I am happy to report that I came in 4th out of the 12 candidates. That means I came in 1st among the candidates who did not raise big money and were not included in the televised debates. I appear to have come in 4th in 7 of the 21 counties, and beat the 5th place candidate by over 1,100 votes statewide.

I spent less money and less time than many of the other candidates, but I ran with a "brand name," Libertarian Party, which helped. That label told people what I stand for. I also think my 500 word ballot statement helped.

Those candidate statements were mailed to all 5.2 million voters in the state on the back of the sample ballots.

Anyhow, I did as well as I could have hoped with the limited resources I had. I am heartened to be the leader of "the others," but we all need to work harder to reach the next level.

Thank you to all who have donated their time and money to my campaign. Thank you to all who cast their vote for freedom.

In Liberty,

Ken Kaplan

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What Ken will do for New Jersey

One of Kaplan’s priorities is phasing out the New Jersey state income tax as we reduce the size and cost of state government.  Another key goal of Kaplan’s is enactment of a marriage equality law in New Jersey to allow same sex couples to marry.  Says Kaplan, “I see this as a civil rights issue, where all citizens should enjoy the same rights.”

Kaplan offers a creative solution to the decades long quest to create affordable housing in New Jersey.  He wants the state to enact legislation to supersede local zoning ordinances, removing zoning barriers which currently prevent owners of single family homes from converting them to two family homes and the owners of two family homes from converting them to three families.  This will solve the affordable housing crisis not just for people moving into the new units, but also for the families, many of whom might be senior citizens, who may now be able to remain in houses that had become too large and too expensive for their needs.  This will solve the affordable housing problem without the expenditure of any tax dollars.

Kaplan also wants to see a state constitutional amendment to allow for greater flexibility in educating our children.  He sees vouchers as an immediate way to give parents more choice in where their children attend school.

Kaplan champions patients’ rights, and wants a law passed that would allow medical marijuana to be legally grown or purchased when prescribed by a doctor.  According to Kaplan, “We have many people in New Jersey suffering the effects of cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, and other ailments.  The humanitarian and compassionate thing to do is allow them legal access to a drug that could help them.”

The Hall Institute recently asked several questions of the NJ gubernatorial candidates. Ken's opening statement can be read here. The dialog between the Hall Institute and Ken Kaplan follows.

Hall Institute:

Perhaps, the most daunting long-term economic challenge confronting New Jersey is the fiscal condition of the state's public pension system. Given today's economic and political climate, what steps would you take to meet the state's growing pension obligations?

Ken Kaplan Responds: