“Lower Costs, Lower Taxes” Governor Who Will Strengthen Jersey’s Workforce, Education, and Transit.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — On Wednesday, May 28, U.S. Congressman and Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Josh Gottheimer laid out his plan at Big Snow American Dream to bring good-paying jobs to Jersey. By growing and strengthening our economy, Jersey can better afford services, workers can find good jobs, and companies can take advantage of our state’s talented workforce.
Gottheimer’s “Jobs4Jersey” Plan focuses on creating good-paying jobs, through support for small businesses and Jersey’s specialized industries, supporting our workforce, educational opportunities, and job training, and investing in infrastructure that helps workers get around and do their jobs.
“Here’s the bottom line: Good paying jobs make Jersey more affordable. And as anyone who lives here can tell you, our state has an affordability crisis. It’s why I’m running as the “Lower Taxes, Lower Costs” Governor. And as Governor, I want as many jobs coming here as possible, so our state grows, thrives, and becomes more affordable. We need to knock down as many hurdles in the way of that.
“The reality is that, historically, Jersey isn’t as welcoming as it should be, not only for new businesses, but also for those job creators who’ve been here a long time. For starters, we have the highest business taxes in the nation, and we’re infamous for our red tape and bureaucracy. That makes it hard for us to recruit new businesses. Then, you add in the high cost of living, utility bills, property taxes, high rents, and it becomes hard to find workers in Jersey who can afford to live here and work here. There’s a reason why we lost a third of our public companies in the last decade. We’re shrinking, not growing.
“Now, there’s two ways to look at this – one, we just say it’s Jersey. It is what it is. There’s a sign on the door in Trenton – no businesses need apply. Or, put another way, as a business owner once said to me, if you can do business here, you can do business anywhere.
“Then, there’s the other way. The way I prefer and how I’ll govern. We shouldn’t just accept the status quo. If we are going to have a shot at making Jersey more affordable, at building a strong economy that attracts and grows the jobs of tomorrow, we need to do things differently here. We need to cut the legendary red tape. We need to build on our historic economic engines, including life sciences and medicine, financial services, manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism. Tech and AI are the future. We need to lay claim on those jobs and prepare our state and workers for them. We have the best and brightest workforce and unbelievable universities – we should be crushing it.
“Jersey needs a Governor who has the experience I have, who will push every single day to accomplish the promises I’ve laid out during this race. And together, I know we can get it done. We can grow our state. We can make it more affordable. We can help our kids and the next generation of workers, entrepreneurs, and leaders thrive. My Jobs4Jersey Plan is more than a plan—it’s a blueprint for restoring the promise that Jersey offers.”
Gottheimer unveiled his “Jobs4Jersey” Plan with Joe Hession, CEO of Snow Partners, at Big Snow American Dream in East Rutherford.
Josh’s 18-page “Jobs4Jersey” Plan is available HERE and the main points are summarized below. Watch his entire speech HERE.
Attracting More Jobs and Business to New Jersey
- It’s too expensive and too difficult for businesses to grow or stay in New Jersey. We’ve lost over a third of our publicly traded companies in the last decade and workers are leaving because the state is so unaffordable. In my Tax Cut Plan, I’ve laid out the steps I’ll take to address this urgent issue. I’ll offer a $5,000 “New Job” Tax Credit for every job created in New Jersey and slash our highest-in-the-nation property taxes by nearly 15 percent. I’ll give renters an annual rebate and a tax credit for families and seniors. These steps will help Jersey compete with other states—for businesses, for jobs, and for workers.
Grow and Support New Jersey’s Main Industries
- Jersey has what it takes to lead in innovation— a strategic location, strong values, and a talented workforce. But we need to cut through the red tape and make our state more affordable, so our people and businesses can thrive. I’ll invest in our key industries like tech, life sciences, finance, manufacturing, and agriculture to help them grow. I’ll recruit new businesses with fast-tracked permits and cuts to bureaucracy, and I’ll support small businesses by giving them more access to capital, lower fees, and a one-stop shop with resources. I will also help our agricultural industry through tax relief, streamlined approvals, and better food distribution. To boost our economy, we should focus on growing what’s already working.
