Trenton NJ,in a last minute deal the state government shut down has been avoided . Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi , “Update for New Jersey residents. It appears a State shutdown will be averted. On the upside you will be able to go to the beach, the racetrack or a casino, and renew your license. On the downside you will be paying even more for gas, internet purchases, hospital visits, plastic and paper bags, Airbnb, Uber and Lyft, health care, and utility bills. I keep hearing a mantra of New Jersey needs sustainable revenue. However New Jersey has significant revenue. New Jersey ranks in the top 5 highest taxed states in the country. New Jersey has among the highest pension debt. Any tax and spending increases without real reforms to our pension system is irresponsible and reckless. Good luck New Jersey residents. You voted for this”
Rivervale NJ, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi had this report on the states budget negotiations, ” Fascinating conference call. I joined in the Democratic State Committee conference call with Governor Murphy 1-609-246-3298 to talk about the budget. There is a proposed spending increase of several billion dollars, tax increases on everything from Uber rides, Air BnB, gas tax increases, corporate business taxes, hospital taxes, sales tax, vape tax, internet sales tax, sports betting taxes, firearm taxes, among others but that isn’t enough. The Governor’s spending proposal is so high that even with all these tax increases there is a potential $1 BILLION deficit, with only partial school funding, partial pension payments and no reforms whatsoever. Instead there is the push to further increase the sales tax, the small business tax, the corporate business tax and a millionaire’s tax.
During this call Governor Murphy’s talking points are as follows:
1. Fiscal year ends Saturday and the Democrats are meeting but NJ needs sustainable long term revenues in place — aka permanent additional tax increases beyond those mentioned above.
2. NJ needs to stop kicking the can down the road — NJ must must move beyond that. We need to break the back of that culture.
We need to ensure “hand outs” are available. They deserve it.
I agree with the Governor that NJ needs to stop kicking the can down the road. We must make cuts. We need to reform our pension system. We must change our school funding formula. We must change our healthcare system.
3. Property Taxes – the Governor said property taxes are so high because of our public educational system and that additional taxes would help with this burden.
Unfortunately this statement is just not true. Even if our current funding formula was fully funded the average suburban community still receives virtually no funding. By way of example, River Vale currently receives $455 per student per year in school funding. In the event the school funding formula was fully funded River Vale would receive a maximum of less than $1,000 per student per year in school funding. All 70 of the Bergen County school districts combined would still receive less than Jersey City. Bergen County currently contributes more than 30 percent of the total taxes paid and receives less than 3 percent of those monies back. Under the new tax proposals we may send down more than 35-40 percent and receive back even less.
Don’t believe the hype. We need to stop being a piggy bank.
Westwood NJ, Westwood’s newest council member Alyssa Kaye Dawson, at 24 is New Jersey’s youngest councilwoman . Alyssa Dawson, a former staffer to LG Kim Guadagno was sworn-in tonight to a council seat in Westwood to succeed retiring Councilman Peter Grefrath a 23 year veteran to the Borough of Westwood . Dawson had announced her candidacy to run for Council in November alongside incumbent Ray Arroyo last month.
Former Westwood council members, Ingrid Quinn, Cindy Waneck, Jay Sciara and Bill Phayre came to the meeting to say thank you along with former LG Kim Guadagno and assemblywomen Holly Schepisi.
River Vale NJ, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi laid out the forced court ordered over development facing Bergen County :
This is what is happening all over the State of New Jersey. Over the past several weeks I have spoken with Mayors from all over the State who are begging for help.
I couldn’t agree more with Mayor Keith Misciagna. Our communities are being destroyed by ridiculous over development all throughout the State. A couple of factoids regarding our current regulations:
1. If a suburban community builds affordable housing it is prohibited from giving preference for that housing to its own residents in need. So the divorced single mom who is losing her house, the family who can longer afford their home because of a loss of a job or a medical crisis cannot receive preference for the affordable housing being built or the housing no longer counts for a community fulfilling its obligation.
2. A community may not build more than 25% of the affordable housing in its community for seniors or it “doesn’t count” towards their obligation (and a community cannot give preference to their own seniors who have lived in the community paying taxes). Likewise, a community may not build more than 25% of the affordable housing in its community for those with special needs
3. Any Urban Aid Communities in the State have no obligation to provide ANY further affordable housing. However what would have been their obligation gets divided up and split among the suburban communities. By way of example, Jersey City has given out new construction building permits for over 37,000 units over the past several years. Under the affordable housing guidelines it would have had a obligation to provide approximately 7,000+ units of affordable housing. Jersey City is an Urban Aid community so it has no obligation. However those 7,000 units get split up and sent to our communities.
