By Matt Rooney | September 22, 2008

“Big government and corruption tie together.”

On Friday afternoon, I sat down for a candid talk with Assemblyman John Amodeo (R-Atlantic). John is hardworking, opinionated and fiercely independent. He's also originally a Camden boy like yours truly, so naturally we hit it off right from the beginning!

On Moving to Atlantic County from Camden as a boy:

Matt: As much as I love Camden County, my second home is definitely the Jersey Shore. I can understand how you got bitten by the Shore bug.

Amodeo: It happens. When we were 4, 5, 6 years old we really didn't care. We'd stay with our grandparents back up in Camden on the weekend to give our parents a break once my dad started working down the Shore. But when you're in 4th and 5th grade and your friends are going to the beach on a Saturday, or even Monday through Friday in the Summer...

On the Cost of Living in New Jersey:

Matt: Particularly in New Jersey, and everywhere else I suppose to a certain extent, you're forced to stay home longer and longer to work through school and get a start in life. And the New Jersey Legislature hasn't made things any easier with some of the policies they've pursued in recent years.

Amodeo: They've actually made it much more difficult. Instead of doing the prudent thing, they've wasted things to take care of their people, "cronies," to keep padding the payroll, padding their pensions and keep giving out health care benefits. Believe me, I think health care benefits are important in our society and you're entitled to them if you work. But for part-time legislators, lawyers and officials in Trenton to take it on the public dime is just plain wrong. For 30 years I went to work every day to feed my family and pay for my health care, so out of principle I declined state health care paid for by the New Jersey public. It's just not right.

On Election 2009:

Matt: I volunteered in 2007 with Nick Asselta and we all know how that went. Now you and Vince Polistina are the only elected GOP state officials left in New Jersey's southernmost six counties. You guys are kind of like the "last of the Jedi," if you'll forgive the terrible pop culture reference. So since you're going to be a major target, what are you expecting in 2009?

Amodeo: As you know, Districts 1 and 2 were the prime targets in 2007. I gotta be honest with you- even last year, when I saw the money pouring in, what they were spending compared to what we raised, how they spent $3.1 million to the $958 thousand we raised, I still felt confident that we'd win in the end of the day. Remember that most of our money came from individuals, hard-earned money. And you're never going to have an easy time fighting big machine money, which was coming down here to take our seats. Sure they came hard at us, but the thing that won us was the election was a series of 2-3 debates where people could see who really had their best interests at heart. That was the turning point- the first poll that came out from our media person in the beginning of August '07 showed Wilkins 2 points ahead of me and Vince running 3rd. In September, the shift began and Vince and I moved into 1 and 2, and by election day it was all over.

As far as looking forward into 2009, and I know Vince feels the same way: we are going to go ahead, continue to do our job and answer the needs of our district. We're out there every day letting the people of our district know that we're there for them and at this point, Matt, people come up and tell us that "we know you're fighting an uphill battle in the minority but keep it up, and we know that you have our best interests in mind." And that's what we've always wanted to do, so I feel very confident. Whatever they put up against us, we can prevail.

On Life in the Minority:

Matt: How have you dealt with the dynamic of being a freshman in the minority?

Amodeo: Some of my closest friends are Democrats. I approached my job Trenton responsibly, wanting to represent my district and not wanting to spend any money that would burden our state's taxpayers. I don't care if my name is on the bill I'm working on so long as it's good for my district and the people of the state of New Jersey.

In the end, Trenton's really about establishing relationships in the majority. You have to forge relationships and so far I've been successful in that way.

On COAH:

Amodeo: I've had conversations with the Speaker, along with Vince, telling him that his COAH legislation is gonna ruin the State of New Jersey. He argued with me, and I said "With all due respect, COAH should have something in place so that towns can work with the state and account for different town-specific scenarios." The environment has to be modified. I believe in "affordable" housing. I have kids that worked to afford housing and it's tough. An "affordable house" in New Jersey costs $161,000.

Matt: I think that's about what I have in loans.

Amodeo: Yeah, see if you can go out there and buy a house. But what A500 did was establish that 115,000 homes have to be built in the next several years. That number would never work, and the cost of it is about $18.5 billion. The development fee is only going to raise about $2 billion. The rest will come from the cost of the house and the taxpayers. It's a total disaster. It's going to end up costing us money.

On Jon Corzine and the Budget:

Amodeo: I'll give credit where credit is due. I think the Governor did do some good things in this budget. Not a whole lot, but he did put money aside to pay back into the pensions. He also put out the early retirement incentive, which wasn't as successful as he planned, promising not to backfill 10% of those jobs. He wanted 2,500 to retire, and I think about 1,370 have. He did cut spending in certain ways.

However, to his discredit, he turned around and inflicted the brunt of the spending cuts on small towns. But left the monetary allotment to Abbott districts unaffected. The percentage going to Abbotts should've been reduced to fund other programs and avoid a big burden for our small towns.

The Governor also did well trimming pork barrel spending, denying the districts everything they wanted, until they added the $3.9 billion school construction measure at the last minute.

On Working with Vince Polistina:

Amodeo: We get along so well and we are such a great team. He's a bright young man and a very successful businessman. When we want to do something, we'll ask each other where we are on a given piece of legislation. We talk about where we should be and then we work it out.

On State Police Patrols:

Matt: Trenton's decision making often disproportionately burdens different parts of the state. This is particularly true of state police patrols and related funding issues, where small towns like those in Western Atlantic County are disproportionately burdened financially while large cities like Camden and Newark avoid paying for the same services. What would be your solution for a more equitable outcome?

Amodeo: The sheriff departments' scope of work should be expanded to help out in small towns.  Also, it's wrong to send bills to these small towns and tell them "you owe this share of $12.5 million" while Abbott district spending remains unaffected. How about cutting health care for part time elected officials? I bet the savings would be $10 million alone. Also cut pensions and health care for all of these appointed commissions! These are places, along with a dozen others, where you could tighten the belt and make a difference in other areas. After all, education and safety are the most important things in our society. 

On Corruption and Big Government:

Matt: I've always looked at corruption as going hand-in-hand with big government.

Amodeo: That's right. Big government and corruption tie together. You just keep padding the payroll and adding positions. And you said the word- big government. That's our problem in this state. We need to get a handle on it, shrink government, get some of this wasted money out of the system, and the result will be less corruption in New Jersey. You said it in a nutshell.

Matt: As Republicans challenging the status quo, how do you successfully tie those issues together? NJGOP candidates haven't had much luck running against corruption.

Amodeo: We need to put a message out there, stay on message and pound it home. If we get a good candidate, which I think we're going to get, like Chris Christie, people will admire him for what he's done. We need to pound home the connection.

Matt: Sure, and I've never thought of it as a Republican-Democrat issue. It's a big government issue.

Amodeo: Right. We need to downsize government. There's too much regulation in New Jersey and you just can't move. For example, state boards should be all volunteer. Corzine says people won't give up time for it, but that's not how I grew up. If you care about your state, you make the time.

On the Philadelphia Eagles vs. the Dallas Cowboys

Amodeo: They had an admirable game against a tough team. So do I think they're a contender? Sure, 'cause I'm an Eagles fan.

On Sports Betting:

Amodeo: I supported it as a referendum question. It's not something that's gonna generate a lot of daily revenue, and I don't think the casinos are even that interested. I think it's really the Legislature pushing for it. We missed the boat back in the 90s before they changed the federal legislation.

On Possibly Seeking Higher Office:

Matt: I know you're focused on 2009, but there's talk out there that you might replace Frank LoBiondo if he retires in a couple terms. Have you ever seriously considered running for higher office?

Amodeo: No. I never thought about the Assembly until I was approached by some people. Frank LoBiondo is a dear friend of mine, and we discuss a lot of national issues that affect the district. But I have no desire for that. Change doesn't happen over night, and I'm dedicated to seeing it out in my current role. But if I can get some things to happen in the Assembly in the next few years, making New Jersey more affordable for the state's taxpayers and the 2nd district, then that's good enough for me.

On Making a Difference and Reviving NJ's Two-Party System:

Amodeo: Blogging is a good start.  Volunteerism is also important, but most of all you have to care and have genuine concern for your community and your state. In New Jersey, that's something that too many of our leaders just don't have.