What we are fighting for...

Representation

Legislative District 37 covers the municipalities of Bogota, Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, Hackensack, Leonia, Palisades Park, Ridgefield Park, Teaneck, and Tenafly.  Each community within this diverse group of municipalities has its unique challenges. Having grown up in the district, Dan and Tamar have deep roots here and are familiar with these challenges. They also know that currently, far too many residents don’t even know who to call if they need help. They do not know who represents them in Trenton and do not know how to navigate the system to find the help they need.

We deserve legislators who will make themselves accessible, and who will work hard in Trenton to advocate on behalf of all communities throughout the district to find solutions to the many challenges that residents face. Dan and Tamar are committed to helping all residents navigate state-related issues, and to take residents’ concerns and ideas to Trenton so that we can build a stronger, more affordable, and safer New Jersey for all. 

Perhaps the number one issue for New Jersey families today is affordability. Dan and Tamar are committed to using their experience to bring new ideas to Trenton to help municipalities keep their property taxes stable, so that families who live here today can thrive here tomorrow. We will achieve this by helping our district’s communities find sustainable solutions that provide long term tax relief, including but not limited to:

  • Working with local community leaders and the NJ Department of Community Affairs to promote shared services to create efficiencies and local tax savings.

  • Working with our State and County partners to promote technology improvements to assist local governments in better serving their residents.

  • Ensuring legislation strikes a balance between our moral obligation to provide affordable housing and providing municipalities the ability to address their unique needs.

Affordability

Education

We are committed to bolstering public education by investing in our public schools and teachers. We believe in public education’s foundational principle that it is our responsibility as a society to ensure that every child, regardless of background or socioeconomic status, gets the best possible education. We also believe that public schools are an excellent investment that delivers strong returns to the districts that invest in them, not only in the form of educated children but also in the form of lower crime, higher incomes, and higher property values.  We are committed to maximizing budgetary dollars allotted to our district’s public schools and to partnering with district parents, administrators, and other public school stakeholders to ensure that they have the support they need to educate the next generation.


We are committed to making non-public school options more affordable for those who utilize them. One size does not fit all in education, and many families in this district choose to educate their children outside of public schools, including for religious reasons, often at a crushing financial cost.  These families deserve our district’s support, and we are committed to working with stakeholders in both the public and private school communities to align interests and forge partnerships, especially with respect to STEAM, that deliver meaningful cost savings for private school families without hurting public education.

Transportation

Many of District 37’s residents rely on public transportation to commute to and from their jobs, and need no description of its shortcomings which have persisted for far too long. District 37 was once a leader in fighting for improvements to public transportation, but that has slipped in recent years. We are committed to leading the fight to improve public transportation and to finding new and innovative solutions to make it efficient and safe for all.  

Specifically:

  • We will fight to make the long-promised Hudson Bergen Light Rail project a reality by cutting the red tape and pushing for the project to be adequately funded.  The legislature has been sitting on this project for too long, our residents are rightfully frustrated about it, and it will be our priority to get it done. As Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes has said, “It’s really shame on the Legislature, who didn’t create the funding for this — and taunts it about when there’s campaign season — and does nothing intermittently.” We will work together with other Bergen County districts’ representatives to hold NJ Transit and the Port Authority accountable, including by hosting annual community forums where riders can ask questions directly and share their concerns.

  • We will explore the creation of public parking facilities which will enable commuters who require parking to utilize the NJ Transit system.

  • We will advocate for improvements to the commuter experience, including more buses during peak demand times and ride quality-enhancing technologies.

  • We will explore micro transit solutions to fill the gap left by NJ Transit and help our residents get to alternative transit sites like train stations and bus depots.

  • We will advocate for improvements to pedestrian safety, including multi-use paths that connect our towns and provide a safe opportunity for recreation and pedestrian use, and we will work with the County and municipalities in order to accomplish this. 

  • We will work to reduce emissions from vehicles on public highways and at the George Washington Bridge, which particularly impacts the health and safety of residents in adjacent communities like Fort Lee and Leonia, and also mitigate the impact of traffic spillover on such communities during peak usage times which stresses local police resources and impacts residents’ quality of life.

We support Mayor Fulop’s plan to extend the Corporate Business Tax and alternate dedicated revenue sources to fund NJ Transit and other public-transit oriented projects, including improvements to state highways and traffic alleviation.