Working for Families, Seniors and Businesses in LD11

By Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul

DR. MARGIE DONLON, SENATOR, VIN GOPAL and LUANNE PETERPAUL, ESQ. of Team Monmouth

As we look forward to our swearing in to represent Legislative District 11 residents in the State Assembly, we wanted to share some of our priorities and goals. We also want to thank everyone who came out to vote in November.

Our Assembly district is a diverse place. But we have many things in common: the desire to live an affordable life, in the places we have chosen to make our homes, and where our families are safe and we treat each other respectfully.

We will bring our professional experiences and government service to the job: Margie as a physician and Ocean Township Deputy Mayor; Luanne as a former municipal judge in Asbury Park and Long Branch, assistant Essex County prosecutor, and life-long advocate for those without a voice. We recognize the importance of bi-partisanship and we embrace the opportunity to work with all of our colleagues in the Legislature, county and local governments.

We have seen the challenges of aging up close – Luanne in caring with her siblings for elderly parents who chose to live at home; Margie in helping patients rehabilitate from serious medical conditions and injuries and assisting her senior constituents in Ocean Township by finding ways to keep property taxes down. That’s why we support effective tools like telehealth and shared government services, as well as taking a hard look at how we fund public education to reduce the property tax burden for seniors.

We must make it easier for municipal governments, businesses and individuals to navigate various state departments and agencies. Too often towns are stymied by red tape when trying to address budget, environmental and other issues. We need to remove the roadblocks so it’s easier for towns to accomplish what they need to provide better services for residents. Running a small business is challenging and we need to make sure our government helps them grow without bogging them down with regulations and high fees.

As advocates, we look forward to working with our non-profit partners in LD11. They are innovators in working with government agencies and maximizing the use of volunteers to address the challenges of marginalized people such as those with disabilities, mental health issues, housing problems and things as basic as putting food on the table for their families.

We also look forward to working with our LD11 legislative partner Senator Vin Gopal. Senator Gopal has earned his statewide reputation for bipartisan leadership. Like him, we believe our government must be compassionate and help people lift themselves up. You don’t accomplish that with divisiveness and vitriol. We are a great team and will continue to work as a team.

We will be Monmouth’s Team.

Above all, we will bring our talents as good listeners to serving you in the State Assembly. Like Vin, we will base our legislative agenda on listening to our constituents. So we hope you will never hesitate to contact us to share your ideas and seek our help.

We look forward to meeting as many of you as possible as we travel around the district and to working with residents and all of our LD11 partners to make Monmouth County and New Jersey more affordable, safer and more equitable for everyone.