Gregg Mele
Libertarian | New Jersey
Candidate Profile
Leans Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Gregg Mele
Party
Libertarian
Election Year
2021
Election
General
Race
Governor
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
NYU Law School, NY, NY, LLM, 2001
New York Law School, NY, NY, JD, 1998
Baruch College, NY, NY, MBA, 1998
WORK & MILITARY
(Candidate did not provide)
AFFILIATIONS
various military organizations, contributor, volunteer, various youth organizations
contributor, volunteer, various disability organizations, contributor, volunteer
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
(Candidate did not provide)
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
US House of Representatives, 2018
Mayor of Bridgewater, 2019
Race
Previous Races
ENDORSEMENTS
OTHER (1)
New Jersey Libertarian Party(NJLP)
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (1)
NJ Libertarian Party
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Agree
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds or grants from federal, state, or local governments.
Agree
I support the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which requires health care providers to provide life-saving treatment for infants who survive an attempted abortion.
Agree
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
In a case of rape or incest, I believe it should be allowed, because the mother would either face a lifetime of reminders of the situation or neglect/abuse the child. Otherwise, it is impossible to enforce an abortion ban from conception, because some mothers would dangerously abort by themselves, if necessary, before anyone would even know they are pregnant. We do have separation of church and state, so morally, I would want education for all expectant mothers to understand their options, such as adoption, to give every life a chance. As far as the state, it is one of the most important decisions in a mother's life, so she should decide sooner than later, after being fully informed. In that respect, I believe the Court's viability standard is the most workable standard for the state in an imperfect world.
ECONOMY
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has a livable income.
Strongly Disagree
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Disagree
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
The school administrative system, the overfunded pension, and state Medicaid reform are all ripe for major reductions, to start with. I would also require more information on spending targets before any approvals. Also, consistent with earlier answers, government should be prevented from limiting options that effectively keep costs up and discriminate against anyone who could provide more competition, such as the current state of marijuana legislation. A level playing field for all
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Governments should not discriminate against individuals, organizations or small businesses because of their belief that marriage is only a union of one man and one woman.
Strongly Agree
Governments should define marriage as between one man and one woman; no other definition of marriage should be legalized or supported with taxpayer or public funds.
Disagree
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Agree
I promise to protect the freedom of Christians to share the Gospel and to practice Biblical principles.
Yes
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
As briefly referenced above, the differences between morality and practicality can sometimes lead to political decisions that do not align with religious beliefs. Everyone, including someone holding office, has the right to practice whatever religious beliefs they observe, but, for the office holder, the greater good must outweigh other things more often. That being said, most of the time, these things can align, but, in terms of church vs. state, one area should not impact the other.
HEALTHCARE
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has health insurance.
Strongly Disagree
How would you promote healthcare coverage that is adequate, affordable and accessible for all?
The only solution that works is the free market with a level playing field and as little barriers to entry as possible. That will provide consumer choices and produce a consumer-driven market, as it should be.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The best way to maintain peace is through a strong military.
Agree
IMMIGRATION
I am in favor of construction of a wall and other necessary infrastructure on our border that gives complete control over entering and exiting the United States.
Agree
State and federal funds should be denied to any public or private entity, including but not limited to sanctuary cities, that are not in compliance with immigration laws.
Agree
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
The law should be followed. If the law needs to be relaxed for people such as sponsored relatives or truly migrant workers in areas that need them, it should be modified, but whatever the law is should be enforced. I was in NYC during 9/11, so I am very concerned about terrorists blending into a group of migrants and sneaking onto our soil, the first obvious thought/downside of a totally open-border policy. We respect all private property rights, but, in terms of public lands, they are also owned, by the government, which in turn means they are owned by all of us, and these rights demand an invitation for someone to come on to them, hence the immigration laws. On the other side of things, we should have a very strong national defense, but we should get our military out of foreign soil, and limit our overseas activities to intelligence-gathering.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality that is necessary for our system of limited government.
Neutral
I support adding sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as protected classes in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Agree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I was born into a Catholic family, and went through the initial sacraments. I was away from church for a number of years, as my first wife was not religious, and then came back to it, in a non-denominational Christian church, with my current/second wife. I do try to bring my values to my decisions, but also understand that, in a practical world, the law and morality sometimes diverge.
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and immigration, which of the following best describes you overall?
Conservative
Please provide publicly available information validating your answer to the previous question.
Social media account postings will confirm my current positions on issues.
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
My education includes: BS (Computer Science & Mathematics); MS (Computer Science); MBA (Finance & Economics); JD (Finance, Technology, & Government Law); and LLM (Corporate & Securities Law). My experience includes: 17 years of technology, finance, & telecommunications; and 19 years of transactional law, government filings, & litigation.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No.
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
I am a lifelong NJ resident who cares so much about fixing the deterioration and destruction of our state, at the hands of leadership over the last few decades, that I could no longer sit back and watch it continue. Our solutions are principled and practical, a powerful combination that puts the public first. We also follow the science, so to speak, in all areas, for the best solutions available today. The other candidates will perpetuate the problems we have today, perhaps to the point of no return, with unjustifiable spending. It is urgent that we not waste another election cycle on the same old tired ideas that simply do not work. We need to cut government spending, and influence in daily life, dramatically. We ask you to join us as providers of the only solutions that will indeed fix things in our state and get people to think about moving here again, instead of moving away.
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
I support the use of Sharia law as a basis for legislation and judicial decisions in the United States.
Strongly Disagree
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Mandatory minimum sentencing should be required and enforced for violent crimes.
Neutral
2ND AMENDMENT
Should teachers be allowed to carry guns at school?
No Answer
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
There should only be a NICS check for background and registration, similar to motor vehicles. Fees should be minimal, and not a deterrent, and no other government involvement should occur related to gun ownership, lest it be a Second Amendment infringement.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
I support the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Strongly Agree
The Electoral College should be abolished.
Strongly Disagree
In priority order, what three areas of legislation do you propose to author or sponsor if elected?
1) A ban on "permanent emergency" or other executive powers more rightly conducted through the separation of powers. No more mandates. 2) Implement school choice, where funding follows the student, so that there is free-market competition between schools, the only way to make them better. Having no competition has led to a very poor performance of many public schools, since the administrative side is way too over-bloated and gets in the way of the teachers doing what they do best. This would also drastically reduce property taxes. 3) Cut wasteful spending, and therefore even more taxes, to truly balance the budget, without a bailout like we recently received, so we can pay back our borrowing now. There are so many areas where our state is first or last, and not in a good way. We spend too much on things, due to a lack of need-based criteria or competitive bidding, and need to be more careful with spending taxpayer money.
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
I was born around the time of the Civil Rights Act. From then until Obama took office, we saw far less racial incidents compared to before that time, because, in many places, the culture of passing down hatred had stopped for a long time. Ever since Obama was in office, until today, everyone in politics has been promoting hatred and division, in order to distract from what they are doing, because we have had a leadership vacuum at all levels. It got to the point now that, as a self-fulfilling prophecy, the hatred has become real again at a surprisingly high level. We have domestic terrorism and hate groups, assisted by the media, creating violence in our country like I certainly have never seen before. Not enough people question the media's reports, and just believe the hatred, to the point that now they themselves hate.
