NJ election results are warning to GOP, says Dem leader

A few Republican election losses are giving Democrats their biggest majority in the New Jersey Assembly since 1979. And  legislative leader says that could mean changes under the State House dome.

Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, D-Camden, said winning more seats means Democrats have a better chance of overriding Gov. Chris Christie’s vetoes. That’s proved nearly impossible.

“I believe people will stand up and really truly vote their district,” he said Wednesday. “If you’re there and you’re voting the will of the governor, you’re going to end up in the same fate that many of the Republican legislators ended up in.”

One of the Democrats’ goals is finding the means to pay for road and bridge repairs, he said. Another is fulfilling a commitment on pension reform by increasing state payments into the system for public workers.

“It would help solve a debt crisis in the state if we fulfilled our obligation to fund the pension,” Greenwald said. “It would increase our bond rating and allow us to grow our economy.”

Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, who said Republicans are willing to work with the Democrats on transportation funding, said his main priority is reducing taxes.

“My priority is to make sure people stop leaving this state and making the state more affordable. That’s my caucus’s main priority,” said Bramnick, R-Union. “We’ll do what we can to bring that to the floor of the Legislature.”