By the NJOP Elections Committee
Welcome to “Are you with us? NJOP 2022 Congressional Elections Scorecard.” Huge thanks to the entire NJOP elections committee, our dedicated team of scorers, and all the candidates who responded to our questionnaires.
Here are key things to know: first, at NJOP, we put people and issues before party politics, and we believe the doers are the deciders. So if you’re reading this and notice that people’s party did not seem to determine their score, YOU ARE CORRECT! Our community, the issues that matter to us, and whether or not we are at the table making the decisions that impact our lives come before party politics all day, every day around here.
Second, you may also notice that this isn’t every race in the state. We focused our energy on districts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. That’s where our elections committee and campaign team members are from. If you want to see your district included in the next round, we invite you to join the process.* Need to figure out who represents you? opens in a new windowClick here.
Below is an abbreviated summary of the questions we posed to the incumbents and candidates from each district. Each candidate had 3 weeks to complete the questionnaire and return it to use for scoring. Scoring was performed by the elections committee, core team members from each campaign, and NJOP staff – all of whom are impacted by the issues they work on. To read the full questionnaire, which includes the full questions and context for each question, opens in a new windowclick here. AND! If you want to read the full response from a candidate in your district, just email us, we’ll share it.
CD2 House of Representatives Race
Congressman Jeff Van Drew has a track record and some level of co-governance with NJOP which earns him a score of 2.5. He has voted with us on Sandy recovery, National Flood Insurance Program Reform, and the MAT Act. We have ongoing communication with his office on relevant legislation,and we appreciate his work to assist constituents fighting with their banks on their Sandy forbearance.
As a first-time congressional candidate, Tim Alexander scored a 3.5 on our scorecard and we appreciate him meeting with the elections committee. While he states in his questionnaire responses that he would be willing to have a collaborative relationship with NJOP and would support National Flood Insurance Program Reform, the Disaster Recovery Act, Clawback Forgiveness, offshore wind, the MAT Act, and transparency and accountability broadly.
CD3 House of Representatives Race
Congressman Andy Kim scored a 4 because his two-term track record of co-governing with NJOP take action across all of our issues and his solutions-driven responses to our questionnaire. He introduced the Security After Sandy Act to forgive tens of millions of dollars in loans and grants for Sandy survivors, secured over $25 million in loan forgiveness for municipalities. He’s been a longtime supporter of federal Clawback Forgiveness, National Flood Insurance Program Reform, and offshore wind. He is also a cosponsor of the MAT Act, and hosted a Congressional briefing with us on MAT and how to make opioid use disorder treatment more accessible to all who need it.
CD4 House of Representatives Race
As a first-time congressional candidate, Matt Jenkins scored a 3 on our scorecard. He is particularly passionate about supporting National Flood Insurance Program Reform and Clawback Forgiveness. While we haven’t had the opportunity to meet with him yet, if he is elected we look forward to working with him on our other priorities.
CD5 House of Representatives Race
CD6 House of Representatives Race
Congressman Frank Pallone scored a 4 because of his track record of working with NJOP members toward our solutions across campaigns from the very beginning of our 8-year history and his detailed questionnaire answers. He’s been a champion on National Flood Insurance Program Reform, voted for the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2019, fights for Clawback Forgiveness, and sustainable climate mitigation strategies. As Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, he was key in bringing the MAT Act to Congress for a vote.
CD7 House of Representatives Race
Congressman Tom Malinowski scored a 3.5 because he is a co-sponsor of the National Flood Insurance Program Reform bill, voted for the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act, and voted for the MAT Act, plus he is very invested in infrastructure and mitigation. We recently started to get to know his office through our Ida recovery work, so this relationship is newer than with the other incumbents.
A Note About Scoring
We have a track record of working with elected officials on key legislation, and the goal of NJOP’s 2022 scorecard is to show how aligned candidates are with NJOP, which helps us decide: are you with us?
We look at key areas and evaluate three things:
- Questionnaire responses for the survey.
- The records of the candidates if they are already in office: whether they worked with us on our priorities, whether actions taken aligned with our goals, and whether they were accessible during this process.
- Constituent services if they’re elected, or involvement with NJOP for candidates (like, did they reach out to us, did they meet with us, show up at events that matter to our communities?).
The Questions
Governance & People First Politics
NJOP values co-governance. In plain talk that means the people directly impacted by the issues we work on must have a seat at the table to make decisions about solutions. We asked elected officials and candidates:
- Why they chose to run for office.
- How they have (or will) take concrete steps to work with NJOP.
Storm Recovery
As an organization made up of Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Ida survivors, we know firsthand how broken our disaster recovery system is. We asked elected officials and candidates:
- If they would support the reform of the National Flood Insurance Program so that it actually works and push back against Risk Rating 2.0 and other harmful legislative reforms.
- Why they did or did not support the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act to make the CDBG-DR program permanent and get money to survivors more quickly.
- If they would support an amendment to the Stafford Act that would remove SBA loans as a category under duplication of benefits and how else they would address clawbacks.
Energy Security & Community Preparedness
New Jersey is second in the nation for most homes at risk from chronic flooding due to rising seas. Our Shorekeeper work focuses on the connection between the flooding we experience, the need for community mitigation and adaptation projects, and the role of renewable energy. We asked elected officials and candidates:
- How they would get more funding into Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grants and the Blue Acres program and ensure it is accessible to the communities that need it.
- How they will ensure that funds from leasing New Jersey’s coastline to offshore wind will benefit New Jerseyans and not just get lost in the federal coffers (which is where they currently go).
Not One More
As loved ones of people with substance use disorder and/or people in recovery, we are dedicated to taking action to end the overdose crisis by expanding access to Medication Assisted Treatment and harm reduction in NJ. We asked elected officials and candidates:
- Why they supported the MAT Act or why they would or would not support it (if elected).
- Their ideas for increasing transparency, affordability, access and quality of care for those seeking resources for substance use disorder.