Making the Investments We Need in Our People
- Jersey has the best schools in the country and a talented workforce, but we should be doing more to expand job training programs so kids can get a good-paying job as soon as they want it. I’ll expand universal pre-K, full-day kindergarten, and free school meals to give every child a strong start. To help with career readiness, I’ll expand apprenticeships, community college, and skill-based programs, and invest in workforce development by strengthening public-private partnerships, modernizing job training access, and removing degree barriers. And to keep great teachers in the classroom, I’ll streamline certifications, boost loan forgiveness, salaries, and restore COLAs, among other steps to support educators’ pensions. My “Lower Taxes, Lower Costs” plan will help talented workers afford to stay here, work here, and raise their families here.
Making the Investments We Need in Our Infrastructure
- Our infrastructure is crumbling, and commuters are paying the price. NJ Transit is unreliable, delays are constant, and fares keep rising. As Governor, I’ll invest in more buses, new train cars, and pay drivers better to fix shortages and restore reliable service. I will also create priority bus lanes, expand park-and-ride options, increase ferry access, and hold Amtrak accountable by freezing our $200 million annual payment until they update the out-of-date tracks and cables. When trains are canceled or extremely delayed, we’ll refund tickets—no one should have to pay for bad service, and we’ll stop “Summers of Hell” from happening again. I’ll also ensure South Jersey isn’t left behind by expanding PATCO and improving regional rail service. And because broadband is just as essential, I will expand free public Wi-Fi, support local broadband networks and cooperatives, especially in rural areas, and lift restrictions blocking towns from improving broadband access.
Below: Gottheimer tours Big Snow American Dream.
CONGRESSMAN JOSH GOTTHEIMER
REMARKS ON JOBS4JERSEY, AS DRAFTED
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ
May 28, 2025
Good morning, everyone. Thank you to Joe for that great introduction and for hosting us on the slopes in spring. And I know that Mayor Lahullier couldn’t be here today, but I want to thank him for his support in this race.
Joe and I go way back. He’s a Jersey guy. Grew up in Vernon and chased the American Dream – step by step, from a ski lift operator to owning Mountain Creek and Big Snow. And I’ve been thinking about Joe a lot recently, as I’ve been traveling across the state talking with folks, including small business owners and hard workers, from all walks of life who are fed up with the status quo here in Jersey.
When Joe first opened Big SNOW, I’ve gotta be honest—I was a little skeptical. No way would people ski indoors. But, then naturally, I came and tried it out and realized Joe was onto something big. And I don’t mean just the hot chocolate. People love this place – the skiing is great and it’s always packed. It’s been a wild success.
In fact, other states and towns around the country are trying to recruit him to open facilities in their communities. They’re rolling out the red carpet for him as he travels around to find the best place to expand. They’ll get all the decision makers together in one room to meet with him, from the town to the state—and offer him incentives and a clear timeline to make his projects happen. They want Big Snow in their state – and they’ll fight like hell to get him and other businesses there. In Jersey, it’s just the opposite—we make businesses beg us to approve permits. It takes 5-7 years to build anything, while other states take 2 years. In other states, they get that businesses help our economy thrive – they create good paying jobs for families. It’s time to do the same in Jersey. I get that businesses attract people to come to our state and workers to move here. They are our lifeblood—and it’s time we make it easier for them to create jobs and grow. That’s good for the middle class.
Here’s the bottom line: Good paying jobs make Jersey more affordable. And as anyone who lives here can tell you, our state has an affordability crisis. It’s why I’m running as the “Lower Taxes, Lower Costs” Governor. And as Governor, I want as many jobs coming here as possible, so our state grows, thrives, and becomes more affordable. We need to knock down as many hurdles in the way of that.
The reality is that, historically, Jersey isn’t as welcoming as it should be, not only for new businesses, but also for those job creators who’ve been here a long time. For starters, we have the highest business taxes in the nation, and we’re infamous for our red tape and bureaucracy. That makes it hard for us to recruit new businesses. Then, you add in the high cost of living, utility bills, property taxes, high rents, and it becomes hard to find workers in Jersey who can afford to live here and work here. There’s a reason why we lost a third of our public companies in the last decade. We’re shrinking, not growing.
Now, there’s two ways to look at this – one, we just say it’s Jersey. It is what it is. There’s a sign on the door in Trenton – no businesses need apply. Or, put another way, as a business owner once said to me, if you can do business here, you can do business anywhere.
