19th District Candidates Ready for Tuesday's Election

If any district seemed to be a Democratic safehouse, it'd probably be the 19th legislative district.

The last time the district, which encompasses Woodbridge, Sayreville, South Amboy, Perth Amboy, and Carteret went Republican was in 1991. Only a backlash against former Gov. Jim Florio and taxes he imposed on the state could've upset such a rock-solid Democratic district.

Republican Randy Corman of Sayreville swept into the state senate, while Ernie Oros and Steve Mikulak, both of Woodbridge, grabbed both assembly seats.

That was 20 years ago, and despite the low key popularity of Gov. Chris Christie, it wouldn't seem to be enough to oust the current high profile seatholders from their berths.

State Senator Joseph Vitale, a leader in healthcare issues throughout the state, hails from Woodbridge and has a solid following, especially among senior citizens. Assemblyman John Wisniewski, in office since 1996, has been a powerbroker in office and currently serves as chairman of the state Democratic Committee. In his first term, Craig Coughlin, who resides in Fords, is a former Edison municipal judge and is the attorney for the Woodbridge town council.

The Republicans running for the senate and assembly seats, though, aren't deterred. The crop of Republican newcomers are enthusiastic and hopeful, and have won endorsements not just from the county Republican organization, but from various state Tea Party movements. 

Paul Lund is contending for the district's senate seat, while Angel Leon and Shane Robinson are vying for the two assembly seats. 

State Senate, 19th District 

Paul Lund

Party: Republican
Age: 48
Resides: Hopelawn
Occupation: Catholic high school teacher in Elizabeth

"I consider myself a citizen politician who knows what it is to be a frustrated taxpayer. I'm a conservative, and I'm fed up with both parties, because Republicans have given up on what they once believed long ago. 

"I'm with Ronald Reagan. This isn't our father's Democratic party. 

"I see people increasingly willing to give up their liberty in exchange for the false security of a government program. If you depend on government, you'll discover they're always undependable. I'd like to help [Gov. Chris] Christie with his reforms, getting rid of unnecessary regulation that hampers business. The engine of our economic recovery is in the private sector, not the public sector. 

"Onerous regulations are strangling us. Christie has a blue ribbon panel to cut red tape, and I'm all for that. As a nation, we've fallen down to 27th in the world educationally, and it's unacceptable. I can't stand for that. There are lots of things we cna do legislatively to reinvigorate education, and that includes teachers and parents. I believe in school choice, in corporate sponsorship, in the Opportunity Scholarship Act, as an alternative to the monopoly of the public school system. 

"I'm not anti-teacher, I am a teacher. I am anti-bureaucracy.

"My proudest accomplish is the 22 years of marriage I have to my wife, Lillian. I'm proud of my midlife career change. I worked for 20 years in financial services, then I went back to school and got my teaching certificate in 2009. I felt there was a lack of character education in schools, and I wanted to help kids to think critically and not just pass a standardized test. 

"I know we're reaching out and doing the right thing. Most of my volunteers are Democrats. That says a lot."

Joseph Vitale (incumbent)

Party: Democrat
Age: 56
Resides: Woodbridge
Occupation: president, Vitale Sign Company

"I've served four terms in office. I'm very proud that over one million children and working parents are now enrolled in NJ FamilyCare, low cost health insurance. I aurthored it in 1998, and it's been tough to maintain ever since. I chaired a health committee for six years. We tried to make hospitals safer by making it harder to acquire infections, we enacted legislation to protect the victims of domestic violence and child abuse. 

"Over 100 laws I've written in my time in the senate, many of which are healthcare-  and human service-related. Now we're facing a tough economy, I'm co-sponsoring a package of legislation that would incentivize businesses to hire more people, and relocate to NJ by providing tax credits. NJ is part of what is a global recession. In some ways, we're a victim of it. We have to do what we can to put residents back to work.  