4. The financing available to communities to build affordable housing through governmental programs was manipulated by the legislature so that 40 percent of all available money MUST GO TO URBAN AID communities which have no affordable housing obligation.
5. There are currently over 40,000 foreclosed homes in this State that could be used as affordable housing but the powers that be refuse to allow them to be counted.
6. Section 8 housing or affordable housing with vouchers has historically not been counted as fulfilling affordable housing obligations in a community.
7. If you are a community trying to recruit business and jobs, you are penalized and your community now gets hit with additional numbers of affordable housing you must provide for in your total calculations.
8. The environmental impacts and a community’s infrastructure, schools, roads, capacity of volunteer services are not permitted to be taken into account under current regulations.
The system is so broken.
Help us fix this. MAKE YOUR VOICES BE HEARD IN TRENTON.
River Vale NJ, assemblywomen Holly Schepisi comments on the unfair nature of the school funding formula, “If anyone ever wants to know why I fight so hard to revamp how we fund our schools in New Jersey and why I do not believe that the current formulas are fair, here is a glimpse into the school funding numbers for River Vale and Hoboken, New Jersey. River Vale is neither a “rich” nor a “poor” community but is representative of many of the communities comprising New Jersey. The average home assessment in River Vale is approximately $550,000 and pays $13,894 in property taxes with almost 70 percent ($9,725.80) of that amount going straight to school funding. In comparison the average assessed home in Hoboken is approximately $519,000 and pays $8,035 in property taxes with only 24 percent ($1,928) of that amount going to school funding. River Vale has 1202 students and receives $550,193 or $457.73 per student per year in State Aid for its schools. Hoboken has 1,872 students and receives $10,468,870 or $5,592.35 per student per year in State Aid for its schools. Hoboken has the highest median household income in Hudson County of $114,381 and the highest concentration of millionaires in that County. If we want to talk about parity and fairness, our State’s policies need a lot of work.”
Rivervale NJ, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi , voiced her concerns on accidents involving pedestrians, “Lately our communities have been plagued by pedestrians being hit by vehicles. Please remind those who drive in your family how important it is to obey speed limits in our communities. The difference between a 20 MPH hit of a pedestrian and a 40 MPH hit of a pedestrian is the difference between that victim surviving or likely dying. Drivers — watch your speed and do not drive distracted. Pedestrians — put down your cell phone when you wish to cross the street. Do not assume a car sees you just because you may be in a crosswalk. Never start walking until a vehicle has come to a stop.”
We picked this up from the Hillsdale police , but former Ridgewood Police Chief often shared the same thoughts with the Ridgewood blog .If a pedestrian is struck by a car going 20 mph or slower, the odds of survival are good. Above 35 mph, the impact is likely to be fatal. Obey speed limits!
Rivervale NJ, since so many in the media are so woefully ignorant on New Jersey gun laws , Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi gave us the run down on what the rules actually are .
In a Facebook post the Assemblywomen explains , “As I know it is a huge discussion and people oftentimes are unaware of their own state’s laws and requirements, New Jersey has the third strictest gun laws in the nation. It is illegal to own or operate certain AR-15 or similar types of weapon in the State of New Jersey. Bump Stocks are also illegal to own or use. Here are the other requirements in order to own or operate a gun within our state.
Among other things, New Jersey:
Requires permits for the purchase of any handgun, as well as a separate permit for persons purchasing long guns, both requiring a lengthy background check prior to issuance (which oftentimes takes longer than several months);
Provides law enforcement discretion when issuing permits to carry concealed weapons (and it is almost impossible to secure such a permit unless you prove that you are in imminent danger);
Prohibits the purchase or possession of a firearm by persons convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence offenses, and by persons subject to protective orders;
Requires the licensing of all firearms dealers and their employees;
Limits the number of handguns that may be purchased to one per month;
Imposes a 7-day waiting period prior to the physical transfer of a handgun;
Will require the sale of personalized handguns once such technology is available for retail sale;
Prohibits the possession and transfer of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines;
Requires firearm owners to report the loss or theft of their firearms; and
Requires all firearms dealers and ammunition sellers to maintain records of all acquisitions and dispositions of firearms and ammunition.”
