Pub. 20 2021-2022 Issue 2

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S I S S U E 2 | 2 0 2 1 14 new jersey auto retailer NJ CAR represents the 500+ neighborhood, franchised new car and truck dealerships in New Jersey and the 36,500 men and women they directly employ. We want to help the industry get to know its elected officials better. What follows are responses from Senator Bob Smith (District 17) and Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (District 6). We will share other replies via emails and in future issues of New Jersey Auto Retailer. Senator Bob Smith What inspired you to run for office and become a legislator? Reading the newspaper as a newspaper delivery person in my teens and as a Street Corner Speaker for Gene McCarthy in 1968. What are your greatest achievements and greatest disappointments as a legislator? If you could change one thing in Trenton, what would it be? Greatest achievement – the Highlands Act and other environmental legislation. Greatest disappointment – how long it takes to get legislation passed and changing the Whitman pension bond issue. What are the legislative priorities, issues or areas of concern on which you would like to focus your attention? Grid-Scale Solar, Dual Use Solar, Recycled Content, Energy Efficiency Standards for Appliances, C-Pace and Neonics. Coming out of the pandemic, what are the lessons you’ve learned, and how do you believe those lessons should guide public policymakers going forward? The need for more effective communication with our constituents and the public at large. What was the make and model of the vehicle in which you learned how to drive? Also, what was the first (new or used) vehicle you owned? ’57 Chevy, which was my first used car. Senator Smith’s Bio: Senator Bob Smith represents District 17, which covers parts of Middlesex and Somerset County, including Franklin (Somerset), Milltown, New Brunswick, North Brunswick, and Piscataway. Senator Smith joined the New Jersey Legislature in 1986 as an Assemblyman and was elected to the Senate in 2002. He is the Chair of the Environment and Energy Committee and is also a member of the Judiciary Committee. He is a graduate of the University of Scranton, where he majored in History and received a Master’s Degree in Chemistry. He also earned a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science from Rutgers University and his juris doctor from Seton Hall University of Law. Before becoming an attorney in private practice, Senator Smith was a professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science at Middlesex County College. He and his wife Ellen live and work in Piscataway Township. They are parents to two grown daughters and are proud grandparents. Assemblyman Lou Greenwald, Majority Leader What inspired you to run for office and become a legislator? I owe my inspiration for public service to my mother, Maria Barnaby Greenwald. When I was just 10 years old, she became the first female mayor of Cherry Hill. She continued breaking ground after becoming the first female Freeholder Director and first female Surrogate of Camden County. Despite these remarkable achievements, what I remember most about her were the relationships she made with the constituents she served. Trips to the grocery store would take three hours because she would always stop to talk with neighbors and listen to their concerns. She was well known as someone who would hear from as many people as possible and discuss all sides of an issue before making a decision. After she passed away, I was approached to run for Assembly, and despite not having held public off ice before, I knew that I wanted to continue my mother’s legacy. I Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald and Senator Bob Smith