GOP candidates in District 30 Now Vying for Point Boro Votes

When it was announced earlier this year that the boundaries for the local legislative districts would have a direct impact on their constituencies, State Senators Robert Singer and Sean Kean found themselves in an unusual position. 

Having represented their respective districts over the past years, they now found themselves under the umbrella of the newly drawn 30th district.

Point Borough, formerly in the 10th district, is now in the 30th district. Point Beach is still in District 10.

Singer, a Lakewood resident, said that while that could have presented a problem for other members of the senate, that was not the case for them.

"It might have been more of a problem if it weren't for the fact that we're such good friends," Singer said. 

After some discussion, it was decided that in this year's election, Singer would run to hold his seat in the senate while Kean and 11th District Assemblyman Dave Rible, both Wall residents, would run for the two seats in the assembly.

"We have a job to do and that job is to do the right thing for the people of the state and to help our constituencies in our towns," Singer said. 

Having been elected to the senate four years ago after serving in the assembly, Kean said he is looking forward to working again with former colleagues and new ones alike if elected.

"For me it just creates challenges and opportunities to have the new district and meet new people," he said.

"I still have a lot of friends down in the assembly, people that I served with and people that came on after I got into the senate," Kean said. "I'm excited to go back to the assembly and see what kinds of things we can do to make things better in the assembly."

All three agreed that the more consolidated districts will help them represent the people they represent more effectively.

"I think it's a unique situation when you're representing 25 towns and now you're representing 12," said Rible. "There's a new dynamic with Howell and Lakewood, but I think there's still one common denominator, which is jobs."

For Singer, a win in Tuesday's election would push him over the 20-year mark for service in the senate while Kean served four years in the upper house.

Looking at their record, Kean said they have shown they are working to help the residents, despite assertions they have been there in a time when the state government is "."

Kean said he believes they have been working to fix a system despite being in the minority of both houses.

"They were saying the problem is we need to control spending and we need to control taxes, but we need more teachers and more cops and people, residents, taxpayers don't get enough government services," he said. "They want it both ways and it's absurd. We've been down there. We've had the opportunity to build up a record and show that we've made the tough decisions." 

Singer said those tough decisions, impacting groups like teachers and law enforcement and pension reform have not been easy ones.

"No one on our team ever thought anything but the highest regard for teachers and police and firefighters," he said. "They do a fabulous job and they're an important part of our life, but we had to fix something that's broken."

He added that while the decisions they made may be regarded in a negative way now, they were done with the future in mind.

"This is about saving for the future. The strange feeling is the state can go bankrupt and you're still going to to get your pension. It's not going to happen," Singer said. 

Being in the minority and even with a strong Republican governor like Chris Christie in office, Singer said they have still stood up to the tough issues.

"Sean's been active in a lot of the key areas," he said. "He's not afraid to take on anybody and he's taken on the governor sometimes. Those are the people we need there and I think we've proven, even in the minority, we can make a difference."

For Kean, he said one of the reasons the Republicans have been so effective despite being in the minority is causing "chaos" in the Democratic caucus.

"They're fractured, they're infighting and this is all because the Republicans held together," he said. 

Having been in Trenton for as long as they have, all three said they believe they have the relationships needed to work with members on both sides of the aisle.

"We've built those relationships so we get bills up in committee. We get bills heard and that's part of it," Singer said. "I think in a lot of areas we really work on the same thing. With the economy you look at the legislation putting people back to work and creating incentives and we're all marching to the same tune."

Kean said it is that bipartisan cooperation that he believes has helped them get as much work done as they have.

"When you have a voting session in Trenton, whether it's 50 or 60 bills up, probably 99 percent of them are passed with bipartisan support," he said. "The story is about the bill of the day. They're one or two bills and often times they're big issues, but those are the issues that get a lot of attention. You forget that 99 percent of the bills are bipartisanly sponsored and supported."

With the new district will come new responsibilities to towns the three men have not represented before, but Singer said their jobs go beyond the 30th district.

"The second priority is also the well being of the state. We can't just be this individual which says if it doesn't benefit Monmouth or Ocean County I'm not onboard. We have to look for the greater good of the state also. That's part of the balancing act."

That includes, they said, helping with initiatives like making the state more friendly to businesses to not only keep them here, but bring them here from neighboring states.

By doing that there will be more money put into the state's economy and more jobs created for residents who have struggled through the recent tough economic times.

"In the short term, what we have to do is you have to lure companies here," Rible said. "They're going to hire local people. I think that's going to be one of our goals."

Election day is Tueday at polling places all across the state. Not sure which district you are in since the maps were re-drawn? Check out this .