BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP, NJ – Thanks in no small part to the efforts of Kate Gibbs, a failed Burlington County freeholder, drivers throughout New Jersey will soon be paying massively higher tolls to use the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike. The toll increase was approved earlier today by a vote of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority board of commissioners.
“There is no way that the Turnpike Authority should have raised tolls at this moment. First, the public did not have a fair chance to have their voices heard on this issue. Second, this is absolutely the wrong time to be increasing costs on New Jersey’s drivers,” said David Richter, Republican candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s Third District.
Richter’s opponent in the Third District Republican primary is Kate Gibbs, the Deputy Director of ELEC 825, an affiliate of Operating Engineers Local 825. Both Gibbs and her union were strong proponents of the toll increase. The Operating Engineers were also one of the leading voices in advocating for a 23-cents-per-gallon increase in New Jersey’s gas tax and the union also endorsed Hillary Clinton for President in 2016 and contributed more than $3 million to her campaign.
“If I’m fortunate enough to earn the trust and support of the voters of the Third District, they will not have to worry about whether I am voting to support their best interests, unlike Kate who will need to be repay her campaign debts to her union bosses,” added Richter.
Richter is the former CEO of global construction management firm Hill International. During his time at the company, Hill grew from a struggling family business with less than 300 employees into a successful public company with more than 4,300 employees. A lifelong Republican, Richter grew up in and has spent most of his life living and working in the Third District. He earned two bachelor’s degrees and a law degree from Penn as well as master’s degrees from Oxford and Harvard. Richter and his wife Michelle, who have been married for 20 years, are the parents of four daughters.