Then, there’s the other way. The way I prefer and how I’ll govern. We shouldn’t just accept the status quo. If we are going to have a shot at making Jersey more affordable, at building a strong economy that attracts and grows the jobs of tomorrow, we need to do things differently here. We need to cut the legendary red tape. We need to build on our historic economic engines, including life sciences and medicine, financial services, manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism. Tech and AI are the future. We need to lay claim on those jobs and prepare our state and workers for them. We have the best and brightest workforce and unbelievable universities – we should be crushing it.
As Governor, I’ll go after the bureaucracy that adds years to small businesses starting up and makes it miserable for them to operate. No more gotcha games – a lot more thank yous for creating jobs here and supporting our economy. My Tax Cut Plan will make it more affordable for workers to live here. It includes a nearly 15 percent property tax cut, a rental rebate, family tax credit, and so much more. My Tax Cut Plan also includes a $5,000 credit for every new job that companies bring to Jersey. And, I’ll go door to door around the country to make the case for why people should do business in Jersey. I’ll claw back the jobs we’ve lost to states like Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, and North Carolina. But, like any business, we need a real plan.
Building on the tax cuts and cost cuts I’ve already proposed, today I’m also releasing my Jobs4Jersey plan, which focuses on improving the three key ingredients to a strong economy—growing and supporting businesses of all sizes, strengthening our workforce, and investing in our infrastructure.
First, My Jobs4Jersey plan goes through sector-by-sector to identify how we can help major industries continue to grow in New Jersey.
On tech, we should be doing more to attract start-ups and create an environment where innovation thrives. I’ll launch a one-stop shop for startups and make the NJ Accelerate Pilot Program permanent, so entrepreneurs have the resources and tools they need to innovate. I’ll also help our strong medicine, life sciences, and biopharmaceuticals sector continue to thrive. We’re already home to 13 of the top research-based pharmaceutical companies, among the more than 3,000 life sciences businesses in Jersey. We need more of these high paying jobs. We are the medicine cabinet to the world—so we need more biotech and AI related research jobs. I’ll introduce new incentives and help cut red tape, especially for life-saving research programs that are literally changing the world.
When it comes to high-skilled manufacturing, which is a growing industry in Jersey, I’ll make sure we’re centralizing and streamlining workforce training, especially for advanced manufacturing like semiconductors, robotics, clean energy, and more. And our state should be buying products that we make here in Jersey whenever possible. I’ll help support New Jersey’s finance sector by partnering with universities and encouraging fintech companies to grow and come to Jersey to join the more than 100 that are already here. And I’ll update our tax code to incentivize startups.
Many people don’t know that Jersey also has a major agricultural industry, where our farmers grow the best blueberries and corn in the nation. I’ll protect farmland and farm workers, and expand local supply chains so small farms and local food producers are able to sell their products here.
And finally, I’ll do everything I can to help small business owners and entrepreneurs thrive. My dad ran a small business where I worked as a kid, so I know how hard store owners and mom and pop shops work. I’ll help entrepreneurs get access to capital and resources they need. I’ll create a one-stop business permitting portal to streamline the permitting, startup, and licensing processes, and I’ll slash the annual fee to register a business from $75 to just $7.
Second, we must continue to strengthen our workforce.
Businesses come to Jersey because of our people. They want talented, driven, reliable workers who do a good job and have the skills they need to excel.
Jersey is privileged to already have a talented workforce with the best schools, which helps us attract specialized industries. But, if we want to continue to grow, we need to invest in our people with top-notch job training —not only so they can afford to stay here and raise a family here, but so they can adapt to changing innovation and industry trends, like the use of AI.
Our strong public K-12 schools were just rated best in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. I want to make sure every child in Jersey has a chance to go to the best schools and get the best education possible. That’s why I’ve already announced my plans to fully implement universal pre-k and all-day kindergarten, to change the school funding formula, to expand free school meals to every kid that wants one, so our kids can perform at their best. We must also invest in vocational and skills training in high school, because college isn’t always the right path for everyone. I’ll also make sure we pay our teachers, restore COLAS, and make our pension payments.
