Montclair Republican Club Hosts 'Courts Gone Wild' Forum

welcomes conservative Steve Lonegan at a meeting Tuesday night to talk about the impact of the state's judges on New Jersey's economy and high taxes.

The forum, titled "Courts Gone Wild," will be held at 7 p.m. at Restaurant at 12 Church Street.

Roland Straten, a Montclair Republican who has run for Congress, said it's important for everyone to come out to hear what Lonegan has to say. Lonegan is the New Jersey chapter head of Americans for Prosperity. Lonegan believes that the New Jersey Supreme Court has helped fuel not only the rise in the state’s spending, but also its crushing tax burden.

"Recently, in an unprecedented display of working together, both Democrats and Republicans passed legislation to put the question of requiring judges to pay more for their benefits on the November ballot," Straten said. But "about a week ago, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided it was unconstitutional to require judges to increase their contributions to their pension and pay more for health care.

"The decision struck down last year’s legislation that required all state employees to pay more for their benefits to help get us out of the fiscal crisis," he added. "This would mean that judges would be the only class of state employees exempted from paying more for their benefits."

Straten said that this is only one "egregious" example of how New Jersey's courts have overstepped their mandate.

"Even if you do not agree with Steve Lonegan on everything, you should listen to his arguments on how the courts have seriously harmed New Jersey's ability to be competitive by making bad decisions on everything from education and taxes to land use," he said. 

Straten said that Tuesday night's gathering is just more proof of how Montclair Republicans—who have launched a new website—are trying to get their message out to voters.

"We just want to tell Montclair Republicans that we are here," he said. "Take a look [at the website] and if you have something to say, I will post it."

He said the Republicans' overall aim is to convince more people "that government is too big."

What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.