Will the assembly vote affect your vote?

When you vote for your assemblyman, do you base it on what they've done in the past or what they will do during their term? Many in New Jersey either just listen to the ads they run, go with the name of the person who's been there or the name they've heard of. Every now and then we hear or read about their name introducing a bill which pretty much proves that they're doing something to earn your tax dollars.

Is there anything your assemblyman can do in office that would cause you to not vote for them the next time around if they run again? Like say, vote for a 23 cent per gallon gas tax? Patrick Murray, Monmouth University Polling Director, doesn't think so, he tells Andrew Siedman of Philly.com “while polling shows a majority of residents oppose the gas tax, it's not a visceral, gut level, dyed-in-the-wool opposition that says we're going to take it out on any legislator that voted for it at the next election, which is what happened in 1991." This refers to the “Dump Florio” campaign.

One thing that rings true in New Jersey is that we never forget. That's why you should post the names on your refrigerator and refer to them in November. At that time, you can judge if they've done right or wrong by you. It's about time we start paying attention to what these people do while they're spending our tax dollars.

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