13th District Assembly Candidate Reflects on Loss and Issues

Monmouth County's 13th District Democratic Assembly candidate Allison Friedman may have lost her bid to unseat incumbent Republican Assemblywoman Amy Handlin earlier this month but she hasn't lost any ideas on ways to help the district's constituents.

13th District Democratic Candidate Allison Friedman

Friedman already knew going into the race that the odds of beating a well entrenched and well funded incumbent weren't in her favor but she told Tom Mongelli on WOBM-AM'S Townsquare Tonight, that if she could only get the voters to listen to her that they would support her campaign.

Friedman explained "I felt that the only way that I could make it a competitive election was to just knock on doors, bring back politics to what it is supposed to be ... Which is one-on-one interaction actually representing people and you can't represent without speaking to people."

Friedman says she personally knocked on over 2,200 doors and she said when she made her case to people they agreed to support her, sign her petition and donated to her campaign. She says she was able to raise $25,000, a small sum comparatively, but one that would allow her to purchase campaign signs.

Friedman doesn't believe the only reason she lost was because she's a Democrat. She believes there's a disconnect between constituents and their state lawmakers. She Said 90% of the constituents she spoke with didn't know what a State Assembly Person was or what they did. She says what really makes her angry, is that the people that needed their state lawmakers the most, were never visited by them.

The plight of thousands of Monmouth County residents who remain displaced by Superstorm Sandy is also a troubling issue for Friedman. "The people who are still in trailers. The people who are displaced from their homes have no advocate ... period. They are trying maintain their jobs. They're trying to hold their families together and they are trying to wade through legal documents that are difficult for even a trained attorney to get through", explains Friedman. She believes the state needs to provide more advocacy.

Friedman also believes more should be done to support small businesses. She suggest giving tax breaks to businesses that hire locally or contribute to the community. You can listen to the entire program online at the Townsquare Tonight link.

Friedman says she can be contacted through her at their campaign web site at ld13assemblynj.com.