GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES — LEADING THE CHARGE
PHIL MURPHY
JACK CIATTARELLI
New Jersey CPA asked New Jersey’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli and incumbent Governor Phil Murphy to weigh in on specific challenges facing the Garden State, how to improve its economic well-being and what priorities should be the main focus if elected or re-elected. economic growth and create jobs. Most urgently, it requires an extensive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that has upended our state, economy and livelihoods. We can’t go back to a system that benefited only the wealthy and well-connected. We must continue building opportunities for all New Jerseyans, including those who have historically been left behind. That’s exactly what we’ve said we would do from day one, and we will continue to lead as we always have — by moving New Jersey forward.
What big challenges do you think New Jersey will face over the next four years and how would you lead the state to get through them?
Governor Murphy: Our state has faced significant fiscal challenges over the last few decades. Yet over the past three-plus years, we were able to accomplish so much — including raising the minimum wage, ensuring equal pay for equal work, and making the first full pension payment in 25 years, thereby meeting our obligations to thousands of New Jersey families and saving the state billions of dollars. Today, we are proud to say our population has
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FALL 2021 | NEW JERSEY CPA
grown to 9.3 million and that New Jersey is the best state in the country to raise a family. We recognize there is still more work to be done. The challenges we’ve faced, particularly over the past year, have laid bare longstanding disparities that require a strong, equitable agenda to move our state forward. This agenda includes building a stronger economic future for all New Jerseyans through investments in infrastructure, small businesses and higher education. It requires continued efforts to incubate and build new industries, like our clean energy economy, to stimulate
Jack Ciattarelli: New Jersey is in an economic death spiral. We lag the nation in job growth, wage growth and fiscal health. Making matters worse are significant structural state budget deficits and billions in unfunded liabilities specific to public worker retirement benefits (i.e., pension and health). New Jersey must become more economically dynamic and regionally competitive. We must grow our economy. To address these challenges . . . After Governor’s Murphy’s prolonged and unscientific shutdown, we must get New Jersey’s small business/Main Street economy back up and running and thriving. We must also ensure that New Jersey’s infrastructure is safe, reliable and able to support, in every way, a growing state economy. And we
