Jack Ciattarelli Draws Large Crowd In Nutley As Governor Race Heats Up

NUTLEY, NJ — “What a night in Nutley.” That was the reaction from New Jersey governor candidate Jack Ciattarelli as he reflected on this week’s town hall in Essex County.

On Monday night, the Republican nominee paid a visit to Mamma Vittoria Catering on Franklin Avenue in Nutley, meeting with a large crowd of eager supporters and answering their questions. Watch video footage from the campaign event here.

“The room was packed and the energy was through the roof,” the former state assemblyman said, adding that the county is “fired up” for the election, which is less than a month away.

According to a social media post from Ciattarelli, here are some of the topics he discussed at Monday’s town hall:

• “No sanctuary cities. No sanctuary state.”
• “A new school funding formula that lowers property taxes.”
• “A high-impact curriculum that gets back to teaching the basics.”
• “Reforming Chapter 78 to protect public workers’ pay.”
• “Making New Jersey more affordable — capping property taxes, making retirement income tax-free, lowering business taxes to bring jobs and opportunity back.”

“There’s a lot to fix — but together, we’re going to get New Jersey back on track,” Ciattarelli urged.

Some polls have shown Ciattarelli trailing his Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, by a single-digit margin. Another recent poll found Ciattarelli and Sherrill tied in a dead heat. Read More: Here's What NJ Governor Polls Predicted Last Election – And What They're Saying Now

Ciattarelli notched a landslide victory statewide during the primary election. In Essex County, the numbers were even more lopsided in the former state assemblyman’s favor, with Ciattarelli tallying 10,014 votes from Republicans – a whopping 77 percent of the GOP’s total ballots.

Ciattarelli made several stops in Essex County while he was on the campaign trail earlier this year, including visits to Belleville, Fairfield, Orange, Newark and West Orange.

• Read More: Jack Ciattarelli Stumps In Essex County As He Runs For Governor

PROTESTERS RALLY

The gubernatorial candidate’s appearance in Nutley also drew some critics, who rallied outside of the building ahead of Monday’s campaign event (see video footage here).

The demonstrators – who included union members with 1199SEIU and other community activists – carried signs that read: “Jack Defends Trump, Defunds Health Care” and “Save Medicaid.”

Ciattarelli got an endorsement from President Donald Trump during the primary election.

“Because of the MAGA-passed federal legislation, 390,000 New Jerseyans will lose the care they count on,” organizers said, referring to the “Big, Beautiful Bill” championed by the Trump administration.

“With prices going up on everything from food to rent, Ciattarelli’s plan would make life harder for working families already stretched to the limit,” organizers added.

Ciattarelli acknowledged the protest at Monday’s town hall, mentioning the demonstrators in a statement to the crowd.

“How disappointed are they going to be in 28 days?” he told attendees, getting a round of applause from his supporters.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.