to advocate and enter into agreements at the negotiating table with investors, for example."

Mapp says he stands out from the group on the critical issue of affordable housing. He has a record in Plainfield on that critical front, he argues, and intends, in the closing weeks of the campaign, to specifically emphasize his positions and plans on housing with greater detail.

Amid the war with Iran started by Trump at the urging by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and tugging points of view among his rivals on the question of Gaza, Mapp, said, "It is my position, with Israel being a strong strategic partner with the U.S. that the U.S. must continue to support the state of Israel. When it comes to arms, giving those arms to Israel should be conditioned on our humanity. Certainly, Israel must self-protect its borders and has a right to defend itself against terrorism."

But Netanyahu committed genocide against the people of Gaza, Mapp said. "Countries don't commit genocide," he added, "leaders do," he explained, and American arms wielded under the command of the Israeli PM contravene the Geneva Convention, common decency, and common humanity. "Just like here we have a president who has committed acts against his own people based on the actions of the individuals he put in place to commit draconian acts under the edicts of Project 2025," the mayor said. "We hate those acts. I also hate the acts.

"The Palestinian people deserve the right to self-determination, and the right to exist within secure borders. There can be no peace until we bring both sides to the bargaining table and try to get to a peaceful solution. We can have peace whereby people can live side by side. I am for a peaceful two state solution, with the U.S. continuing to treat Israel as an important ally." He reiterated: "Aid to Israel or to any nation should be conditioned on our humanity and on the promise this aid would not be used to go after innocent men, women and children - only used to defend your borders not to launch preemptive strikes against anyone who is innocent."

As for the war in Iran, "I believe we broke the law, number one, because only Congress under the War Powers Act has the authority to declare war. If there was a good reason to go to war, our allies would be standing with us. They're not. The U.S. was not under threat. This is a senseless war, costing over two billion dollars a day, money that could have been used to address the healthcare crisis we're facing. The funds should have been used for healthcare not an illegal war. It is a war clearly lacking in any kind of humanity. I am totally opposed to the acts of Donald Trump."

Regarding the primary race and trying to find a lane in a field of 13 candidates, a situation created in part by a judge's decision to scrap ballot bracketing, Mapp said, "The decision by the judge has led us to this place where candidates who would otherwise not have entered are able to enter. I am not opposed to many people entering but there are so many people who have no iota of a chance to win. By breaking up the line, it has allowed us to have a race with all these candidates. That's the downside but through objective lenses I don't have a problem with giving everyone a shake. It is injurious perhaps from the point of having too many candidates vying for the one seat, but it has given hope to those who didn't believe they could foresee. I been a beneficiary of the line, and the line has worked against me. I can support the present system we have. Going forward, I think we would have to take a look at rank choice voting and maybe primary runoff elections would be good, just as they exist in some of our municipalities. Certainly, someone could win this race with 15% of the vote and a runoff system would be better."