Chamber of Commerce honors Casagrande as Legislator of the year

Caroline Casagrande
accepting the Legislator of the Year Award from Chamber President & CEO
Tom Bracken and Michel Egenton, Senior Vice President.

The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce honored Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande as Legislator of the year last night at its biannual legislative awards reception at the New Jersey Center of Excellence in Bridgewater.

Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, an attorney and the assistant Republican Leader in the Assembly, is an outspoken advocate for government efficiency and for identifying waste, fraud, and abuse in government agencies. She has introduced legislation that would establish job creation among small businesses and a bill that would establish tax-free business incubators at institutions of higher education. Further, Assemblywoman Casagrande has a bill that will codify the New Jersey Business Action Center into law, guaranteeing its permanence.

Casagrande represents New Jersey’s 11th Legislative District which includes Allenhurst, Asbury Park, Colts Neck, Deal, Eatontown, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Interlaken, Loch Arbour, Long Branch, Neptune City, Neptune Township, Ocean Township, Red Bank, Shrewsbury Borough, Shrewsbury Township, Tinton Falls, and West Long Branch.

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Save NJ jobs by saving our constitution

By Tom Bracken, Laurie Ehlbeck, John Holub and Stefanie Riehl

New Jersey’s voters face an important choice on Nov. 5. We can either make annual job losses a permanent part of our state’s constitution, or we can send the minimum-wage debate back to the state Legislature where it belongs.

For the sake of New Jersey’s economy, we hope our state’s voters will choose the second path and vote no on Public Question No. 2.
Public Question No. 2 may seem well-intentioned at first glance, but its placement of future annual increases in the minimum wage on a constitutional autopilot is the wrong policy at the wrong time.

On a constitutional level, this minimum-wage hike should not be placed in the state’s founding charter. Instead, it’s an issue that deserves good, old-fashioned back-and-forth and political compromise between the Legislature and Governor’s Office. In fact, both the governor and Legislature admit that they already support a minimum-wage hike.

The minimum-wage debate belongs in the Legislature, not the constitution. For this reason, both Republicans and Democrats — including those who otherwise support an increase in the minimum wage — have spoken out against this irresponsible and harmful proposal.

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce Endorses Kyrillos for Senate

Citing State Senator Joe Kyrillos’ 100% rating from the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, Rob Engstrom, the U.S. Chamber’s Senior Vice President and National Political Director, today announced the nationwide business advocate’s endorsement of Kyrillos in his contest with incumbent Senator Bob Menendez for one of New Jersey’s seats in the U.S. Senate.

“New Jersey is leading the country’s efforts for fiscal responsibility at the state level, but we need leaders in Washington willing to make tough financial decisions as well,” said Engstrom, “New Jersey voters have a clear choice between the candidates on issues that will create jobs and spur growth. State Senator Joe Kyrillos has consistently prioritized free enterprise, while Senator Menendez has a record of failure on economic issues—having only voted with the business community 38% of the time.”

Engstrom noted that the Chamber automatically endorses any incumbent U.S. Senator, Republican or Democrat, that has a business friendly rating of 70% or more in emphasizing Menendez’s hostility to the private sector. “He votes against business is a knee jerk manner.”

Speaking on a conference call with reporters, Engstrom said that the U.S. Chamber is waging its largest voter education effort in its 100 year history in the 2012 election.  He declined to answer a reporters question about indenpendent expenditures the Chamber might make in the New Jersey U.S. Senate campaign, but noted that the Chamber has already spent millions of dollars on 12 Senate races and 31 House races.  “Stay tuned,” was the most Engstrom was willing to say with Kyrillos on the call, given campaign finance laws that forbid independent expenditures being coordinated with federal campaigns.

“I am humbled and encouraged to have received the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in my campaign against Bob Menendez and his job-killing policies,” said Joe Kyrillos.

“American small businesses and job creators are facing undeniably hard times right now. We are not producing jobs at the rate we should because of the uncertainty of new or higher taxes, and more regulation. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and the policies supported by Bob Menendez are killing their opportunity for growth.

“I have outlined policies in a comprehensive jobs plan that will put people back to work and restore a robust economy. My plan will create economic certainty, and allow business to plan for the future. My opponent has no plan to create jobs, and if his past record is any indication, he will continue to make things worse.”

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