I was a grade 6 – 8 Social Studies and History Teacher in Roosevelt, NJ in 1980. A storied town, Roosevelt was developed during the Great Depression originally called Jersey Homesteads as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. The town was conceived as a cooperative project, with farming, manufacturing, and retail as a resettlement opportunity for poor workers from New York City.

Although the idealism of the project did not continue, it became a town for middle income earners, including well-known artists and musicians, to purchase affordable homes. There was and likely still is a world renown full-length mural by Ben Shahn in the school depicting immigrants coming to Ellis Island, a history lesson all its own.

After his first election to Congress, Chris Smith contacted my principal and me because Roosevelt was one of the municipalities he represented. I remember his outstanding presentation to our students about the role of a U.S. representative, the legislative branch, and how congressional bills become law. He was quite personable.

In Frank Capra’s celebrated movie (1939) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, this Mr. Smith was played by Jimmy Stewart as an appointed senator who would not be corrupted by the long-time power brokers to go along to get along.

In contrast, Chris Smith is now seemingly being rubber stamped for his 24th term, a total of 48 consecutive years in Congress. He has coasted to reelection within the seven gerrymandered congressional districts during his tenure.

Who is Congressman Chris Smith? According to online reports, since his 1980 election, he has held only one town hall meeting—in 1993—and none since. He bought a home in Herndon, Virginia, in 1983, has lived there for most of his congressional career, and maintains a rental property in New Jersey. (https://whereischrissmith.com/)

You might say he has been busy serving the people of Congressional District 4—but what has he accomplished? He sends a promotional newsletter twice a year and maintains a district office in Toms River. A recent newsletter proudly features him with RFK Jr., whose anti-vaccine rhetoric and recommendations have likely contributed to the largest measles surge and the most related deaths from measles in 34 years, including a troubling rise in neighboring Pennsylvania.

Constituent requests, calls, and petitions often go unanswered. For example, when 200 constituents gathered in Manalapan in 2017 to meet with him, he declined to attend.

Unlikely to hold a town hall or be accountable as he glides towards re-election, here are some questions that he might face if there were to be one, questions also relevant for those running Republicans clinging to Trump and his detrimental actions affecting us in New Jersey and the nation.

Where do you stand on Trump’s pre-midterm promise to send $90 to all seniors, and Trump's apparent bribe of $5000 if the senate and house remain republican? Does that include the multimillionaires and billionaires? What age defines these seniors? Related, where are the previous Trump promised taxpayer checks promised, given his falsely declared windfall from tariffs?

Are you aware of the latest $100 million in federal education cuts? How will these cuts affect your constituents, in particular special needs students and your purported support for children, students, and adults with autism, and what are you doing to address them? https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/trump-bucking-congress-yet-again-cancels-100-million-for-education/2026/09

How has your support of the BBB (Big Beautiful Bill) helped the average income earner, not the wealthiest who have enjoyed the lion’s share of the tax cuts? Families have had to spend an additional $4,200+ on everyday essentials under President Trump. The middle-income tax breaks have been a pittance in comparison to the burden of these costs. (https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/press-releases?ID=D2CC0004-0234-4D20-BC28-D2E30E12F14C)

What will you and your Republican colleagues do to reign in these costs?

Why didn’t you vote for the war powers act that would put an end to the escalating billions of dollars for the war in Iran? We have been told we have already won the war, bombed their nuclear facilities into submission, promised no more prolonged wars in the Middle East and inflation down (not up) on the first day of Trump's presidency. Gas, oil, diesel, fertilizer, food costs, and failed tariffs, given the war entering the ninth month are drivers of runaway inflation and spiking energy costs. Why aren’t you, a senior member of the House of Representatives, clamoring for accountability and remedies given these out of control costs?

Why didn’t you vote for the extension of ACA subsidies to make health care affordable. NJ-04 has 147,000 Medicaid recipients — including 67,500 children and 9,700 people with disabilities affected by the BBB. Why did you vote to cut their coverage? These cuts include individuals with autism, who you avow to be an advocate.

Why didn’t you include your name on the discharge petition that would have led to a much earlier release of the Epstein files. For someone who promotes himself as a strong advocate against human trafficking, why only until a unanimous consent were you on board.

New Jersey already gets back less from the federal government than it puts in — one of the worst return rates in the country. What have you done to advocate for us, your constituents, and our state?

What is your position on Ice Detention Centers in NJ, Stephen Miller’s untenable and draconian quotas, and the deplorable actions, including killings and apparent murders of protestors, and the manhandling of children and others who are not what we were told would be the worst of the worst.

Where do you stand on Data Centers Planned for NJ, a drain on our electrical grids and driver of out-of-control Artificial Intelligence?

Major artificial intelligence executives, including Dario Amodei of Anthropic, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and even Elon Musk of xAI, have pushed for federal and global AI oversight to mitigate catastrophic risks, but the Trump administration and Republican Congress have opted instead for a voluntary industry self-regulation approach. Where do you stand on this and what can be done to monitor and control AI?

I know this writing is an exercise in futility. But why, Mr. Smith, can’t you show an inkling of the ethics and passion of the fictional Mr. Smith? What do you have to lose Mr. Smith, the election after this one? Stand up for us, your constituents in tangible ways, break with the Republican caucus and Trump, exercise independent judgement and choose the right side of history in what could be your last and most important term in Congress.

Give Peace a chance?