Meet Your District 21 Representatives

As part of the realigned 21st District, Bernards Township residents find themselves having to become acquainted with new legislative representatives.

Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R) and Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz (R) introduced themselves to the local press Thursday night prior to the Bernards Township Republican Municipal Committee fundraiser at Vita Restaurant.

Both Bramnick and Munoz acknowledged that voters may find having new representatives a difficult transition.

“People aren’t crazy about change to begin with,” Bramnick said. “We’re like the new son-in-law that sits across the table.”

“Denise (Coyle, the township resident who had represented the area when it was in the 16th District) was so well-liked,” Munoz said. “That’s the hard part.”

She continued, “We’ve been pleased to meet the committee people up here. We are gaining connections with the town’s that have come into the 21st District. We’re spending a lot of time getting to know them. We’re hoping for a 10-year relationship (when the next realignment can take place).”

She wants to assure residents that “if there are policies that directly affect our district, you can count on us; we don’t ignore any of the towns in our district. I don’t look at this as a county-line kind of thing. As a township, Bernards is very similar to the towns in which we live and that we already represent.”

Bramnick added that they are considering opening an office in Bernards Township.

The representatives cited educational funding as one of their priorities.

“All of our towns have been short-changed for many, many years,” said Bramnick. “We are committed to ensuring that they stay as the best schools and continue to be well-funded from the state. We don’t want to lose these quality schools. The governor, hopefully, will fund the schools that are doing well and not throw more and more money into the Abbott districts.”

In light of a recent school board meeting the two attended, Munoz noted, “They had given a lot of thought to their positions. Educational funding is something we’re currently involved in.”

“People are willing to pay their fair share of taxes but they want to make sure their money is used efficiently,” the assemblyman said.

When asked what he felt was important for Bernards Township residents to know, Bramnick cited three points:

• Accessibility: “If you’re not accessible and you’re not responding to the inquiries, you don’t have the heartbeat of the community.”
• Constituent services: “This is under-utilized. We touch almost every aspect of regular life in the state. It doesn’t have to be a state problem. There are so many services people don’t know about.”
• Public policy: “We have an impact on public policy but we are each only one of 120 legislators.”

Munoz, who has a master’s degree in nursing, was sworn in May 2009 to fill the unexpired term of her late husband, Eric Munoz, M.D. In November of 2009 she was elected to her first two-year term. She currently sits on the Health and Senior Services Committee and the Tourism and Arts Committee. She resides in Summit and has 5 children.

Bramnick, an attorney, was first elected to the Assembly in 2003. He serves as Republican Conference Leader and sits on the Law & Public Safety Committee, Consumer Affairs Committee and Statehouse Commission Committee. A Westfield resident, he and his wife have 2 children.