Last week, Better Blocks New Jersey sent out the following candidate survey to all the candidates running in the Democratic primary on June 10 in Legislative District 31 (Bayonne, Jersey City, and Kearny) and Legislative District 32 (Jersey City and Hoboken). We have received our first set of responses and will be publishing them over the coming days starting with LD-31’s Assemblywoman Barbara McCann Stamato and LD-32’s Yousef Saleh.

We wanted you to read the questionnaire that was sent to the LD-31 candidates (Assemblywoman Barbara McCann Stamato, Councilwoman Jacqueline Weimmer, Assemblyman William Sampson IV, Commissioner Jerry Walker) and the LD-32 candidates (Assemblywoman Jessica Ramirez, Councilman Yousef Saleh, Katie Brennan, Mayor Ravi Bhalla, Crystal Fonseca, and Jennie Pu) in its entirety before reading their responses so you get a better sense of how the questions were structured on the issues important to Better Blocks.

More importantly, we want you to think about how you would answer these questions before you evaluate the candidates’ responses to them. If you like the political advocacy work that Better Blocks New Jersey is doing, please consider making a donation.

Better Blocks New Jersey is a Continuing Political Committee advocating for smart growth, housing affordability, transit-oriented development, and sustainable land use in New Jersey. Our priorities are focused on housing, transit, safe streets, and protecting public parks. 

We invite you to share your positions on critical policy issues. Your responses will inform our endorsement decisions and will be published in full at www.betterblocksnj.org. 

Land Use Reform

1. Do you support statewide zoning reform to allow multi-family housing in areas currently zoned exclusively for single-family homes?

• Strongly Support

• Support

• Oppose

• Strongly Oppose

Please explain your position:

2. Would you vote to legalize Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) statewide, overriding local bans or restrictions?

• Yes

• No

Please explain your position:

3. Would you vote to legalize single-stair buildings statewide, overriding local bans or restrictions? If yes, do you support four-stories or some higher number? If no, why not?

• Yes

• No

Please explain your position:

Transit-Oriented Development (“TOD”)

4. Should the state preempt local zoning laws near major transit stations to allow “by-right” development of multi-family or mixed-income housing?

• Yes

• No

• Depends 

Please explain your position:

5. A developer has proposed (link) a 1,000 unit (150 designated income-restricted affordable units) apartment building at 150 Bay Street in downtown Jersey City. This development would also include a new public school for Kindergarten through Sixth Grade, a public plaza, and no parking spots. Do you support this project? If yes, would you support more projects like this within half a mile of PATH or NJ Transit HBLR stations in (or near) your legislative district?

• Yes

• No

• Depends 

Please explain your position:

6. Would you back legislation that removes minimum parking requirements near transit (within half a mile) to reduce housing production costs and promote TOD?

• Yes

• No

• Depends 

Please explain your position:

7. Should the state provide funding or tax credits for municipalities that adopt pro-housing zoning reforms near transit?

• Yes

• No

• Depends 

Please explain your position:

Housing Affordability and Public Land Use

8. Do you support ending the 30-year exemption on rent control for new rental buildings?

• Yes

• No

• Depends

Please explain your position:

9. Do you support defining what “unconscionable” means with respect to rent increases? 

If yes, how – or at what rate – would you define the term “unconscionable” and if no, why not?

• Yes

• No

• Depends

Please explain your position:

10. Do you support using surplus state or local land (such as government-owned parking lots, disused buildings, etc.) to build affordable or mixed-income housing?

• Strongly Support

• Support

• Oppose

• Strongly Oppose

Please explain your position:

11. Do you support banning institutional ownership of single-family homes or multi-family homes under four units? 

• Strongly Support

• Support

• Oppose

• Strongly Oppose

Please explain your position:

12. Would you support funding a state-led expansion of the housing choice voucher program to give low-income residents more housing choice?

• Strongly Support

• Support

• Oppose

• Strongly Oppose

Please explain your position:

13. Would you vote for legislation requiring municipalities to meet minimum housing production targets, including affordable housing, as a condition of receiving certain state funds?

• Yes

• No

• Depends

Please explain your position:

14. If you had to choose between an expansion of state-led housing choice voucher program and funding the production of affordable housing units, which would you choose?

• Housing choice voucher

• Affordable housing production

Please explain your position:

15. Would you vote for legislation that bans junk fees in rental agreements like broker fees statewide?

• Yes

• No

• Depends 

Please explain your position:

16. Would you vote for legislation that bans applications like RealPage from aggregating rental price data?

• Yes

• No

Please explain your position:

Green Space, Resilience, and Smart Growth

17. Should new development projects be allowed to build more densely if they fund or provide nearby public green space or parks?

• Yes

• No

• Depends 

Please explain your position:

18. Do you support the Caven Point Protection Act for Liberty State Park?

• Yes

• No

Please explain your position:

19. Would you support legislation that prohibits the use of any state park as a venue for professional sports and protects all state parkland from commercial development and stadium construction?

• Yes

• No

• Depends

Please explain your position:

Street Safety and Highway Policies

20. If elected, will you champion or co-sponsor legislation that advances Vision Zero statewide?

• Yes

• No

Please explain your position:

21. How would you describe your position to the New Jersey Turnpike Extension highway widening and replacement program?

• Strongly Support

• Support

• Oppose

• Strongly Oppose

Please explain your position:

22. Would you introduce or sponsor legislation that allows the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to implement dynamic, demand-based variable tolling (commonly referred to as “HOT Lanes”) for express lanes on I-78, Garden State Parkway, and the New Jersey Turnpike? 

• Yes

• No

Please explain your position:

23. Do you support New York’s Congestion Pricing?

• Yes

• No

Please explain your position:

24. If any group, organization, or continuing political committee that supports or benefits from the Turnpike Extension were to support your campaign directly or indirectly, would you return the money and disavow the support?

• Yes

• No

Please explain your position:

Public Transportation Access & Affordability

25. Would you support reallocating funds from highway expansion projects to enhance public transportation infrastructure and services?

• Yes

• No

• Depends

Please explain your position:

26. Would you support incentivizing Hudson County and local municipalities with state funding to implement bus rapid transit lanes for NJTransit on select county or local roads like John F. Kennedy Blvd?

• Yes

• No

Please explain your position:

27. Do you support the implementation of the Corporate Transit Fee—a 2.5% tax on corporations with net incomes over $10 million—as a dedicated funding source for NJ Transit?

• Yes

• No

• Depends

Please explain your position:

28. If you had to choose between transferring funding from 1) the New Jersey Turnpike Authority / NJDOT highway fund, 2) implementing a corporate transit fee, or 3) raising the sales tax to fund transit, which policy would you implement? You may only choose one.

• Option 1

• Option 2

• Option 3

Please explain your position:

Commitment to Urban Vitality Issues

29. Will you meet with Better Blocks New Jersey to shape legislation and priorities in Trenton?

• Yes

• No

30. Is there anything else we should know about your policies regarding housing, transit, street safety, or public parks?

Candidate Information

Candidate Name: ____________________________________

Campaign Name: ____________________________________

Email: ____________________

Phone: ____________________

Date: ______________________