AUDIO:When it comes to politics, it’s the first time stepping up to the plate for 4th District Democratic Congressional Candidate Howard Kleinhendler of Lakewood. The New York Defense Attorney has never run for a political office and is going up against a nearly 30-year veteran, incumbent Republican Representative Christopher Smith. However, Kleinhendler doesn’t see his inexperience as a weaknesses. He says “I think it gives me an advantage. I’m not beholden to anyone. I’m in nobody’s pocket.”
On his web site, www.Kleinhendlerforcongress.com, Kleinhendler lists jobs as his first order of business. Saying our first priority needs to be getting people back to work. “If you send someone to Washington who’s effective we can get low interest loans from Washington so that small businesses can start hiring again.”
Kleinhendler also believes that he can help ease New Jersey’s highest in the nation property taxes from capitol hill. He says, “with regard to property taxes, people in Washington can do something. They can bring money back to the district for education.”
Kleinhendler says he’ll be pushing for federal funding fairness for New Jersey and objects to a system that he says gives New Jersey only .61 cents back on every dollar we send to Washington. On his website, Kleinhendler says New Jersey paid out $86 billion dollars in taxes to Washington and got back less than $59 billion dollars. “More federal money should be coming back to us because .61 cents on a dollar is a very bad return.”
Transportation is listed among Kleinhendler’s top priorities and it turns out that he’s a big supporter of a proposed Ocean, Monmouth and Middlesex passenger rail service, also known as the MOM rail line . He says the money is there, $7 billion federal dollars has been appropriated for high speed rail development. He says, “If people can spend that money to get folks from Tampa to Disneyland, we should be able to get the money so that people from Central Jersey can get to New York, get to Philadelphia, bring in the people who are going to spend money here and someone who is committed to this, like I am, will get it done.”
However, it seems that a lot of the economic fixes proposed in Howard Kleinhendler’s plan are dependent on getting a significant amount of federal funding during a time when the nation is struggling to recover from a recession and many lawmakers are furious about the growing national debt. Knowing that, Kleinhendler says he isn’t opposed to an additional round of economic stimulus money if it’s done in a smart way. “We gotta fix ourselves today with government help because we need it and tomorrow we will be able to bring down that deficit and continue our leadership role as an economic super power.”
Kleinhendler has practiced as a New York Trial Attorney for 16 years. He says he’s presently working to get money back to the fleeced clients of imprisoned New York Investor Bernie Madoff. He’s been married for 25 years and has five children.
Listen to Millennium Shore Bureau Chief Tom Mongelli’s conversation with Kleinhendler. Full interview at WOBM.
this guy seems like a very nice person.
but which person in his right mind will run as a newbie democrat against a popular replublican. with everything obama is doing and the way all the decrorats mindlesly followed no one wants a democrat to even bother running. its a waste of ink to even print a democrats name on the ballot in the 4th district.
Small businesses will start hiring again when taxes are lower, and when ObamaCare is repealed.
I’m a small business owner. I have friends who are small business owners. We don’t need more loans. We need less taxes and less regulation that strangles us. Then we will have more money to hire workers.
Instead of taking so much of our money and giving it back through programs, how about simply lowering our taxes?
If you speak to any small business owner who wants to grow his business and hiremore workers, one of the biggest worries is ObamaCare. Nobody knows exactly what is in it, except that it will make the costs of hiring new employess very high. There are so many new taxes and regulations in ObamaCare that it is almost not worth it to hire new people.
You want to help us small businesses? Repeal ObamaCare, and lower our taxes.
We don’t need more Democrats in Congress rubber stamping Obama.
Go Smith!! We don’t need anther Obama loving Dem in Trenton, Smith has had our best interests for years and years he is a good friend of Israel and he will get my vote and hopefully yours as well.
don’t forget smith voted for cap and trade!!!
Didn’t Smith vote with obama on cap and trade which will drive up all expenses?
That might be true but a Democrat isn’t any better.
Very well put.
Thank you. I too will be voting for Chris Smith.
To Chaim and Steve: Just because Congressman Smith voted in one instance against what you feel is correct, how do you throw the baby out with the bath water. Nu nu, so Mr. Smith voted for cap and trade. And what about Mr. Kleinhendler, as a democrat, how do you think he would vote? More government or less? Think about it.
If a moderate Republicans vote on cap and trade irks you, What will the fiscal policies of Mr. Kleinhendler ( a democrat) do for you?
Just for the record; klienhendler says he would have voted in favor of ObamaCare. I am not giving my vote to anyone who agrees to that colossal mistake!
I have been voting in district 4 for 15 years now, and I have never even met Chris Smith. Atleast Kleinhendler lives here, pays taxes here, and sends his children to schools here. How can Smith understand our problems if he is NOT HERE?