2017 in focus, Beck joins Doherty opposing gas tax hike

Jennifer Beck

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Are they finally getting the message?

Jennifer Beck
Jennifer Beck

On Monday, Senate Republicans Jennifer Beck (R-11) and Michael Doherty (R-23) will hold a press conference at the New Jersey State House to formally strike out again a gas tax hike, one which would likely form the cornerstone of any transportation trust fund replenishment compromise, a position which stands in contrast to the suggestions of some Republicans and many Democrats that a trade off (e.g. eliminating the estate tax to “offset” a gas tax hike).

The pairing is significant. Odd couple? Sort of.

The mountain man Doherty is from the party’s anti-establishment wing, having been a Lonegan ally in the past, endorsing Ron Paul in 2012 before backing Donald Trump in 2016. He’s also been loudly criticizing the NJ GOP failing to run against a gas tax hike in 2017, an election which saw the party lose four Assembly seats. No surprises there.

Beck, on the other hand, is a Monmouth County politician from the party’s more centrist wing, one who has remained a loyal Christie ally over the past couple of years. That’s not to say she wouldn’t oppose it anyway, Save Jerseyans, but Beck just lost both of her running mates (Assemblywomen Caroline Casagrande and Mary Pat Angelini) in a General Majority PAC last-minute attack making Beck one of the 2017’s most likely state senate targets on the Democrats’ political hit list. She’ll be vulnerable, too, if Republicans sit home as it looks like happened in November with turnout as low as 13% in GOP strongholds like Colts Neck in Beck’s district.

The path forward is clear. Beck and Doherty’s release ahead of today’s presser talks about not just “their opposition to any gas tax increase” but also “alternatives” to a hike. Get started reading here and here.

Poll after poll show large majorities of New Jerseyans opposed to a gas tax hike. Poll after poll at the national level also show widespread intolerance among American voters for the status quo. As Trenton’s elites attempt to unveil a “compromise,” one which I doubt addresses root causes of the transportation crisis like New Jersey’s highest-in-the-nation road maintenance costs, why in God’s name WOULDN’T Republicans run against more hikes which represent the status quo in 2017?

Stay tuned.

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Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8404 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

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