SOMERVILLE, NJ – The LD16 GOP Assembly slate seized on a new Fitch Ratings report out this wekk which showed New Jersey hasn’t recovered 50% of the jobs it lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.
State Senate canddiate Mike Pappas and his Assembly running mates Vinny Panico and Joe Lukac say their opponents’ policies compound the problem.
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“Assemblymen Zwicker, Freiman and Mayor Jaffer are politicians that are part of the problem. They dumped 100% of the pain of the pandemic on the shoulders of the private sector and in particular small business,” the challengers complained in a joint Friday statement. “Now, their tax, spend and borrow first, ask questions later mentality is compounding the problem and stymieing recovery. We need elected leaders that will advocate for small business and foster and nurture their needs in this critical time. We are running because we have the experience and commitment to make that happen.”
The report relied upon U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
A separate analysis found 1/3rd of New Jersey small businesses expired in 2020.
Mike Pappas is a former member of Congress; Vinny Panico is a millennial businessman and leads the Hunterdon Central Board of Education while Joe Lukac is a IBEW Local 102 member and Manville Councilman.
LD16 is Jack Ciattarelli’s former district. The retirement of incumbent liberal Republican Senator Kip Bateman (R-Somerset Co.) has set off a fierce contest in the suburban Central Jersey district where Democrats hope to net a senate seat and Republicans desperately want to regain a foothold.
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