emanating from Trenton that are hostile to business, create harmful discrepancies in school funding, and provide woefully insufficient property tax relief, all of which have exacerbated the state’s unaffordability crisis. What are the legislative priorities, issues or areas of concern on which you would like to focus your attention? Constituent services remain my highest priority, as these efforts can directly improve the lives of my constituents. Reducing taxes remains an issue of the highest level for my constituents, many of whom are reaching their financial breaking point. To that end, I have supported tax reductions while, correspondingly, rejected increased government spending and borrowing. Coming out of the pandemic, what are the lessons you’ve learned and how do you think those lessons should guide public policy makers going forward? The most important lesson that I learned coming out of the pandemic is that people justifiably want a greater say in state policies, especially those implemented through the Governor’s emergency powers. To the detriment of the people, the State Legislature was not afforded the opportunity to provide sufficient input, on behalf of their constituents, regarding sweeping emergency directives issued unilaterally by the Governor. This process must change, and I have proudly co-sponsored legislation to modify state law to give the people, through their legislative representatives, a greater voice. 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? I drove an Oldsmobile to learn how to drive. My first car was a used 1962 Black Valiant. Assemblywoman Gove’s Bio Republican Representing Legislative District 9 Counties: Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean Municipalities: Barnegat, Barnegat Light, Bass River, Beach Haven, Beachwood, Berkeley, Eagleswood, Galloway, Harvey Cedars, Lacey, Little Egg Harbor, Long Beach, Ocean Gate, Ocean Township (Ocean), Pine Beach, Port Republic, Seaside Park, Ship Bottom, South Toms River, Stafford, Surf City, Tabernacle, Tuckerton, Washington (Burlington) Legislative Service General Assembly, 2009–present Policy Co-Chair, 2014–present Committees Higher Education Military and Veterans’ Affairs Aging and Senior Services Assemblywoman MICHELE MATSIKOUDIS 21st Legislative District What inspired you to run for office and become a legislator? I have always been drawn to helping others and to public service. Offering a helping hand is not limited to being an elected official, and much of my life before politics came in the form of community involvement. I had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer with many community organizations involving our senior population, veterans, and the special needs communities. I serve currently as a Board Member for Robbie’s World Foundation for the Autistic and the New Jersey Veterans Network and was the PTA President at both the middle and high schools in my hometown. I knew that running and holding an elected office would offer me a new and exciting challenge to be a servant-leader in our community. When I was a Councilwoman in New Providence, we had a motto: “Do it because it is good for New Providence,” and I have taken that same mindset and applied it to our District in my current capacity as an Assemblywoman. What is your greatest achievement and greatest disappointment as a legislator? If you could change one thing in Trenton, what would it be? I am excited for future opportunities in my capacity as a Legislator. I am proud to be the primary sponsor of a piece of legislation called “Emma’s Law.” Emma’s Law requires school buses that transport students with special needs to be equipped with certain safety features such as closed-circuit cameras, and GPS that provides information about the location and speed of the special transport buses in real time in hopes of providing transparency. This bill was introduced last session by then-Assemblyman Jon Bramnick and is based on the real-life experiences of a special needs child from Cranford. It would be a great accomplishment to have this bill pass the Legislature in a bipartisan fashion. As a new Legislator, I do not believe I have faced any significant disappointments yet, fully recognizing that disappointments are a part of life. How I respond and react to a disappointment is more of the question. As a glass-half-full individual, I can only control my reaction to a disappointment, reflect on the things I can change for a better outcome the next time, and refocus my efforts on the next challenge or initiative I am working on. What are the legislative priorities, issues or areas of concern on which you would like to focus your attention? I have the privilege of viewing some of the state’s most pressing issues with a fresh set of eyes and producing common sense and pragmatic solutions to address these concerns. As a representative, I consider myself to be pro-business and protaxpayer. From a pro-business perspective, my goal is to help make New Jersey a state where businesses of all sizes can succeed. The state should be doing more to incentivize and attract new business into the state and helping to provide business 15 N J C A R . O R G new jersey auto retailer
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