Why should New Jerseyans elect Joe Kyrillos to the U.S. Senate?
The answer is simple: He will represent us and our state, unlike Robert Menendez, who has been in Congress too long, so long he has forgotten why he is there.
A prime example of Menendez’s disregard for his constituents is his behavior before the vote on the Affordable Care Act. Despite being urged by voters to hold town hall meetings, he held not one. When voters called his office in mid-August 2010, they were told Menendez hadn’t set his summer schedule yet. It was mid-August, and while other congressmen and women were explaining this contentious piece of legislation, Menendez was nowhere to be found.
When pressed, a Newark office staffer said Menendez had held “interactive meetings.” There was no answer as to why someone who requested town halls had not been advised about the “interactivity.”
The staffer also said the senator planned to meet with constituents before the vote. I’m still waiting.
Needless to say, Menendez, as always, voted the party line. To my knowledge, he never once met directly with his concerned, anxious constituents about a bill that will affect one of the most important concerns of their lives – health care.
Kyrillos’ record as a New Jersey state senator shows how dedicated he is to the people who have sent him to Trenton since 1988. The proof is in his re-election history: Kyrillos has earned 60 percent of the vote and higher each time he asked voters whether he deserves another term.
Conversely, a lime test on Menendez’s performance exists in the ranking of states in terms of how much federal taxes their residents spent vs. how much the state received in federal dollars. New Jersey ranks third from the bottom.
That’s why on Nov. 6, everyone in New Jersey must tell Kyrillos that we need him in the U.S. Senate because we deserve the kind of honest, sincere and dependable representation he provides.
As for Carole Marks’ Oct. 18 Commentary: There is one simple answer to the many “points” she attempts to make, all of which are based on Democratic spin, lies and/or not fact. The answer: money. Obama has no plan to cut the deficit, which so many Dems claim is “not a problem.” Try telling that to your mortgage holder. We are in this mess because of too many years of politicians telling us what we want to hear – and/or get – without being able to pay for it. We need Romney to begin our way back to fiscal stability and national strength.
Ann Powers
Stafford Township
