West Orange, New Jersey — Lawrence D. Poster, a business leader and lifelong Democrat, today announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District. Larry is founder of the Catalyx Group, an Executive Search and Strategy Consulting Firm focused on high-technology, biotech and medtech and is a graduate of MIT. He and his wife live in West Orange and have been residents for 35 years in Essex County.
Mr. Poster said, “My purpose in running for Congress is to fight for the soul of America. I’m running for public office for the first time to fight for America and the working and middle class. I have no political boss. I’m here to champion you.’
‘The working and middle class are the backbone of America. Many of us are immigrants or sons and daughters of immigrants. We have built America into the greatest country the world has ever known. But the world around us is crumbling. We feel it every day in our pocketbook. At the grocery store and gas pump. In our bones. Particularly if we are young, we can no longer buy a home. In the 1950’s and 1960’s the middle class grew faster and outperformed all other groups. We gained in income and wealth – and earned it. It was A Golden Age of Prosperity. But our share of the economy has been in steady decline for 50 years. For some of us there was never a Golden Age. It is time for a comeback. It is time for re-balancing. Trump and Republican leadership are killing us. It is time to put America back on track and make our aspirations real. It is time to set things right and to bring back the American Dream.’
‘I call myself a ‘kitchen table’ Democrat. Every single day I will strive to support your kitchen-table needs and those of your family. As your Congressman and from my bully pulpit I will fight tirelessly to restore your American Dream, defend democracy, defend your safety, promote growth, preserve the environment and, more than anything, work without end to assure that America succeeds and that America will be a far better place for your children and grandchildren.’
‘I will fight to bring a New ‘New Deal’ to you and to America.’”
Key positions of Poster are:
- Grow economy without inflation – avoid recession.
- Restore viability of the working and middle class. Restore our livelihoods. Restore our American Dream.
- Restore affordability through reducing cost burden of life necessities. Enact free or nearly free universal childcare, pass single-payer Medicare for All (age 55+) and restore and improve Obamacare for everyone else, forgive most student loans, restore Social Security benefits to cost-of-living levels of seniors in 1950’s, or at least the 2010’s, abolish federal taxes on most Social Security benefits, rescind Trump’s “beautiful” tax give-away to the rich, pass ‘Fair Taxes’ based on a progressive tax schedule, treat federal taxes on investments and salaries/wages equally, pass sweeping housing and education bills for everyone modeled on GI bills passed just after World War II, enact new higher federal minimum-wage law that reflects significant regional cost-of-living differences.
- Secure sufficient funding for Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid to assure survival over next 3 generations of Americans.
- Support and stimulate job growth in all industries, especially in manufacturing, green electro-tech and 15+ frontier industries. To avoid dystopian AI future, invest smartly in education and retraining for everyone on scale not seen since federal education benefits for American GI’s returning home from WW II.
- Defend democracy in America: Defend the ballot box, defend constitutional right to vote (remember what happened in Bush v. Gore), undo Citizen’s United, kill filibuster rule, eliminate plague of gerrymandering by passing my radical proposal for immutable, bold new anti-gerrymandering law that forever takes congressional redistricting out of the hands of politicians.
- Provide safety and security for all in America: reform ICE but protect our borders, maintain strong national defense… support strong, sound and impartial justice… ditto for policing, protect America’s infrastructure from cyberattack and dozen other strategic vulnerabilities, reform gun laws to protect safety of America and American democracy.
- Restore legal system of immigration in America to reflect America’s need for growth and to preserve our nation’s historic immigration values.
- Provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers.
- Protect and defend human, civil, women’s, gender, worker’s and children’s rights.
- Steer America back into environmental sustainability, not only to dampen climate change, but to significantly grow U.S. economy.
- Restore national treasures such as NIH, the Smithsonian and our National Parks.
International
- Restore U.S. leadership in world by our projecting our strength, equity and moral authority. Restore world’s admiration and respect for America.
- Restore America’s leadership role in NATO and our other major International Alliances.
- Protect U.S. dollar as the reserve currency of the world.
- Seek treaty with Iran joined by our major allies throughout the world.
- Once Iran war is solved, seek lasting peace in Mideast based on 2-State Solution.
- Make U.S. once more the world’s Indispensable Leader and Leader of the Free World.
Mr. Poster said, “America is a land of opportunity for families, working men and women, innovators, educators, engineers, scientists, builders, entrepreneurs, immigrants, executives, first responders, healthcare providers, plumbers, electricians, truckers, delivery personnel, other service providers, hospitality and restaurant workers, retail workers, programmers, care givers, artists, performers, producers, designers, crafts people, explorers, athletes, members of our armed forces, municipal, state and federal workers and leaders, clergy, dreamers. We are a diverse people and better off for it. Restore fairness. Restore equality. Restore the rule of law. Restore peace, security and tranquility in America. Leave to our children and grandchildren a safer, more secure and better America. We lost our way. Make our American Dream real again. Make it real for everyday people everywhere in America. Make our American Dream real again for people just like us in every corner of our 10th Congressional District in Union, Hudson and Essex Counties.”