New Jersey Assembly Republicans

Last week we lost a leader and a friend who set a model for all of us to follow. Today, we as members of the 215th Legislature must look forward, yet never forget the legacy of a kind, honest, and dedicated leader of New Jersey, the Honorable Alex DeCroce.

I would like to offer a “thank you” to Speaker Oliver for her compassion and sensitivity over the course of the last week as we dealt with Alex’s passing.

I am grateful to my fellow members of the Republican caucus for their support, and I will try my best to honor the memory of our former leader.

Congratulations to Speaker Oliver, Majority Leader Greenwald, Conference Leader Rible, and our newest members of the General Assembly.

Today, in a media driven world where cable news shows close their minds to the views of others, we need to open ours. Television pundits do not have to govern, we do.

During the past two years, our Republican governor Chris Christie and the democratic legislature worked together to enact historic reforms. But that progress cannot stop now.

Let’s show New Jersey and the entire world that governments can reverse course when past policies have simply failed.

Instead of Republicans and Democrats exchanging press releases, let’s exchange phone numbers.

Let us replace sarcasm with realism and partisanship with statesmanship.

Let’s end the personal rhetoric and debate the issues straight up. As Detective Joe Friday said in the old TV show Dragnet, “just the facts maam.”

Please do not be misled by my call for bipartisanship as some unilateral disarmament of Republican principles. Actually, the war of ideas should escalate and the shallow rhetoric be discarded.

Let’s make New Jersey synonymous with opportunity- opportunity for small businesses, opportunity for all our students in all our schools, opportunity for working families to have and keep good-paying jobs.

Governor Christie has inspired New Jerseyans and Americans to talk honestly and directly about the challenges facing our government. We must join our governor and engage in that difficult discussion each and every time we meet as a legislature. As Governor Christie has said, let’s do the big things.

So as a proud graduate of Plainfield High School, I accept the responsibilities of the Republican Leader and am very fortunate to be married to a woman who is as pure as the human condition can be, Patricia Brentano Bramnick. You can be assured that there is a watchdog for good government and integrity living in my home.