One-On-One with Republican Nominee for NJ Governor Jack Ciattarelli
A one-on-one discussion with Republican Nominee for NJ Governor Jack Ciattarelli on the most important issues facing New Jersey voters. Plus, the panel including Kate Gibbs, Executive Director of the Republican State Committee, Democratic Strategist Brendan Gill, Dan Cassino of the Fairleigh Dickinson University Poll, and NorthJersey.com Statehouse Reporter Katie Sobko discuss the latest in the Governor’s race.
NEW JERSEY – Jack Ciattarelli is again running for governor of New Jersey. This time, with the endorsement of President Donald Trump, he’s hoping he will flip the state back red.
Ciattarelli has routinely campaigned on rising prices in the state, from healthcare to housing and energy. He blames a lot of these problems on the current Gov. Phil Murphy‘s administration.
RELATED: NJ governor race: Mikie Sherrill’s stance on energy costs, housing and more
“When you look at this administration, for the last seven and a half years, it’s been a failure on housing, it’s been a failure on taxes, it’s been a failure when it comes to law enforcement, public education right on down the line,” Ciattarelli told FOX 5 NY in an interview in September. “Where’s the success?”
Here is how Ciattarelli thinks he can address some of these issues:
JUMP TO: TAXES | CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY | ENERGY COSTS | GOVERNMENT & ELECTION REFORM | HOUSING | HEALTH & CHILDCARE | ABORTION | OTHER
Both Ciattarelli and Sherrill have campaigned on lowering taxes. In Ciattarelli’s case, that means capping property taxes at a percentage of their assessed value, lowering the Corporation Business Tax by 1% per year for five years, consolidating tax brackets and making student loan interest tax-deductible.
Ciattarelli has repeatedly rejected claims that he would raise taxes.
MORE: NJ 2025 voting guide
Ciattarelli has been endorsed by several law enforcement groups, and his platform revolves heavily around “backing the blue.” His policies include protecting law enforcement records from being released, protecting qualified immunity and not requiring use of force reports in instances where guns aren’t fired. He also wants to bring back cost of living adjustments to police and fire pensions.
To help stop crime, Ciattarelli says he wants to change bail reform policies that he says “allow violent and repeat offenders to walk free” by installing conservative judges across the state.
Ciattarelli also plans to repeal the Immigrant Trust Directive, which limits how much information local law enforcement can share with immigration officials. Any communities who refuse to share information might have state funding withheld.
Jack Ciattarelli, Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey, speaks to members of the media after casting his ballot during early voting in Hillsborough, New Jersey, U.S., on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. (Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I’ve said all along, as governor we will not have sanctuary cities. We will not be a sanctuary state,” he said. “I think that encourages illegal immigration. And we’re not going to put the handcuffs on our local police in terms of the job they can do. [If] working in partnership with ICE is something a local police chief wants to do to keep their community safe, I think they should be allowed to do that.”
Ciattarelli is a Second Amendment advocate and says he plans to replace Attorney General Matt Platkin with one with more favorable views toward the Second Amendment. He plans to veto any bills that he feels violate it.
Electricity costs in New Jersey have gone up more than 50% between July 2020 and July 2025, according to Inside Climate News.
Ciattarelli blames rising energy costs on Murphy’s administration. He claimed that Murphy shut down six electricity generation plants in the state, but according to Politico, Murphy was only responsible for shutting down two coal plants. Ciattarelli also claims that Murphy’s administration “bet it all on wind” and wants to focus more on natural gas production.
“Here in New Jersey, we have an affordability crisis. Let’s be clear. Because we pay the highest taxes in the nation — individuals and business,” Ciattarelli said. “We have a crisis right now with electricity. Everyone’s talking about their monthly electric bill no matter where it is I go across the state.”
Ciattarelli’s platform includes restrictions on various clean energy initiatives. Currently, all cars and trucks in NJ will need to be zero-emission by 2035. Ciattarelli would end that mandate. He would also ban offshore wind farms and withdraw the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a partnership with nine other states in the region that sets caps on how much carbon dioxide fossil fuel power plants can buy.
Who won the debate between Ciattarelli, Sherrill?
Democratic nominee Mikie Sherrill and Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli went head-to-head on Wednesday night in their final debate before New Jerseyans decide which of them will serve as the state’s next governor. Political analyst Steve Adubato joined Good Day New York with reaction.
Ciattarelli wants to change several government policies and implement new ones. First, he wants to implement eight-year term limits for state lawmakers and require all state employees to be in person five days a week.
Just like with the federal government, he wants to create a Department of Government Efficiency that would eliminate waste in what he called a “bloated” state budget.
Ciattarelli also wants to create more requirements for voting, including requiring photo ID at the polls, and proof of citizenship in order to vote by mail. He would also change the deadline for mail-in voting. Currently, any ballot that’s postmarked on, or before, Election Day will be counted. Ciattarelli’s policy would only count ballots received by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
He also wants to make it easier for people to register to vote. Just like how you can register at the Motor Vehicle Commission, Ciattarelli wants you to be able to register to vote while buying a hunting, fishing or trapping license, or applying for a gun, business or construction permit.
He also has plans to create a Voter Fraud Task Force.
Ciattarelli says that New Jersey needs more affordable housing: “We just need to be really smart about where we put it.”
He’s calling for what he calls a “regional approach,” creating affordable housing in hub cities, in an effort to convince people to live there.
“We need people that want to live in places like Newark and Trenton and Atlantic City, so we see that magical small business economy take off with all the mom-and-pop shops, and those towns can then become self-sustaining,” Ciattarelli said.
Jack Ciattarelli, Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey, greets attendees after speaking during an election night event in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. (Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Like with most other facets of his platform, Ciattarelli’s healthcare focus is on lowering costs.
He wants to do that by using the Department of Banking and Insurance to “crack down” on insurance providers. He also plans to prevent health insurance companies from denying applicants with preexisting conditions and ensure specialists for these conditions will be covered. He also says he wants to make emergency care covered under insurance.
Ciattarelli also opposes a uniform vaccine schedule for everyone, saying he wants to respect religious and medical exemptions, and is in favor of parental choice for their kids.
RELATED: Jack Ciattarelli, Mikie Sherrill final debate in NJ governor race: Key takeaways
Ciattarelli “believes that with certain reasonable exceptions/restrictions agreed upon by the vast majority of Americans, this decision should be between a woman, her partner, her faith and her healthcare professionals.”
His plan would prohibit elective abortions after 20 weeks, create a parental notification system for when minors want an abortion and ensure taxpayer dollars don’t go toward abortion care.
He also opposes the Reproductive Freedom Act, which codifies the right to an abortion in the state constitution.
Here are some other policies that Ciattarelli supports:
- Putting the New Jersey Transit, Turnpike Authority and South Jersey Transportation Authority into one group
- Fighting against New York City’s congestion pricing
- Eliminating the requirement that National Guard members serve active duty in order to qualify for a tax deduction
- Increasing trade between New Jersey and Israel
The Source: Information in this story is from a FOX 5 NY interview with Jack Ciattarelli, Ciattarelli’s gubernatorial campaign website and previous FOX 5 NY reports.
New Jersey PoliticsPoliticsNew JerseyElection
