OCEAN CITY – Republican incumbents state Sen. Michael Testa and Assemblymen Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen had an easy victory in the Nov. 2 general election.
Testa received 24,401 votes, or 67 percent, in Cape May County compared with Democrat challenger Yolanda Garcia Balicki’s 11,88 votes, or 32.75 percent.
Simonsen received 24,073 votes, or 33.69 percent, in the four-way race in the county. McClellan received 23,703 votes, or 33.18 percent.
Democrats John Capizola Jr. had 11,712 votes and Julia Hankerson 11,518 votes in the county.
Districtwide, Testa received 41,432 votes, or 64.59 percent, to Garcia Balicki’s 22,715 votes, or 35.41 percent.
Despite favorable poll numbers, the team did not take victory for granted.
“There’s only two ways to run and that’s either unopposed or scared,” McClellan said. “We weren’t unopposed, so we were definitely running scared.”
He said when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the First Legislative District offices turned into full-bore constituent services for helping those with difficulties receiving unemployment payments, getting small businesses reopened as well as reopening the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission office in North Cape May.
“The whole archaic system they have in Trenton of dealing with unemployment was a tough battle for our staff,” he said.
The pandemic sidelined the legislative team from working to expand Route 55 into Cape May County, McClellan said.
He said he feels wearing a protective mask to be a personal choice.
“I don’t like mandates at all, it’s just not good. People should have a personal choice,” McClellan said. “If I wish to wear a mask, I’ll wear a mask. If I don’t wish to wear a mask, I have that choice not to wear a mask.”
“We as elected officials should not be mandating what’s going on for everybody because we don’t know everybody’s situation,” he said.
McClellan said he hopes the federal infrastructure bill will benefit the district and help finish Route 55.
McClellan said he would like to have more facts on the Ørsted offshore wind project.
For 2022, bringing more tourism tax dollars to the district to promote the industry is in the sights of the First District team, he said, adding that the plan also was sidelined by the pandemic.
A Testa-sponsored bill passed Monday by the Senate Education Committee would require students in grades kindergarten through 12 to be educated in information literacy so they can determine reliable, useful content and avoid invalid and deceptive materials.