He has been a fixture in the Legislature for two decades and served as the Speaker of the State Senate for the past 12 years. But on Tuesday, Steve Sweeney says goodbye after his shocking loss to South Jersey trucker and Republican newcomer Edward Durr in the November election.
Except he said he’s really not going anywhere.
Focused on your mission
“What follows for me first is that I am looking to create an think tank, a public policy think tank that focuses on affordability,” he said.
A possible candidacy for governor?
He also indicated that a return to politics is not ruled out, which could mean a candidacy for governor.
“I’m going to keep working hard and if it’s the Senate or possibly the governor, who knows. You know, four years is a long time, “he said.
“I think my future is whatever I want it to be. I have a lot of friends across the state and I still believe I can be a voice, I have everyone’s cell phone number. “
“Right now we have the most expensive government in the country.”
The work is not finished
He said he has focused on affordability and cost reduction in government for years, and progress has been made.
“The biggest challenge is getting people to be willing to see things or do things differently because right now we have the most expensive government in the country,” he said.
He noted that his home county of Gloucester is the only county in the state that has a county ambulance system, a countywide tax assessment and a county 911 dispatch system, saving taxpayers millions.
“I’ve been in a Republican district for 20 years.”
We can fix this
Sweeney said the same shared services approach may work in other parts of Garden State, “but it means you may have to remove the city name from the side of the truck, and it doesn’t matter who picks up the trash as long as it is collected. “.
“We don’t need all these governing bodies and administrative duplication, but you do need police on the street, you need firefighters, you need people to pick up the garbage.”
The Democrat said he was surprised by the election result, but noted that “I have been in a Republican district for 20 years.”
Let’s work together
He stressed that he always seeks to take a bipartisan approach, which was not popular with other Democrats at times, but “I think the only way we do meaningful things is when we work together.”
When Sweeney was asked what he was most proud of during his time in the Senate, he said, “saving the pension system from bankruptcy.”
“If we didn’t step up and do something, it would go bankrupt in 2015,” he said.
Pride and regret
He said he’s also proud to “focus on affordability and fix things; my work with the disabled community; I was the sponsor of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, solar legislation, offshore wind legislation, minimum wage, paid family leave, paid sick leave. I think we have achieved a lot, there are many things that I am very proud of ”.
Sweeney said his biggest regret was not pushing harder when the 2% property tax cap was enacted when Chris Christie was governor.
“I think a lot of people would appreciate if we could stop the tax increase. We slow them down, but it’s still too expensive.
“It should have gone to zero, because now we live below the 2% limit, and if we had gone to zero, we would have reached efficiencies much faster,” he said.
“I think a lot of people would appreciate if we could stop the tax increase. We slow them down, but it’s still too expensive. “
He also said he still believes the state needs a new pension system for public workers that should be negotiated with the unions “so that we can afford to live here in New Jersey.”
You can contact reporter David Matthau at David.Matthau@townsquaremedia.com
LOOK: History of food from the year you were born
New Jersey cities and their nicknames
.