Hackensack NJ , Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi intervenes in a constituents unemployment claim is almost tossed from the building.
According to Schepisi’s Facebook post , “Over the past two weeks I watched through social media the struggles of Monica Brinson as she attempts to have an unemployment claim fixed. Today I went to the unemployment office to see firsthand how it operates. I almost got physically removed for videotaping the attached but afterwards did get a comprehensive tour and analysis of the good, bad and ugly of these offices. First, the State needs to provide additional personnel. There is currently 1 employee working today in this office to service a county of almost 1 million people. They stopped handing out tickets to see people at number 7. That is right, for the entire day they will only be able to service 7 people. The group of people to the far right in the video against the wall are there to try to reach a live person at the Department of Labor. These are “dedicated phone lines” that are supposed to allow people to reach a human being but the minimum wait time on these phones is in excess of 1 1/2 hours. Many of the people I spoke to this morning wait outside in the cold for upwards of several hours because only 5 people at a time are generally allowed in the building. People will wait for 3-4 hours inside and then find out that they cannot be seen that day. We must find a better way to provide staffing. On the upside I was provided with a comprehensive tour of the building, including the employment opportunities, the Bergen One-Stop Career Center and the available training programs. In a separate post I will provide some of the resources given to me today. Finally I am glad that I did not need bail money today. The armed guard with the weapon on his side did tell me that if I continued to hand out my assembly business card to those seeking help that I would be physically removed from the premises. An exciting way to begin a Monday morning.”
Rivervale NJ, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi moves to set the record straight . “As a result of having no platform or positions of their own, the women running against us rely solely on running a negative campaign against me. Over the next several weeks I will set the record straight on every negative and false claim made by them against me.”
FACT VS FICTION
Today’s attack – Claiming that I wouldn’t vote on legislation to keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill persons, my opponents state “You deserve a representative that shows up to work, makes tough decisions, and keeps you safe.”
My response – Despite New Jersey having some of the strictest gun safety policies in the nation, more than 49 additional bills have been brought to the legislature for a vote during my five years in the Assembly. Several bills have been proposed regarding mental health. I do not know which particular bill my opponents are attacking me on but in 2015 I had to miss several session days during my recovery from brain surgery to repair a brain aneurysm. Two years later, in 2017, I missed a session to attend my five year old son’s kindergarten graduation. I would certainly hope that the women running against me are not saying I should be penalized as a result of being very ill or for being a mom.
I have long been a proponent of sensible gun safety measures to get weapons out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and the mentally ill. Yet, as a victim of two violent crimes in my early twenties I understand the importance of second amendment rights in order to protect oneself.
With respect to my votes over the past five years on gun safety, I believe in sensible gun legislation. I voted in favor of keeping guns out of the hands of carjackers, gang members, and racketeers among other dangerous people. I voted in favor of stronger background checks and increasing penalties for unlawful possession, improper use, and removing a gun’s identification marks. I am the prime sponsor of a bill to ban bump stocks, as I personally believe their only purpose is to circumvent a 30 year old bipartisan ban on automatic weapons.
Almost all of bills I didn’t support don’t do anything to protect anyone because the laws proposed already exist in New Jersey or cannot be enforced due to lack of technology, such as a bill to require not-yet-invented “smart guns.” There is one recent bill pertaining to mental health and guns on which I abstained because mental health professionals, including the Mental Health Association of NJ, the NJ Association of Social Workers and the NJ Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association asked for substantive changes to the bill in order to protect patient confidentiality and to address HIPPA concerns, but they were ignored.
I am more than willing to listen to any thoughts on how to prevent evil acts like what happened in Las Vegas in the future. Both sides of the aisle feel strongly about protecting our families, our neighbors and our constituents. There isn’t disagreement on providing safety, it’s how best to provide it. We must address better mental health initiatives, common sense legislation for gun safety and we need to come together and have an honest dialogue about a critically important issue, not promote fear and slander for political gain.
River Vale NJ, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi comments on the Weinstein sexual harassment controversy and the Hollywood as well as Democrat double standard:
“I’ve found hypocrisy in politics fascinating as well as disgusting as it oftentimes involves women. Several months ago, in a room filled with more than 60 people, a local NJ democratic chairman made repugnant sexual based comments about a dear female professional friend of mine and yet not one person who was present said a word or spoke up. The press refused to cover the story after cowards who were present all claimed to be in the bathroom at the same time and therefore co…uldn’t confirm what had transpired.
