By Allison Perrine
MONMOUTH COUNTY – The Primary Elections are set for July 7 this year, and many candidates are vying for seats at local, county and federal levels. But who are they and where do they stand on the issues?
In the Two River area, three Democrats – incumbent Frank Pallone Jr., Russell “Russ” Cirincione and Amani Al-Khatahtbeh – are vying for one U.S. House of Representatives seat in the 6th Congressional District. There is no Republican candidate for the seat. The district spans parts of Middletown, Atlantic Highlands, Highlands, Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach, among other municipalities.
The Two River Times reached out to all three candidates to learn more about their backgrounds, goals and policies. Multiple attempts to reach Al-Khatahtbeh went unanswered. Information provided about this candidate was available from her social media and campaign website.
Here’s what the candidates had to say.
Russell “Russ” Cirincone
This is the first time Cirincione, 33, has run for office. He has been a government attorney in New York for five years. There he became familiar with the legislative process and has even drafted some legislation and laws supporting senior citizens and fixed-income residents who live in manufactured home parks, which are built under a federal building code administered by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, he said. But now he hopes to take his helping hand a step further to the federal level.
As the father who fervently opposed the NESE pipeline proposal, Cirincione told The Two River Times that one of his top priorities is to address climate change so that he can protect the environment his son will be living in for years to come. And there’s no time to waste, he said. That means standing up to players in the fossil fuel industry and turning to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, he said.
“For far too long, the 99 percent has been neglected by our government. The status quo has focused on maintaining corporate profits, but not the people. We face several crises as a nation, and we need people standing up and fighting for justice and for our causes,” said Cirincione. “We can’t wait for climate justice.”
Additionally, as someone who commutes from Old Bridge three-and-a-half hours round-trip to and from New York each day, Cirincione hopes to address the “broken” transit system in New Jersey. That means making trains more reliable, increasing the number of buses and reducing fares, he said.
“New Jersey needs fast and cheap commuting options, like new high-speed rails, electric buses and better infrastructure,” he said. “We also need local jobs, so that most of us don’t have to spend so much time commuting to work every morning. That’s why I’m fighting for investing in America first, in new jobs, new transportation and new energy, with the Green New Deal.
“We’ve faced so many crises at this point in time as a country that we don’t have time for the incremental change. We don’t have time for nibbling around the edges,” he said. “We have to actually do the work for the American people.”
Frank Pallone Jr.
Incumbent Pallone, 68, has won 16 full terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and first took the seat to the 6th District in November 1992. He was born and raised in Long Branch and still resides there. Before his time as a congressman, Pallone was a member of the city council in Long Branch in 1982 and won reelection four years later. In 1983, he was also elected to the state Senate and was reelected in 1987.
Currently, Pallone is the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which handles legislation on energy, health care, commerce, telecommunications and more. Should he win reelection, he hopes to continue the work he is doing now, such as the CLEAN Future Act which combats climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas, he said. The committee is also working on reducing the cost of prescription drugs and premiums, expanding Medicare for dental, vision and hearing, as well as a major infrastructure bill to increase funding for safe drinking water, electric vehicle infrastructure and more.
“There’s a lot to be done and because I’m in the position as chairman of the committee, there’s a lot that I can do for the state and help people whether it’s to make their health care more affordable or try to reduce greenhouse gases or try to reduce prescription drug prices,” said Pallone on his decision to run for reelection.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pallone and his committee passed legislation to get additional medical supplies, testing and contact tracing to combat the spread of the virus. The House also recently passed the Heroes Act, which builds on free testing and provides free treatment drugs as vaccines with no copays, he said.
Currently, he and the committee are working to expand broadband connections for all who do not have it so that everyone has connection to the internet. He noted that during the pandemic some students have had a hard time connecting to the internet remotely and that’s something he would like to change, he said.
Amani Al-Katahtbeh
This is 28-year-old Al-knatahtbeh’s first time running for office, according to her website. She was born and raised in New Jersey to immigrant parents and is the founder of MuslimGirl.com, an online platform for Muslim women in Western society. The blog became the first Muslim company on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, “making her the first veiled Muslim woman to be listed in media,” the website states.
When she was 25, Al-Knatahtbeh was named one of the 25 Most Influential American Muslims by CNN. She is the author of “Muslim Girl: A Coming of Age,” which was selected as an editor’s pick by The New York Times. She has since spoken alongside former president Bill Clinton, Gloria Steinem, Shonda Rhimes and others, according to the site. She has created an award-winning #AskAMuslimGirl web series with Teen Vogue and has starred in the “Secret Life of Muslims,” which was nominated for an Emmy.
Her “progressive platform” is one supporting the Green New Deal to combat climate change, Medicare for All, Education for All and equal wages, according to the site.
The article originally appeared in the June 25 – July 1, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
