Mahwah Finance Veteran Announces Campaign For 5th District Seat

MAHWAH, NJ — Frank Pallotta wants to give back.

Pallotta, a Republican, filed paperwork Monday to run against Rep. Josh Gottheimer to represent New Jersey's 5th Congressional District.

Pallotta is the second of five children. He was raised in Queens, by his parents, a nurse and a bridge and tunnel officer. He has never held elected office. He briefly ran for mayor of Mahwah during a special election last year, but quickly withdrew from the race.

"I have been incredibly blessed in my life and in my career. I grew up in a loving and hard-working middle class family where I watched my mother and father, like most parents in this country, work hard and sacrifice everything to provide a better life for their children," Pallotta said in a statement to Patch Tuesday. "I also remember hearing how my grandparents; who came here from Europe with little more than the clothes on their back, did very much the same thing. Yet they still made certain that I understood the value of a hard day’s work and the responsibility we all have to help others."

Pallotta is a veteran of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. He has lived in Mahwah since 1989 with his wife, Patty and their two sons. He retired in 2008 and co-founded a New Jersey based small business to help homeowners and veterans who were affected by the mortgage crisis in the late 2000s.

"I've mentored and helped thousands of students, co-workers, veterans, and colleagues in my career and continue to do so today," Pallotta said. "The desire and obligation to give back to a county, a state and a district, that has given me and my family so much, is one of the primary forces behind my decision to run. Paying it forward is the most effective and charitable form of currency there is, and I plan to do just that in Washington."

The 5th District includes parts of Bergen, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren counties. Most of the district's 647,000 residents, 75 percent, live in Bergen County.

Gottheimer, a Democrat, was first elected in 2016 when he defeated then-longtime incumbent Scott Garrett. He beat Republican John McCann, a powerful lawyer from Oakland, for re-election in 2018. (See related: Gottheimer Declared Winner In Close 5th District Race)

"Gottheimer had his chance and failed," Pallotta said.

Gottheimer has long touted his work of reaching across the political aisle to work with Republicans and independents. He is co-chair of the Congressional Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of 48 congressional representatives who work together to come to a consensus on issues.

"Josh is focused on fighting for our families and getting things done for the 5th District," said Gottheimer spokesperson Andrew Edelson. "In Congress, Josh is working across the aisle to lower taxes, claw back more of our tax dollars, lower healthcare costs, protect our environment, stand up for seniors, veterans and first responders and protect our national security. That is the approach Josh has always taken and why, with support from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, he was re-elected by a historic margin six months ago."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com