Two years ago, another woman I know was sexually assaulted by a total piece of garbage who is prominent in NJ democratic state politics but she was convinced to remain silent by people in power as the perpetrator continues to receive promotions.
Where is the outrage one would expect against these examples? Why did people remain silent on Harvey Weinstein while accepting millions in campaign contributions? I worked in entertainment 20 years ago and stories about him were rampant back then. Why hasn’t the NJ state Democratic Party returned the monies he’s donated to them? Today, I challenge the three Democratic females running for office in my district to end their hypocrisy.
Time after time, you have launched baseless negative attacks, undertaken
hashtag politics, and fought on identity-based politics at the smallest
perceived slight or anytime you believe you can score cheap points yet you have remained silent on real issues within your own party.
Today, it is time for your games to end. The money you receive from
your Democrat Party, and from groups like Emily’s List and Emerge (which received donations of Weinstein’s money from the national Democratic Party) must be returned immediately. If it is not, and
you do not, it is clear that your words are meaningless.
The money you have taken is tainted by the very things you say you
oppose. Money from Hollywood’s Harvey Weinstein, who we now know
is an accused serial sexual assaulter has flowed into the coffers of your state
party. Millions of dollars were also raised at a state party fundraiser arm in arm with Alec Baldwin, who is well-known for calling a NY Daily News photographer a ‘nutty bi#*h,’ deriding a Starbucks barista an ‘uptight queen,’ an airline stewardess who asked him to stop playing a video game and attacking his own daughter by calling her a ‘pig’ who ‘doesn’t have brains.
When candidates stand silent because it helps them financially but then
play politics on the same issue to help their ambitions, it’s clear they only care about one things: themselves.”
River Vale NJ , according to Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi , “As the first female in my family to graduate from college or run for political office, I have always worked towards helping other women succeed. I am a professional woman who has worked in male dominated fields. I am a mother who struggled with infertility and multiple miscarriages while working 80 hour weeks as the primary breadwinner in my household, I am a brain aneurysm and melanoma survivor who champions health care awareness programs for women and has created scholarsh…ip programs for women in transition. That is why I am honored to receive the endorsement of the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey for my work on behalf of women.”
Trenton, NJ , The Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey (WPCNJ) is proud to announce its endorsement of forty-six female legislative candidates for the General Election in November. The WPCNJ PAC is set to distribute nearly $40,000 in contributions to support a key group of its endorsed candidates at an event in Trenton on October 5.
“These forty-six endorsements reflect a strong showing of female candidates whose platforms are consistent with our mission of protecting reproductive freedom and promoting equal rights, regardless of party affiliation,” said WPCNJ Political Resources Director Shari Weiner.
The WPCNJ PAC is prepared to make significant contributions to candidates in the 2017 election cycle. WPCNJ PAC Chair Jennifer Mancuso added, “We are thrilled to contribute nearly $40,000 to support a diverse group of talented women who are ready, willing, and able to represent all New Jersey citizens with their unique perspectives.”
The WPCNJ PAC will hold an event to celebrate its endorsed candidates on Thursday, October 5th from 8:30-10:30am at the NJ Realtors’ offices at 10 Hamilton Avenue, Trenton, NJ.
According to The Center of American Women and Politics (CAWP), women hold a mere 36 of the 120 (30%) New Jersey legislative seats, down from last year’s record of 37 women legislators (30.8%). “Women make up more than 50% of voters, however, their elected representation pales in comparison,” said Weiner. “It is incumbent upon organizations such as ours to endorse and support these women candidates and break that glass ceiling.”
Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi asks , “How and why does a not for profit entity have so much power over government in the State of New Jersey? Inquiring minds want to know. “
Posted on January 23, 2017 by walkableprinceto
Princeton Council members expressed anger and frustration at their regular meeting Monday night after being presented with a 200-signature petition urging a compromise in their ongoing affordable housing litigation. In front of a packed town hall, several Council members publicly blamed the Cherry Hill, NJ-based housing advocacy group ‘Fair Share Housing Center‘ for the lack of progress in agreeing a figure for how much affordable housing Princeton should build. But Fair Share hit back on Twitter, accusing the Council members of presenting ‘alternative facts‘, and offering a fully-public negotiation session.
