Immigration, Healthcare, Energy Costs: Q&A With NJ Gubernatorial Candidate Jack Ciattarelli

Two months before Election Day, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli sat down with Patch for a wide-ranging Q&A of several issues facing the state and his plans to address them if elected to office.

See Patch’s questions and Ciattarelli’s unedited answers below:

Q: What steps are you taking to appeal to the state’s independent voters?

A: "I’m going out and talking each and every day about the issues that are raging all across the state. We’ve got an affordability crisis that’s only been made worse by the lack of electricity. Everyone sees that in their monthly electricity bills, which are skyrocketing.

We’ve got a public safety crisis, with the rise in non-violent crime. We see that with all the break-ins, the car thefts, and the flash mobs in the malls and along the Jersey Shore.

We’ve got a public education crisis. New Jersey has recently slipped from two to 12 on the national report card, and we have not recovered from all the learning loss post-pandemic.

And in our more rural communities, we've got an overdevelopment crisis. We really need to decide how best to build affordable housing in the state. But the way we're currently doing it is definitely wrong."

Q: What are you doing differently during this campaign compared to your gubernatorial run in 2021?

A: "The issues are the same. They were percolating in 2021, and this time around, they've come to a complete boil. What's different is I don't have to contend with a pandemic. In 2021, it wasn’t easy campaigning for governor during a shelter-in-place order.

What’s also different this time is there's a lot less indifference. Because of the closeness of my race in ‘21 and how well President Trump ran in New Jersey last year, people now realize this is really not a deep blue state.

In fact, when it comes to gubernatorial elections, it's really a purple state with a tint of red. After all, Republicans have won six of the last 11 governor races here in New Jersey."

Q: If elected, what are some of the first things you intend to do in office?

A: "What we'll do on day one is issue a number of executive orders that address some of the challenges we face here in New Jersey. Executive Order Number One will be to eliminate the Immigrant Trust Directive. So no town in our state will be a sanctuary city, and we will not be a sanctuary state. That only encourages illegal immigration and makes the job of law enforcement harder.

Also on day one, I'll bring back to work our state workers. They've been working from home post-pandemic, and it's very, very hard for our citizens to get somebody on the phone and/or get their issues resolved.

On day one, I'll call for resignation of all those that sit on the State Board of Education. We need a state board that's going to work in partnership with me to get our public school curriculum back on track and focusing on critical life skills like reading, writing, and math, and providing vocational training opportunities for students who don't want or need to go to college.

Also on day one, we'll get a new energy master plan. That means we'll be eliminating the electric vehicle mandate. We won't be telling people how to heat their home or what appliances they have to buy, nor will we have wind farms off the Jersey Shore. We'll get back to using natural gas, which is a very rational bridge to the future, to generate electricity.

We'll also expand our nuclear footprint in South Jersey. In so doing, the goal is to once again become an electricity exporter, not an importer as we currently are because of Phil Murphy's failed policies."

Q: You’ve tapped Morris County Sheriff James Gannon as your running mate. What does he bring to your campaign, and what will he provide as Lt. Governor?

A: "Public safety is one of the top issues in this race, and in picking Sheriff Gannon, we made a very bold statement that we are going to get back to providing our law enforcement community with the political support that they need to do their job.

Sheriff Gannon is a decorated local law enforcement officer of 40-plus years, and he's a very successful elected official who transcends partisan politics. Evidence of that is the Democrats were not even running anybody against him in the Sheriff's race."

Q: With affordability being a major concern among NJ residents, what is your plan to reduce healthcare costs across the state?

"We certainly need more competition in New Jersey. Too many insurance companies have left the state because it's not business-friendly. By having more companies compete, that should drive down prices for consumers.

For those individuals who pay for health insurance, I want to allow them to deduct that on their New Jersey tax returns. I also don't believe anyone who has a medical debt should ever be reported to a credit agency. No one's credit rating should be ruined because of medical debts."

Q: In light of the tragedy in Minneapolis this week, and many before it, are there any changes you’d make to New Jersey’s already stringent gun laws, as mental health support systems are being cut?

A: "What we really need is more access to more high-quality mental health services. When I was a Somerset County Commissioner, we were the first county to open up a 24-7 mental health services clinic because we saw how difficult it was for people to get the help they need.

We want people to seek help before they get to a crisis. Throughout the state, I want our state government to work in partnership with our 21 counties to create mental health service clinics, as well as homeless shelters and transitional housing. Homelessness is also a public health and safety issue."

Q: You and your opponent, Mikie Sherrill, have had some disagreements, to say the least. What’s an example of something you believe the two of you agree on?

A: "Nothing comes to mind. All I will say is what we really need is a governor who's from New Jersey and understands New Jersey.

Very much like John Corzine, who came here from Illinois, and Phil Murphy, who came here from Massachusetts, Mikie Sherrill's not from New Jersey. I think she's shown a real lack of understanding with her performance so far in this gubernatorial race, a real lack of understanding of New Jersey issues in this governor's race."

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Election Day is Nov. 4.