There’s a lot we need to fix when it comes to higher education and workforce development, too. The biggest thing is that we should be making it easier for kids to afford to go to college here in Jersey. Rutgers should not cost as much as Penn State for Jersey residents. It makes no sense. I want to keep our children here after they graduate, not send them out of state to Pennsylvania or god forbid, New York. And we’ve got to be investing in those who choose another path, like trade school or a skills job. I’ll expand public-private partnerships to align worker training and our colleges with industry needs and create workforce pipelines with labor, employers, and educators to match up skill sets with available jobs. I’ll remove unnecessary degree requirements from state jobs and invest in career readiness starting in middle school, so we’re leaving our children as well prepared as possible to enter the workforce. I’ll work to build on community college programs that help train students for all sorts of different jobs, from nursing to programming and AI to culinary school, and other certificate programs.
A strong workforce is the heartbeat of a strong economy, and I’ll always fight for our workers when I’m Governor.
Third, we must invest in our infrastructure.
You can’t have a top-notch economy if your mass transit system doesn’t work and your roads are crumbling. Jersey needs a top-rate transit system if we expect to have a top-rate economy—I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—because it’s clear to me, right now, that NJ Transit is failing the needs of Jersey commuters. And we need to quit dancing around the subject and just get it fixed. No more waiting for delayed projects or outdated proposals—I’ll actually get things done.
I’ve been working for years to get Jersey the money we need to modernize and fix our transit. It’s why I pushed so hard to negotiate, write, and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which has already delivered more than $8.5 billion to fix our roads, bridges, railways, airports, and help us build the Gateway Train Tunnel. I’ll do even more to fill the potholes and keep our roads and bridges safe for drivers.
Today, I’m releasing more than a dozen policies that I’ll promote to fix our transit infrastructure as Governor. I’ll expand bus service and the number of priority lanes, including getting new buses and rail cars. We’ll finally get the new Port Authority bus station in New York built to help reduce crowding. We should also add more ferries and new routes to give commuters options. I’ll increase park and ride options and prioritize transit-oriented development. If trains are massively. late or cancelled, like was all too familiar for folks during the “summers of hell,” then I think riders should get their money back. You shouldn’t have to pay to sit on the train and lose even more money. I’ll also hold Amtrak accountable—and stop them from taking advantage of Jersey. We should be getting the equivalent back in repairs and improvements to our infrastructure of the money we put in to fund these organizations, and I’ll make sure we do.
To handle the crisis at Newark airport, we need to surge air traffic controllers and fix the towers to handle our crowded airspace. More than 20% of our nation’s GDP runs through this area—our economy simply can’t afford to have an airport operating at half capacity. I’m pushing the FAA to fix the outdated towers and get us more controllers and to heavily recruit and train additional people so we never get into this mess again.
And South Jersey, I’ll be a Governor who follows through on investing in the South, not just talking about it. For too long, infrastructure and transit projects have been delayed down there, but I’ll make sure we finally expand the PATCO line south to Glassboro and are putting forward the investments we need to provide rail service across the state.
Finally, we can’t have the jobs of the future, if we don’t have enough energy to handle AI or get power to apartment buildings and small businesses. That’s why I’m focused on an All-of-the-Above approach, so we can surge energy supply and handle the demand. This is just the topline of my Jobs4Jersey plan—please read it.
As we approach the final few days in this race, it’s clear that I’m the only candidate running with detailed plans to lower costs, lower taxes, promote smart growth, and make our state more affordable—for people and for businesses. And I have a long record of getting tough things like this done, in Congress and in the private sector when I worked at Ford and Microsoft. That combination of experience is so important, because I understand how businesses operate. I understand what it’s like for small business owners to take those risks and achieve their dreams, because that’s what my dad did when I was a kid. And I know how to win the toughest of elections.
Jersey needs a Governor who has the experience I have, who will push every single day to accomplish the promises I’ve laid out during this race. And together, I know we can get it done. We can grow our state. We can make it more affordable. We can help our kids and the next generation of workers, entrepreneurs, and leaders thrive. My Jobs4Jersey Plan is more than a plan—it’s a blueprint for restoring the promise that Jersey offers.
Let’s make sure that New Jersey remains the best place in the country to live, work, and raise a family. Here in the greatest country in the world, I know we can do that – and our best days will always be ahead of us. God bless our state and our great country. Thank you so much.
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