Jeff Grayzel

What public transit options are available to you from your New Jersey residence, and do you regularly use any of these services?

NJ Transit has both bus and rail service in Morris Township

What is your impression of how well public transit serves NJ-11?

Unreliable

What role do you believe the federal government could and should play to fund transit needs in NJ-11?

We need MORE investment into NJ Transit to make it reliable

How would you partner with other organizations, elected officials, and stakeholders to drive regional improvements and inter-agency cooperation?

I am an engineer in my professional life and I understand how to manage projects, pull stakeholders together, and deliver results. I am the only candidate who is an engineer and possessing that engineering skillset.

Train riders in NJ-11 rely on Amtrak-owned infrastructure. What Amtrak funding would you prioritize to improve the experience for New Jersey train riders?

The Gateway Tunnel and everything leading into it needs to be prioritized.

New York City’s congestion pricing program has achieved an 11% reduction in auto traffic into New York City, but is still under attack by the Trump administration. a) Do you oppose the Administration’s attempts to punish NYC for imposing the congestion pricing fee? b) Do you support requiring NYC to share some of the funds raised by the program with NJ to help improve bus and train service between NY and NJ, so that more NJ commuters can avoid the congestion pricing fees?

NYC should absolutely be sharing some of the congestion pricing revenue to invest in public transportation in NJ!!

President Trump has vowed to cancel federal funding for the Gateway Rail Tunnel project, which is needed to preserve commuter rail traffic between NJ and NYC. What is your view of the project? What approaches should be considered to ensure the continuation of the project?

I am an engineer in my professional life and I understand how to manage projects, pull stakeholders together, and build consensus. I am the only candidate who is an engineer and possessing that engineering skillset.

New Jersey is seeking federal funding to extend the Bergen/Hudson Light Rail system to Englewood and the south Jersey River Line Light Rail System to Glassboro. What factors should be considered for funding projects like this? How would you approach advancing transit expansions like this and others within NJ-11?

We need to get cars off the roads and provide MORE public transit options. I support light rail expansion.

New Jersey Transit’s bus electrification goals require substantial federal funding to upgrade the electrical infrastructure in the agency’s bus garages needed to charge new electric transit buses. How do you view federal funding investments in such projects?

Electricity rates are too high right now and so I would first invest in new electric power generation before investing more in electric buses

The Trump Administration is seeking to end California’s ability under the Federal Clean Air Act to set stricter automobile pollution standards than the federal standards. New Jersey along with many other states has traditionally adopted California’s stricter standards, helping keep our air cleaner and encouraging the sales of electric passenger and commercial vehicles under such programs as Advanced Clean Cars and Advanced Clean Trucks, which were implemented under the Murphy administration. What is your view on maintaining California and other states' ability to set stricter air quality standards?

We definitely need those stricter standards, and I support them.

Last year, the Republican budget ended federal EV tax incentives. In response, US automakers scaled back their investments in new EV and electric battery production. This puts our domestic auto industry at a competitive disadvantage to the Chinese, whose EV models are increasingly gaining a larger share of the world wide auto marketplace. What policy approaches should Congress consider to maintain US global competitiveness in the auto industry?

In Congress I would work to incentivize both the manufactures (tao produce) and consumers (to buy) EV vehicles. Additionally, we need to supply EV's to the municipal-level and county-level governments. In Morris Township we have tried to convert our fleet to be all-EV but we have been stymied by the fact that EV's are not being made available through state contract to local municipalities. This also needs to change.

Similarly, the EPA has delayed funding for the fourth and fifth year of the Clean School Bus Program grants and rebates, which were authorized by Congress in the previous administration ($1 billion/year). What is your perspective on the federal government's role in funding electric school buses?

School buses are terrible polluters and we need to get them off the road. Federal subsidies help in so many ways, including ensuring that our kids are breathing cleaner air (from less pollution by the bus).