By:  Justin Gick ’16

Assistant Editor-in-Chief

For this month’s “Ask the Professionals”, I had the opportunity to sit down with State Senator Donald Norcross. He is currently running for former Congressman Rob Andrews spot in U.S. Congress. Senator Norcross is an extremely interesting, unique, and humorous conversationalist. To begin, I wanted to know if Senator Norcross was born and raised in New Jersey, as well as, how he became interested in politics.
He shared that he was born at Cooper Hospital. His family lived on Dudley Street in Camden for a very short period of time.  Throughout his childhood and adolescence he was raised in Pennsauken where he attended grade school and high school.  This is where he met and eventually graduated with Stephen Sweeney (who is our Senate President) in 1977.
Senator Norcross went to college at Camden County Community College.  His major was Law Enforcement and Public Administration. When asked about his first paying job, Senator Norcross said “I was a ‘bagger’ at a Shop n Bag in Woodcrest for the Ravitz family back when they opened that store.”
I read in the Senator’s biography that he is very involved with Unions. He said that he was “born” involved! He was raised in a Union household. His father was a business representative for the AFL-CIO.  He was the President of a Union. The Senator remembers walking in picket lines and helping out when he was a young boy. His father use to always take him (and his brothers) along with him on Saturdays when he had things to do.  This exposed them to some of the issues surrounding working men and women.  He said that he “caught the fever!”
Senator Norcross believed early on that he never really had the ambition or desire to be a public official. He was more comfortable helping others get elected. However, as President of the Southern New Jersey AFL-CIO, it is one of the hallmarks of accomplishment that they as a labor union encourage members to run for public office.  For example, they encouraged people to run for Fire District Commissioner, Mayor, or Freeholder, to name a few. Over the course of his tenure there, he probably had well over a hundred ranking file union members, who ran for office. Being involved in politics was very much a part of that decision. He became Co-Chair of the Democratic Party in Camden County eleven years ago.  This was until Joe Roberts announced his retirement from the Assembly. Roberts was the speaker back then and it was suggested that after all those years of recruiting elders Norcross should  consider running. That is when he decided to throw his hat into the ring.
He explained that jobs and the economy are absolutely his number one focus. Since becoming the State Senator, he feels that we have come through the worst economic times in our lifetime. He understands that the recovery has not really sprung fully from its low point five years ago. This district includes nineteen towns from Camden City all the way down to Harrison Township/Mullica Hill.  The Senate created something called the Economic Opportunity Act.  This created incentives to put your company in New Jersey, build in New Jersey, and to hire people from New Jersey.  It has only been in effect for a short period of time, but it is actually quite beneficial and helpful.
The Senator referenced the 76ers basketball team not only putting their training facilities in our area, but their corporate facilities will be coming to the city of Camden. The one company he is particularly excited about is Holtec.  It is a leading company that by some estimates should be employing up to three thousand people in the next ten years.
Senator Norcross said he would like to say that next to a job that “education is a great equalizer.” It should not matter if you are a kid growing up with a 08102 zip code (Camden) or in the 08043 zip code (Voorhees).  All students should have the same educational opportunities.
Senator Norcross feels that they do not at this time. He explained that he has introduced a couple of bills. One bill is the Renaissance School Act.  This Act has lead to three new schools being constructed and is creating opportunities for children who have been part of a failing system. The second is a focus on affordability and higher education. When you take a look at the state of New Jersey, there are only three institutions south of Trenton considered four year schools:  Rutgers, Rowan, and Stockton. He feels this is clearly out of balance. The higher education re-organization seeks to create more seats for students who wanted to stay in state. The average price for a private college is somewhere between $58,000 and $62,000.  In order to put this into perspective, the Senator’s first house was $62,000. So by the time you put your child through school, you could have bought four houses. Clearly, it is not affordable for the average man/woman to put their child through college. So, he wants to focus on making college more affordable. Another issue is that when you can get a car loan for 2 ½ %, you should not be paying 8% (or even more) for interest rates for college tuition. More importantly, Senator Norcross thinks that these institutions need to stop thinking as academia and start thinking more like a business.  It needs to run these models where private and public partnerships come together helping to drive down the price of education.
Regarding teachers, Senator Norcross pointed out that as you look back into your educational career, “there is always, at least one educator who stands out in your mind, and it is a teacher that made a difference in your life.”  He said his 7th grade teacher, Mr. Marita, was the one who clearly made that difference. The fact of the matter is there are many teachers making a difference in children’s lives every day and to vilify them or to make them part of the problem has been a misstep by this administration. It was clear to see that Senator Norcross did not like this. More importantly, he thinks that New Jersey does a great job of educating its children from Pre K-12.
The Senator also shared that he loves campaigning. During the election things get a little demanding and busy. There are 24 hours in a day and he only gets a couple hours of sleep during campaign time.  However, he has a very understanding wife.  She is very supportive. He also said jokingly that his children do not live at home anymore so they are doing great with it all.
I informed the Senator that I had also interviewed Congressman Rob Andrews during his last days in office. According to my research, Congressman Andrews did a lot for the people of New Jersey for numerous years. He hopes to accomplish as much as Andrews did.
He was with him when he was sworn into Congress twenty four years ago. Senator Norcross explained that Congressman Andrews first vote was whether to send our sons and daughters to their first Iraqi war. It was a very heavy decision. Senator Norcross said when you look at the former Congressman’s career and by any measurement, people loved him very much.  To be that outspoken advocate, accessible, and not getting tied into the Washington juggernaut that seems to make everyone go insane. He is looking forward to remembering where he came from, what he is doing, and why he is there.
Norcross suggested that students read multiple newspapers and news sources every day. He said you cannot wake up one morning and decide you are just going to run for office.  He said, “There is literally a lifetime of experience waiting for you!  Do not just become familiar with the things you are interested in, but obtain a well rounded education.” Also, make sure you have the passion and the drive. It is not about just a couple days of deciding, “I want to run for office. It is perseverance, hard work, consistency, and having that passion to give back to the community.”