In 2021, Edward Durr ran an improbable campaign against the most powerful legislator in Trenton. Senate President Steve Sweeney, the guy who pushed through legislation and was often discussed as a leading candidate for governor, went down in shocking defeat.

Election 2021 Legislature New Jersey
AP
loading...

Although the news reports didn't get it quite right reporting that he spent only a few hundred dollars, it was one of the biggest upsets in the state's electoral history.

Prior to the win and following Election Day, Sen. Durr, known as "Ed the Trucker", joined me on air to talk about common sense solutions for New Jersey residents. He's a champion for the middle class, small businesses and our state's most vulnerable residents.

Perhaps the strongest attribute that Sen. Durr brings to the state capitol is his common-sense, no-nonsense, normal approach.

Edward Durr
Edward Durr (Edward Durr)
loading...

The Founders talked about having "citizen legislators" making decisions for the nation instead of a professional class of politicians.

If you look at the makeup of our Legislature, with so many lawyers, professional politicians, and people elected by conventions instead of directly from the voters, it's clear that Ed the Trucker is the outlier.

Given that New Jersey is last in the business climate and first in out-migration, clearly the professional political class has failed the people. Enter Sen. Durr. He's got a family. He works for a living. He understands what it's like to live within your means. He's a plain-speaking man who loves his country, values his liberty, and stands up for his community.

He kicked off his re-election campaign in Deptford, NJ, last week at a great small business location, Adelphia.

I was honored to be invited to emcee the event and to lend my full support to this stand-up guy.

We need more "Ed the Truckers" in Trenton. It's time for the middle and working class to have true representative government.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

LOOK: Here's where people in every state are moving to most

Stacker analyzed the Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey data to determine the three most popular destinations for people moving out of each state.

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM