Potosnak Confident in Race Against Lance

While some Democrats have privately told Patch that Democratic congressional nominee Ed Potosnak will not unseat U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon County) this year, Potosnak said he finds that to be further from the case.

Potosnak, a former teacher and congressional aide, dismisses the naysayers as party insiders who he has not been courting in his race. He touts the reactions he has been getting from voters, an internal poll that shows him four points behind the one term Republican and CNN's recent characterization of the race as one of 50 to watch nationwide. 

"I am not an establishment candidate," Potosnak said. "The idea we'd run around talking to a lot of the establishment is not part of what my focus is."

Potosnak garnered the Democratic nod to challenge Lance in the four county district unopposed in June, after several better-known Democrats considered potential candidates, including Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr and Summit Mayor Jordan Glatt declined to challenge Lance. 

In an interview with Patch, Potosnak outlined his thoughts on the issues currently facing Congress.

Economy

Potosnak has been citing the economy and small business at the top of his platform, looking to develop new small businesses as a way to economic recovery. He places blame with Lance in terms of the pace of the current recovery, citing the Republican's place as a member of the financial services committee, which regulates the banking and housing industries.

"He's charged with the responsibility of holding big banks and Wall Street accountable and protecting consumers," Potosnak said about Lance. "In committee and on the House floor, he said no to regulations to ensure that something like this does not happen again."

Lance has defended his votes saying that overregulation has been detrimental to business creation and that separating consumer protection functions from the Securities and Exchange Commission would be harmful to the economy and consumers. 

Potosnak has accused Lance of placating his contributors, which have included the financial services industry, in his voting record on banking regulations. Potosnak said he wants to see increased regulation of the financial services sector, saying this will help the economy bounce back by halting the new investment options used in recent years.

"There are people who say it was fine how it was, but who are these people?" Potosnak said. "It was the big banks who would make money either way.

Both candidates have placed small business policy at the forefront of the race. Potosnak formally launched his campaign in July while touting small business issues and Lance discussed small business policy during a downtown Westfield press conference several weeks ago. 

Potosnak attacks Lance's position on small business, saying that the incumbent has not been addressing the issues and voted against a bill which would have provided relief for small business.

"His record on small business it there isn't a record," Potosnak said. "I've lived the struggles of a small business owner. My parents had a small business and I started my own small business."

Potosnak and Lance have both called for increasing availability of small business funding as part of their platforms. In his press conference, Lance cited a need to make regulations on small businesses less burdensome, saying the current regulatory structure has been a negative to small businesses and small business start-ups, according to the owners he said he has spoken with. 

Potosnak said he believes Lance has acted contrary to his proposals, saying Lance voted against increased small business funding when he voted against an unemployment benefits extension bill, which contained a small business provision, in July.

Education

Potosnak, a former chemistry teacher at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, exhibits a passion when discussing education policy.

"Our future is in our classrooms," he said.

Potosnak said in Congress he would like to steer more resources directly to the classrooms, noting a need to reform current federal testing requirements and move the focus off of math and language arts. He said the Bush era No Child Left Behind education law and testing system has placed too much emphasis on these two subjects and ignored others including science, social studies and the arts.

Potosnak said he wants to end the current tests and move to a more inclusive evaluation system for education, including looking at performance in multiple measurements in all subjects, the amount of students in advanced classes and the depth of extracurricular activities. 

"We need to implement a system that is aligned with what we value as a nation and what will help us become a strong nation again," he said. 

Potosnak said he wants to see increased technology utilized in the schools, citing his work in bringing more technology into his former high school. While a teacher, Potosnak also taught teacher education classes and workshops on utilizing technology in the classroom. Part of the work he has done is implementing the Blackboard classroom management program into Bridgewater, which he said allowed for increased communication between teachers and students outside of the class period. 

Health Care

While supporting the recently passed health care reform law in the abstract, Potosnak said there are more reforms he wants to see put in place to make the law stronger. Namely he said he would like to increase competition within health care and provide more coverage to allow people to be covered outside of employment based health care. 

He said he favors many aspects of the reform law, including extending benefits for senior citizens and extending coverage to 20-somethings by allowing them to stay on their parents' coverage until the age of 26. Outside of increasing competition, Potosnak said he wants to see more of the future health care laws focus on prevention rather than just insurance. 

"The bill came short in the area of promoting health versus helping people once they're sick," he said. "The U.S. does a great job in helping people if they have a problem if you have insurance. We are falling behind in terms of prevention."

Foreign Affairs

In the area of foreign affairs, Potosnak stressed his support of Israel and defending Israel's place in the Middle East. He said threats in Iran in terms of nuclear development concern him and he will support legislation to defend Israel from outside threats.

"I fully support the Jewish state of Israel," he said. "The U.S. and Israel have an unbreakable bond. As the only democracy in the region we need to ensure that the security and safety of Israelis is maintained and we move towards peace."

The Democrat's views are in line with Lance, who used a town hall meeting in Summit earlier this month to promote his support for Israel and concern over Iran's nuclear capability.

Potosnak expressed concern over the continued U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and said he would like to bring the troops home as soon as possible. He stressed though that he supports the work of the military based in Afghanistan.

Lance has stressed his support for President Obama's current Afghanistan policy, saying that he believes a bipartisan approach is needed to foreign and military policy.

Term Limits

Potosnak has made Lance's years of public service an issue in the race. Lance, the son and grandson of state senators, was an aide to former Gov. Tom Kean in the 1980s before serving 18 years in the state legislature. Potosnak said he plans on limiting his service in the House of Representatives if elected.  

"I've committed to serving no more than eight years in the House of Representatives, that's self imposed," he said. "I am not going to Washington for a job. I am not asking voters to send me there for a job. I am going to get a job done, a job my opponent has not gotten done."