3rd NJ Congressional District: Richter Challenges Kim

When the final votes were counted and Andy Kim was declared the winner in New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District in the 2018 election, the ink on the signatures certifying the results was barely dry when the Republican Party began planning for the 2020 election.

The seat that represents portions of Ocean and Burlington counties was one of 41 seats in the House of Representatives that flipped from the Republicans to the Democrats, giving the Democrats control of the House.

The seat had been held by a Republican since 2011 before Kim, a Democrat, defeated Tom MacArthur by fewer than 4,000 votes, and Republicans are hoping to flip it back in 2020. In a district that is a Republican stronghold in Ocean County and heavily Democrat in Burlington County, it has been rated as a toss-up from the start of the 2020 campaign cycle.

Kim, who received resounding support in the Democratic primary in July though he ran unopposed, is being challenged by Republican David Richter, who is living in Island Heights, and two independent candidates: Martin Weber of Barnegat, and Robert Shapiro, an attorney from Haddonfield.

Kim, Richter and Weber completed candidate questionnaires for Patch. Shapiro did not respond to voicemails left at his law office for the questionnaire.

Kim and Richter faced off in two debates, one sponsored and moderated by New Jersey Globe editor David Wildstein, and the second run by the League of Women Voters of Burlington County and broadcast on WHYY. Weber joined them for the League of Women Voters debate. Shapiro did not participate in the second debate but issued a statement that was read at the start.

You can watch the New Jersey Globe debate here and the League of Women Voters debate here.

Here is where the candidates stand on key issues affecting the Third District:

Coronavirus pandemic

Kim said the economy needs to be reopened but safely. He said businesses need additional support to recover from the effects of the pandemic. He said another round of funding for the Paycheck Protection Program is "so critical to get businesses through these particularly tough times."

Richter said he is following the data and does not believe the pandemic "is behind us by any means. The virus is not going away anytime soon." He said social distancing and masks still need to continue but the economy needs to be reopened. He accused the Democrats of packing the bill to provide relief with "non-COVID" related items.

Affordable Care Act

Richter said he does not support the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. "I absolutely will protect those with pre-existing conditions," he said. He accused Kim of favoring Medicare for All.

Kim supports the Affordable Care Act, and accused Richter of flipping positions, saying Richter supported Trump's effort to gut the ACA. "I’m glad he’s reversed the way he has talked about this but it’s just words when he supports a president who would gut it."

Racial issues and policing

Kim said the issues with race are not solely about policing. "It's about racial disparities when it comes to health care ... (and) starting a small business. He said the Justice in Policing Act passed by the House offers practical steps to address issues. Kim also highlighted how in local marches, local law enforcement took part. "This is not about false choices," he said. "We don't have to choose between systemic racism and the safety of our community."

Richter said "yes, Black lives matter," and said "We need to make things better for all Americans." He said he supports the people who have protested peaceably over racial injustices but said "legitimate protests have been take over by antifa groups" who then committed violence. He said police officers need support, not reduced funding. "There's no question we can make things better," he said.

Weber said, "In America it should be all lives matter. Everything should be fair across the line for everyone.

Abortion

Richter said he is generally pro-choice but supports some restrictions on late-term and partial-birth abortions. He supports the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, who is poised to become the newest Supreme Court justice and who has expressed strong views opposing abortion and the possible overturning of Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that said a woman's decision on abortion was a constitutionally protected right to self-determination.

Kim is pro-choice and has criticized the nomination of Barrett so close to the Nov. 3 election. Barrett is seen as the potential vote that may help overturn both the Affordable Care Act and Roe vs. Wade. Kim called the Senate Republicans' move to push forward "just about raw power."

Veterans health care

Weber said the Veterans Choice program, put in place to address the issues with an overwhelmed Veterans Affairs health care system, is not working, and that many hospitals and health care facilities are not aware of the program

Richter blamed Kim for the withdrawal and rebidding of the new VA clinic to replace the overcrowded facility in Brick.

A contract was expected to be awarded earlier this year, but in May the process was terminated and a new bidding process started the following day.

Kim, like Tom MacArthur before him, has pressed the VA for information and updates, but VA officials have not answered questions from anyone on the status of the project, the reason for the new round of bidding or any other issues around the project. It has been in the works since 2016 and is now in its third bidding process.

The Justice Department and Toms River's zoning debates

In the New Jersey Globe debate, Wildstein asked Kim and Richter about the issues facing Toms River with the investigation by the federal Justice Department into Toms River's zoning issues. Toms River has been accused of zoning practices that discriminate against the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Toms River officials are in negotiations to reach a settlement and prevent being sued by the Justice Department.

Kim said he wants to see it solved on the local level, through trying build connections within the community. "Right now we're trying to do everything we can to have a community that is built on respect. I'm hoping this is something that gets smoothed out sooner rather than later," he said.

Richter said he is a strong defender of religious liberty and freedom, and said, "antiSemitism is such an evil." "They implement anti-Semitism in very subtle ways," Richter said. "There is no question the zoning code can be used as one of those quiet ways," including attempts to "block in and prevent the expansion of a religious minority." He said he didn't think it should be necessary for the federal government to step in "but when it is they should step in to protect people’s constitutional rights."

Richter, who said he backs President Donald Trump, has painted Kim as a progressive Democrat and has repeatedly criticized Kim for voting to make Nancy Pelosi the House Speaker after Kim said he wouldn't during the 2018 campaign. He calls Kim a career politician and says Kim bears responsibility for issues with ISIS and the caliphate that emerged in Iraq.

Kim says he believes working with a wide spectrum of members of Congress is what's necessary to get legislation passes that helps average Americans and sees himself as a moderate. Kim, who worked in foreign affairs in the State Department and later in the Defense Department, called Richter's accusation that Kim was to blame for ISIS "a smear ... repugnant ... a lie" during the New Jersey Globe debate.

Kim, both in the debates and in advertising, has gone after Richter on Richter's move from the Second District to the Third District, and over Richter's business dealings.

Richter, who grew up in Burlington County, has a home in Lawrenceville in addition to the home in Island Heights. He had been poised to run against Jeff Van Drew for the Second District seat until Van Drew switched his party affiliation to Republican following the impeachment hearings against Trump. Richter, during the New Jersey Globe debate, said he is in the process of putting the Lawrenceville home on the market.

He was the CEO of Hill International for 22 years, succeeding his father, and he touts the fact that the company grew from about 300 employees to more than 4,300 during his tenure. Kim accused Richter of moving hundreds jobs out of the Third District when Hill moved its headquarters to Philadelphia from Marlton for a $1.7 million tax incentive; Richter said no employees lost their jobs and that it was a consolidation of the two offices. Kim also pointed out that Richter, who left the company as CEO in 2017 following a year when the business lost $10 million, was head of the business when it was charged with accounting fraud. Its chief accounting officer and a senior accountant settled claims in January of fraudulent accounting that covered up business losses from 2014 to 2017 related to foreign currency exchange rates, and the company was fined $500,000, according to the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

Hill, during the Globe debate, said the company grew substantially during his years as CEO, from $20 million in revenue to $500 million, and that it was taken over by a group of "activist investors," which was why he left in 2017. He said he was not aware of the accounting fraud and said "One small issue to highlight is not indicative of my company."

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