I have always loved our country for the opportunities it provides. I am the child of parents who did not come from wealth but came from blue collar workers, a first generation American roofer on my dad’s side and a sea captain on my mom’s. From an early age I was pushed to succeed, to learn and to work hard. I stumbled along the way, almost failing out of high school at one point but managed to turn myself around becoming the first woman in my immediate family to graduate from college and transitioning into the person I am today. My life has not been an easy one. I have overcome many obstacles and failures but the things that always stayed with me were my work ethic and my willingness to learn from my mistakes. I have held every job a person could, from being the neighborhood babysitter to the shrimp de-veiner girl at a fish market to a successful lawyer and elected official. I have had money and I have had no money. I have traveled to and worked in other countries and have seen first hand how much we take for granted in our own country. I see the anger and hatred that people currently have and it candidly confuses and saddens me. Should our country work harder to ensure everyone is treated equally regardless of skin color, sexual preference, religion, gender, etc.? Absolutely. Have awful things occurred against people of color or in the name of religion throughout mankind’s history? Yes. Should we have more open and real dialogue on current issues involving race and religion? Yes. Are most people in today’s society racist, bigots, anti-Semites, Nazi’s, white supremacists or any of these items? No. I have been in public office for 5 years and I have prided myself on listening with an open heart to differences of opinion on all topics and issues. I am not someone who views issues as black or white but rather sees most issues are inherently grey without a right or wrong option. But this is the first time in 5 years that I fear for the future of our society as well as my own safety. We must stop the ramping up of hatred and labeling everyone who may not agree on every issue as racist, bigoted, Nazi, snowflakes, Antifa, etc. In the current climate it is dangerous and will result in violence if we continue down this path. I speak with hundreds of people each week. Almost everyone I meet or speak with falls on a bell curve with respect to their own beliefs. While not everyone will agree on all issues I find that most people ebb and flow on certain items depending upon their own life experiences. Very rarely do I encounter those who are the outliers that the press tries to make us believe are the norm and not the exception. Let us make a vow as Americans to respect one another, to bring back the ability to engage in meaningful dialogue on even the toughest of issues, to agree that people have the right to have a difference of opinion and to stop the labeling and name calling. Our country and our children deserve better from all of us
River Vale NJ , Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi asks, “If the Democratic front runner for Governor boldly says NJ won’t comply with many federal laws he disagrees with, why can’t our suburban communities fight back against ridiculous NJ policies that the democratic controlled legislature refuses to change?”
Schepisi said she hopes to force change by guiding a movement of civil disobedience.
“We need more voices to be heard,” said Schepisi, an attorney. “No one I’ve spoken to is against affordable housing — everyone supports the idea,” she added. “What everyone objects to is high-density complexes thrust on small communities.”
Schepisi proposed legislation to impose a moratorium on lawsuits related to affordable housing and form a bipartisan commission to calculate the number of units needed to serve the state. Those bills have stalled.
Ridgewood NJ, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi blasts Gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy and Democrat led ACA hysteria yesterday on Facebook ,
“I’ve taken some very targeted hits over the past month with claims that I am responsible for women dying and/or I hate women. These comments have been reprehensible and are flat out false as well as bizarre considering I am female and my own grandma died of ovarian cancer. For the record I support access for women to all health care, including family planning services. Several years before I ever ran for office a $7.5 million budgetary cut was made to “family planning services.” During this same period of time the ACA was enacted and several hundred thousand more people in New Jersey became eligible for health insurance coverage and Medicaid services. Certain medical providers, including Planned Parenthood saw significant increases in reimbursements during this time. Indeed Planned Parenthood has been funded to the tune of $1.5 BILLION per year and has felt financially secure enough to increase their executive salaries by 20 percent over the past two years (for an average executive salary of over $350-$400,000 per year) while giving out over $35 million in campaign contributions. But we shouldn’t let facts get in the way of hysteria.
Murphy’s Comments on Women Dying Are False, NJ Health Officials Say
By Christian Hetrick • 08/10/17 7:52pm
New Jersey health officials fired back at Phil Murphy on Thursday after the Democratic gubernatorial nominee said “women are dying” because of Gov. Chris Christie’s cuts to Planned Parenthood.
