Paterson, NJ – New Jersey Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli delivered bottled water to residents in Paterson on Saturday amid a widespread water outage, using the moment to sharply criticize Democratic leadership for what he called a complete failure of basic infrastructure management.
In a pointed social media post, Ciattarelli shared images of himself distributing water and accused Democrats — who have held power in Trenton for more than two decades — of failing to provide even the most essential services. “Nobody in New Jersey should accept this as normal,” Ciattarelli wrote. “That’s what real leadership looks like—being hands-on, present, and fighting for New Jerseyans when they need it most.”
The outage, which affected homes across parts of Paterson, left many residents without running water and dependent on emergency distribution sites. Local officials have not provided a full explanation for the disruption, and the timeline for full restoration remains unclear.
“When Paterson residents lost water, we showed up with it. That’s what real leadership looks like—being hands-on, present, and fighting for New Jerseyans when they need it most. Nobody in New Jersey should accept this as normal. Democrats have been in charge for over 20 years and can’t even guarantee running water! We can do better. As Governor, I’ll always show up and make our state a better place to live and do business. It’s time,” Ciattarelli said.
Ciattarelli also criticized electric bill spikes in New Jersey, where some residents are reporting spikes as high as 100% in their recent bills.
