5 Questions With Your 11th District Candidates, Webber & Sherrill
New Jersey’s 11th District Congressional race in the November general election features Jay Webber, the Republican who currently serves in the New Jersey State Assembly, and Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat who is a Navy veteran and former federal prosecutor.
The two are vying for the seat being vacated by longtime Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen, who has represented the district for 23 years. The district is centered on Morris County, and includes several towns in Essex, Passaic and Sussex Counties (a full list is included at the end of the article). Although traditionally considered a solidly Republican area, the Cook Political Report is now considering the race to “lean Democratic.”
Patch caught up with both Webber and Sherrill, and we asked them the same five questions. Here are their answers:
Why do you want to be a congressperson representing NJ’s 11th district?
Webber: I’m running for Congress because I love this county and the opportunities it has afforded my family. I want to be a leader in the movement to accelerate our economy’s progress and provide even more and greater opportunities for all Americans. I have experience leading the pro-growth movement in New Jersey, fighting to reduce the sales tax, eliminate the inheritance and estate taxes, and reduce gross income taxes by ten percent. I’ll do the same in Washington.
Sherrill: I am a former Navy helicopter pilot, former federal prosecutor, and a mom of four. I have spent my entire life serving our country. I’m running for Congress in the 11th District because we need new leadership that will put serving the people of New Jersey ahead of partisan politics. Over the last year, I’ve gone around our community and over and over I hear from residents concerned about their quality of life. Our neighbors are asking with how they will afford their homes or rising health care costs. Parents worry about the world that our children will inherit.
As a mom, I want to build a bright future for all of our children and make sure that New Jersey is the state they want to call home when they decide where to raise their own families. Our leaders in Congress refuse to address these concerns. From a tax bill that hits New Jersey harder than any other state, to the attempt to strip health care, to the lack of a serious infrastructure plan, I don’t see proposals that help New Jersey families.
Our communities deserve a representative who will listen and make the tough decisions to improve our quality of life. In the Navy, I worked alongside people from all across America, from rural Alabama to cities like Detroit. We learned to put our mission first, and get our job done. And my mission now is to bring that experience to Congress, and work to end the partisan politics that keeps our leaders from meeting the needs of the people they are supposed to serve.
What are the three top issues you intend to fight hard for in Washington D.C. if elected?
Webber: 1. Acting as an agent of progress rather than partisanship. I will work with leaders in both parties to do what is best for this district.
2. Improving our economy and creating good jobs for American and North Jersey workers.
3. Securing our borders and pushing for bipartisan immigration reform that values merit and skills and solves once and for all the problem of the so-called “Dreamers.”
Sherrill: My top priorities are tax relief for middle-class families in New Jersey, fighting for quality and affordable health care for every American, and growing New Jersey’s economy.New Jersey residents deserve meaningful tax relief. The federal tax plan is extremely harmful to our district and to our families. In a district where the average state and local tax deduction (SALT) is over $20,000, the cap on the SALT deduction is a burden for our families. The tax bill also hurts our home values — in Morris County, by 8.6 percent. In Congress, I will work towards real tax relief that invests in our middle-class, simplifies the tax code, and restores the state and local tax deduction.
Every American deserves access quality and affordable healthcare. We need to stabilize the healthcare marketplace, keep protections for pre-existing conditions and the ten essential health benefits, and allow children to stay on their parents’ insurance until they turn 26. I would like to see Medicare negotiate for drug prices, and our leaders should look at finding a fiscally responsible way to allow those Americans older than 55 to buy into Medicare.
We also need to grow New Jersey’s economy and create the jobs of today and tomorrow. This includes investing in our infrastructure, but Congress hasn’t produced a bill to address our crumbling rails, bridges, and roads. Congress’ refusal to fund the Gateway Project is not only a major setback to our region, but a threat to the national economy. If the current Hudson River tunnel fails, that’s $100 million in lost revenue per day. I want to see both parties come together and support infrastructure spending that I know has bipartisan support here in New Jersey.
What experience in your background has prepared you to be an effective leader?
Webber: A good leader builds on all of his or her life experiences to serve others. First and foremost, I am a husband, father of seven, and the only son to an elderly father. I am a small businessman, making payroll and creating jobs with flexible hours for my working-mother colleagues. In all of those areas, I see that compromise, sacrifice, and cooperation are essential, and so I’ve taken those experiences and served in the State Assembly, working to find bipartisan agreement on issues critical to New Jersey. That’s why I could successfully author the landmark law to stop sexual predators from getting jobs in our public schools, and a bill to increase funding and support for battered women shelters, both of which earned unanimous support and became law.
Sherrill: As a Helicopter Aircraft Commander in the U.S. Navy, I never asked if someone was a Republican or a Democrat before they boarded. I knew that we were all Americans and we were on the same mission. Right now, too many politicians don’t have that attitude, and refuse to work together to improve the lives of our neighbors. That’s why it is so important to send leaders to Congress who want to work together in the best interest of the people they want to serve, not a political party or ideological agenda. Americans are ready for leaders in Congress who can bring the can-do attitude that you learn in the U.S. Navy.
What three words would you use to describe yourself to someone who has never met you?
Webber: Family. Compassionate. Principled.
Sherrill: Determined, Principled, Mom
How you would describe the current political climate in our country right now? And if you view in a negative light, what steps would you take towards improvement?
Webber: America needs leaders in Washington that will be more than a rubber stamp for the political bosses in their parties. I am an independent leader, happy to work with anyone of any party when I agree with them, and not afraid to stand up to someone when I don’t. I have a long record of doing that in the Assembly, and I will work with both Republicans and Democrats in Congress to do what it best for New Jersey and the United States.
Sherrill: Regardless of whether I am in Morristown, or Sparta, Little Falls, or West Caldwell, I meet residents who are tired of partisan bickering. The positions politicians stake out on the left and the right prevent us from moving forward as a country. It keeps us focusing on the proposals that are going to help New Jersey’s economy and make sure our children grow up in a state that sets them up for success. I am committed to bipartisanship, and believe we must do more to reach across to members of the other party to find common ground. Most Americans do not define themselves by their party affiliation, and that should be the same for our leaders in Congress. The priority should be service to our community and our country.
Here are the towns in New Jersey’s 11th congressional district:
Morris County: Boonton Town, Boonton Township, Butler, Chatham Borough, Chatham Township, Denville, East Hanover, Florham Park, Hanover, Harding, Jefferson, Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Madison, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Montville, Morris Plains, Morris Township, Morristown Town, Mountain Lakes, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Pequannock, Randolph, Riverdale, Rockaway Borough, Rockaway Township and Victory Gardens
Essex County: Bloomfield (split with 10th), Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Livingston, Montclair (split with 10th), North Caldwell, Nutley, Roseland, Verona, West Caldwell, West Orange (split with 10th)
Passaic County: Bloomingdale, Little Falls, North Haledon, Pompton Lakes, Totowa, Wanaque, Wayne and Woodland Park
Sussex County: Byram, Hopatcong, Ogdensburg, Sparta and Stanhope
Images via the campaigns
