It's A New Day

Today was a very proud day for me as a person. I had an opportunity to have Commissioner Davy (Comm. of Education) come into Plainfield and meet with the students, parents, Dr. Gallon, and some board members to welcome the students back to school. The reason I am so proud is because I feel the City of Plainfield, as well as our education system, is moving in the right direction. To see the students in their new uniforms and the organization of the morning was something we all could be proud of. When you have to take a leadership role and try to help a state, a district, and a city move in the right direction, sometimes you will get support and sometimes you won’t. However, today was different; everyone showed support. This gave the students an opportunity to see how much everyone cares about their future and their education. I feel, as a community, we should take pride in our students and show them that we care about them by working with them and giving them an opportunity to get a good education.

On another note, I would like to respond to some of the blog comments in reference to Speaker Roberts announcing that he will not seek re-election in November. I would just like to share the relationship that I’ve had with him over the years. The Speaker was #1 in seniority in our caucus and I was #2. We have developed a great political relationship, one of mutual respect, trust, and loyalty (which is very important). He’s given me the opportunity to serve as Speaker Pro Temp as well as Chairman of Housing and Local Government and a person who he depended on. He also gave me an opportunity to share some of the concerns in the 22nd District and the City of Plainfield.

It was a great feeling to hear the Speaker tell everyone how important the years we have served together were. As I stated before, he has opened up doors and given me the opportunity to make people here in Plainfield, the people in my district, my family, and myself proud of the things that I have accomplished. As a Legislator, there’s never been a time where I’ve gone to the Speaker on behalf of the City of Plainfield and/or my district and he’s said “no”. I will forever be grateful to Speaker Roberts and will always respect him as a person.
I feel I have gained the respect of not only the Democrats, but also the Republican Assembly members here in New Jersey. In fact, in the last session when Speaker Sires broke his foot, both caucuses agreed that I would be speaker until he was back in good health. That was the highlight of my career because it showed me not only that the other members respected my ability but also felt that I was a person who could do the job. Therefore, yes, I have been approached about being the Speaker but at this particular time I want to concentrate on getting Corzine re-elected as Governor and Linda Stender and myself re-elected for the Assembly of the 22nd District. I would prefer to spend my time working towards victory in November. I’m looking forward to dealing with this particular issue after the election.