Currently I reside in the 12th Congressional District and for the past 9 years Congressman Rush Holt has been my representative in Congress but with the congressional redistricting that took place earlier this year, I am not sure if I am now in the new 4th Congressional District which would make Smith my Congressman if reelected in November or in the new 6th Congressional District that would make Frank Pallone my new Congressman in November. My confusion as to what congressional district I will now reside in comes from the fact that the dividing line between the old 12th and 6th districts was the yellow line that runs down the middle of my street. No one has been able to tell me if this current line in the street will be still be the divide between districts as of yet, I hope to find out though next Thursday night.
Next Thursday night the Monmouth County Democrats will be holding their annual Convention to nominate candidates for both of the newly formed congressional districts that now stretch across the County and split Middletown along the bayshore.
So I was greatly interest today when I found an article posted on NJ.com this morning that named two Monmouth County residents willing to take on the incumbent Smith in the 4th and give us County Committee people something to think about heading into the convention.
According to the NJ.com posting and confirmed with a phone call, Red Bank Attorney Patricia Bennett and Spring Lake executive Brian Froelich will be introducing themselves to convention delegates next week, vying for right to take on Chris Smith.
I don't know much about either Bennett or Froelich, but i'm looking forward to finding out more next Thursday night, but in the mean time here is what NJ.com had to say about them:
Bennett, 65, is an elder-law attorney. She previously served as the county surrogate for Monmouth and a councilwoman in Howell.
"I've done a few firsts in my life and for me, it's time for a woman to take Chris Smith down," Bennett said.
Bennett said she was spurred to run by Smith's stands on senior care, saying he voted for U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan's 2012 budget plan, which included a provision to privatize Medicare starting in 2022.
And she takes issue with what she calls Republicans' current attacks on birth control and women's reproductive rights. Smith, who is against abortion rights, co-chairs the bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.
"Women's rights are being assailed on vigorously by the Republican party," she said.
"No woman can sit back and let this happen without a fight."
Froelich is a semiretired executive who now serves as a business consultant. He previously worked as a senior vice president for American Express and CEO of senior housing developer Senior Campus Living LLC.
Froelich said he's more concerned with fiscal than social issues, and he said Smith has had his chance to try to lower the federal deficit or work out solutions to the still feeble economy.
"If somebody came to me as a businessman with Chris Smith's record, I wouldn't hire him," Froelich said.
As someone who has never run for public office before, Froelich said he had a "clean record and a business record."
