Race to watch: What to know about Jack Ciattarelli, New Jersey’s Republican gubernatorial candidate

More than a century ago, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli’s grandparents came to New Jersey from Valentano, Italy. He mentions his family’s story often, including during his victory speech in June’s Republican primary.

“Here is where they provided for their family and started their own business,” he said. “My parents did the same, owning a restaurant-bar.”

Ciattarelli said he followed in his parents’ footsteps — building two businesses, including a medical publishing company, and raising his family in the Garden State. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA in finance from Seton Hall University. He also has been a certified public accountant.

Prior to becoming an assemblyman in 2012, he served on the Raritan Borough Council from 1990 to 1995 and was a Somerset County freeholder from 2007 to 2011. Ciattarelli lost his first attempt at being the Republican nominee for governor in 2017 to then-Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. He secured the nomination in 2021, then lost in the general election to incumbent Phil Murphy.

As he embarks on his second run as the GOP’s gubernatorial nominee — this time facing Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mikie Sherrill — Ciattarelli is once again connecting with voters by reminding them he was born, raised and educated in New Jersey.

“Let’s elect a Jersey guy that understands what people are up against every single day,” he told the crowd during his victory speech over the summer.

Though he received the endorsement of President Donald Trump during the primary and the Democratic Governors Association-backed Greater Garden State has called him “The Trump of Trenton,” Ciattarelli said he cares about policy, not political labels.

“I’ll talk to anybody with a good idea who cares about making New Jersey a better place,” he said.

Ciattarelli also said he has no aspirations for federal office.

“This is my last stop,” he said. “I’ve been asked to run for Congress, and the answer is no. I’ve been asked to run for Senate, and the answer’s no. I’m not writing a book after this. I’m a Jersey guy and all I want to do is fix this state.”

Several unions and organizations have endorsed Ciattarrelli, including the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, The Association of Former New Jersey State Troopers, The New Jersey State Retired Police and Firemen’s Association, Save the East Coast Inc., The New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, The Bricklayers and Allied Craftsworkers Locals 4 & 5, The Port Authority Police Lieutenants Benevolent Association, and the Port Authority Police Detectives Endowment Association.

In addition to Trump, Ciattarelli also has the endorsement of former Gov. Tom Kean Sr., a Republican. He also has the backing of several Democrats — Dover Mayor James Dodd, Garfield Mayor Everett Garnto, Branchville Mayor Anthony Frato and Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari.

Ciattarelli’s top priorities

Among Ciattarelli’s priorities is to improve affordability by lowering taxes and electricity bills for working families, seniors and small businesses.

He would cut and cap property taxes, tying it to a percentage of assessed home value, while freezing property taxes for all seniors after the age of 70. Ciattarrelli said the state’s ANCHOR program is not tax relief, but “a shell game.”

“I … fundamentally believe that the Trenton Democrats’ game of taking $10,000 out of your right-hand pocket and putting $1,000 back in your left-hand pocket and calling it a tax cut is neither honest, nor sustainable,” he said.

Ciattarelli has often said he would repeal the Immigrant Trust Directive, which limits the assistance that local and state law enforcement can provide to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, on the first day of his administration. He would also prohibit municipalities from declaring themselves sanctuary cities.

He also wants a regional approach to affordable housing, with a focus on driving population growth to transit hubs and urban centers, citing overdevelopment concerns.

Cittarelli said it should not be driven by mandated quotas on municipalities “regardless of whether there’s the infrastructure or jobs.”

Transit and toll roads would be under one roof

Ciattarelli is critical of the current administration’s handling of New Jersey Transit and Gov. Phil Murphy’s promise to fix the service eight years ago.

“It’s worse than ever,” Ciattarelli said. “Endless delays, track and equipment failures, and now permanent rate increases with no improvement in the product.”

Ciattarelli said he would create a new agency called the Garden State Transportation Authority that would also include the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and South Jersey Transportation Authority. It would be a single governing body appointed by the governor, with the transportation commissioner as the board’s chairman.

“We will finally put in place an efficient leadership structure that brings spending discipline and bottom-line results to NJT,” he said.

While he agrees that New Jersey Transit deserves a stable funding source, Ciattarelli does not believe it should be the corporate transit fee, which he called “absurd.”

“We already force our businesses to pay the highest taxes in America and we are driving jobs and investment out of the state daily,” he said.

Instead, Ciattarelli believes that funding for the transit agency should come through the state budget.

“Our state government needs priorities, and when I am governor, I will outline mine clearly — with reliable public transportation being an early focus of my administration,” he said.

Ciattarelli is also promising to work with the state’s congressional delegation to hold Amtrak accountable for its aging fleet of train cars and reliability issues.

Criminal justice support

Ciattarelli said “we have to take the handcuffs off our police” and address “loopholes” in the state’s bail reform law.

“I’ll appoint law-and-order state judges and county prosecutors, as well as revising the current bail reform law to toughen rules governing juvenile offenders,” he said.

Ciattarelli also promised to restore cost-of-living adjustments for police and fire pensions. He would also protect pensions “by mandating absolutely NO changes for current workers, retirees or future recruits, nor other compensation changes that would make a career in law enforcement less desirable.”

Fixing education

Ciattarelli said he would reform the school funding formula by setting a statewide standard on per-pupil spending, then allowing the money to follow the student.

He would also instruct the state Department of Education to “get off the backs of higher-performing districts while concentrating on under-performing districts.”

“I will coordinate the expansion of pre-K utilizing existing private day care providers, making sure the money aligns with parent choice and student needs,” Ciattarelli said. “I’ll implement a true Parents’ Bill of Rights that provides transparency to parents by requiring K-12 curriculum sources to be posted online at the beginning of each school year.”

Constitutional rights

When it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, Ciattarelli said he is “committed to respecting the rights of all New Jerseyans to love who they love.”

However, he is opposed to any school curriculum “that attempts to keep secrets from parents about their child’s gender identity in school.”

“Nor do I support forcing girls to compete against biological males in youth sports,” he said.

On abortion rights, Ciattarelli said he understands that any decision to terminate a pregnancy is “deeply personal.”

“As governor, I won’t pretend to know what is inside a woman’s heart or head,” he said. “I believe that with certain reasonable exceptions/restrictions agreed upon by the vast majority of Americans, this decision should be between a woman, her partner, her faith, and her health care professionals.”

Protecting the environment

Ciattarelli said we have a duty to protect the natural environment and that he would do so “without resorting to a top-down approach that treats local governments as underlings rather than partners.”

He has also promised to repeal or suspend Murphy administration policies that are “unrealistic and unaffordable.” This includes a mandate that would ban new gas-powered vehicles in the state by 2035.

“The state shouldn’t impose higher costs and expanded bureaucracy on its residents and businesses,” he said.

Ciattarelli was particularly critical of a proposal to change flood mitigation rules.

“The significant changes made to the [Protection Against Climate Threats Resilient Environments and Landscape rule] proposal following the initial public comments clearly show that it was not well thought out to begin with, and the revised proposal isn’t much better,” he said. “In this area, as in others, state policy must be based on real science, not political science.”

Ciattarelli: New Jersey budget process is a ‘travesty’

Citing the history of state budgets being reviewed and approved before a mandated deadline, Ciattarelli called the budgeting process “a travesty” that needs to change.

“I will aggressively use the line-item-veto pen to eliminate and prevent waste,” he said.