"Healthcare is an ongoing issue, with such things as insurance fraud. We pay too much for health and auto insurance. There are dozens of issues we can work on at the same time, such as health and public safety. I'm also interested in improving on Megan's Law, the sex offender registry, by working with survivors and advocates and asking for their suggestions. How can we make it better? 

"My record speaks for itself. It's a matter of having an honest vision of what we can actually accomplish."

Assembly, 19th District (two seats)

Craig Coughlin (incumbent)

Party: Democrat
Age: 53
Resides: Fords
Occupation: attorney in private practice; former Edison municipal judge and prosecutor; current counsel for Woodbridge town council

"I'm proud that I've advanced a number of bills that were designed to create jobs, to reinvigorate the manufacturing sector of the economy. I've had five bills signed into law where I was the prime sponsor, more than any other freshman. 

"I've worked hard to stand up for the middle class and seniors, and I've voted consistently to do that. I've voted against my party when it was necessary. I've known people in my district all my life, I have relatives in every town in the district, and I've done what was most important for people in the district.

"We haven't done enough to create jobs. We need to make a committment to add a vibrant manufacturing segment to our communities, which brings good middle class jobs for people. 

"While green jobs are important, I believe that more traditional manufacturing concerns are a huge concern. We have a lot of brownfield areas in the district. Let's put those properties back to work in the manufacturing sector. They're underutilized. We're better at controlling pollution than we were 50 years ago. That's how we get out of that economic malaise, by manufacturing.

"The income inequality that continues to grow is going to be a real problem unless we come up with a way to create middle class jobs to support families. People have to take pride in their work."

Angel Leon 

Party: Republican
Age: 32
Resides: Perth Amboy
Occupation:  assistant director for a funeral home.

"I believe it's time for a change and we need to move our state forward and get back to work. We need to bring back job creation, school choice, and lowering taxes is a big priority with a direct impact on employment. We need more healthcare and help for seniors, such as prescription plans. This needs to be brought to the legislature.

"I look forward to bringing ideas to the table to get this state back where it needs to be."

Shane Robinson*

Party: Republican
Resides: Sayreville
Occupation: member of the Sayreville Board of Health

"I have great interest in helping our state return to economic prosperity and low unemployment. We can do that by lowering taxes for individuals and small businesses, and by reducing regulations so that companies don't have to go through a sea of red tape to expand and hire workers. I'm interested in giving parents a better choice of where to educate their children by expanding charter schools. I'm interested in making New Jersey an affordable place to live again, so that working families aren't forced to relocate. Ultimately, I am interested in making our state an example to the rest of the nation of the prosperity that comes with getting government out of the way with fewer and lower taxes, less spending, and more freedom for citizens."

*Robinson did not return phone calls for information. This entry is from his campaign website.

John Wisniewski (incumbent)

Party: Democrat
Age: 49
Resides: Sayreville
Occupation: attorney

"I've served 9 terms in the assembly, and I'm proud of my accomplishments. There's a lot to legislation, such as Sarah's Law that set up a system to allow families to be notified when family members are killed or injured in a car accident. Police can go into a database to find the next-of-kin. 

"Now I'm behind legislation that would require the reporting a child 13 years or younger who has been missing more than 24 hours. I'm also behind higher safety standards for teen driver tests.

"I've chaired the state fire commission, and worked with Dr. Frank Field to increase education about fire safety with students. I'm very concerned with anything regarding education and students.

"I'm concerned about local public school funding, especial with [Gov. Chris] Christie, charter schools and merit pay. I'd prefer full funding from the state for local public schools. 

"I'm very critical of Christie's millionaire's tax cut; he cancel the property tax rebate program to fund it. I'm chair of the transportation committee in the assembly, and I'm concerned with the financial problems with transportation trust funds that needs a long term solution. They will require a billion in revenues just to maintain roadwork that's planned in the next five years. Every penny collected in the transportation trust fund goes to pay debt now. The financing is a problem that needs to be solved."