Louis Vellucci

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Louis Vellucci

American Values

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

1981 - 1989

Contact

Campaign website

Personal Facebook

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Personal LinkedIn

Louis Vellucci (American Values) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 5th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Vellucci completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Louis Vellucci was born in the Bronx, New York. He earned a bachelor's degree from West Point in 1985. He also attended the Defense Language Institute. Vellucci served in the U.S. Army from 1981 to 1989.

Elections

2022

See also: New Jersey's 5th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Incumbent Josh Gottheimer defeated Frank Pallotta, Jeremy Marcus, Trevor Ferrigno, and Louis Vellucci in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Gottheimer (D)	54.7	145,559
		Frank Pallotta (R)	44.3	117,873
	Submit photo	Jeremy Marcus (L)	0.4	1,193
		Trevor Ferrigno (Together We Stand)	0.3	700
		Louis Vellucci (American Values)	0.2	618

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 265,943
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• David Abrams (Stop Israel Boycotts)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Incumbent Josh Gottheimer advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Gottheimer	100.0	31,142

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,142
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Frank Pallotta defeated Nick De Gregorio, Sab Skenderi, and Fred Schneiderman (Unofficially withdrew) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Frank Pallotta	50.2	16,021
	Submit photo	Nick De Gregorio	45.6	14,560
	Submit photo	Sab Skenderi	2.2	712
	Submit photo	Fred Schneiderman (Unofficially withdrew)	2.0	629

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,922
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Nicholas D'Agostino (R)
• Richard Franolich (R)

2020

See also: New Jersey's 5th Congressional District election, 2020

New Jersey's 5th Congressional District election, 2020 (July 7 Republican primary)

New Jersey's 5th Congressional District election, 2020 (July 7 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Incumbent Josh Gottheimer defeated Frank Pallotta and Louis Vellucci in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Gottheimer (D)	53.2	225,175
		Frank Pallotta (R)	45.6	193,333
		Louis Vellucci (American Values Party)	1.2	5,128

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 423,636
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Incumbent Josh Gottheimer defeated Arati Kreibich in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Gottheimer	66.5	52,406
		Arati Kreibich	33.5	26,418

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 78,824
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Frank Pallotta defeated John McCann, James Baldini, and Hector Castillo in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Frank Pallotta	51.7	25,834
		John McCann	32.4	16,220
	Submit photo	James Baldini	10.3	5,126
		Hector Castillo	5.6	2,814

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 49,994
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Dana DiRisio (R)
• Paul Duggan (R)
• Robert Auth (R)
• Mike Ghassali (R)
• Jon Dalrymple Jr. (R)

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Louis Vellucci completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Vellucci's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

We represent the electorate of our district, our nation, and our planet, to include the natural world; better than the two major party candidates, The American Values Party is based on our shared values, rather than partisan party politics. Our Values include Fairness, Security, Compassion, Gratitude & Respect. My multi-decade public service spans the military, non-profit advocacy for wildlife,, financing environment protection, and most recently, as an ambassador to tens of thousands of citizens of the global community.. A near life-long resident of the 5th District community, currently less obligated to the most important duty of raising a family, it is now time to return to the service of our beloved nation and blessed planet.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Security! None of our other public and private goals are possible without a safe nation! We, respecting the sacrifice of all the world's military personnel are the most passionate of preserving international peace by promoting diplomacy over conflict in the three currently crucial areas of Russia, China, and Korea. Having participated in the end of the Cold War through NATO military service, we are best qualified to return to the "tonaliity of peace" rather than the rhetoric of greede"
• Compassion !"It's the Environment Stupid" A little humor, but an important parable. In the last 30 years the chief global concern has moved from improving the economy to protecting the environment. This needs to be the short term priority to secure longer-term political goals. We, alone, the American Values Party, are uniquely qualified to balance quality of life over an environmentally-destroying economic-growth-at-any-cost-short-term mentality. We defend the innocent more passionately than other candidates- the wildlife, the forests, the oceans, the atmosphere - the entire biosphere.
• Fairness! It's the economy! Crucial, but second to the other two platform messages, we alone represent the sweet spot of 80% of the citizens who need to defended from usury interest financing, wasteful government spending, and inadequate funding from mega-corporations and the super- wealthy.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Personally, coming from a family with a long tradition of military service to the United States, with family members currently still serving; I am very passionate about returning the state of peace we enjoyed in the 1990s and ending any political or military movements returning us to the Cold War mentality of the 1950s through 1980s. As an engineer, I am passionate about data-driven solutions to protect the environment. These include a passion for safe nuclear energy, an accelerated move to widespread solar panels, and expanding and protecting the "wild,, natural areas" of the planet, to include oceans, forests, etc.....and to utilize a United States & international coalition of military to support these initiatives. Improving financial fairness for our citizens will be relatively easy if we merely return to the legislation Congress had in place during the 1940s through the 1980s.
Our platform also includes the brilliant 8-9-9 plan which would increase the number of representatives in the House. This would more accurately align the electoral college result with the popular vote, improve all voter's voice in Congress by cutting in half the ratio of citizens per representative in Congress. Unique to our idea would be to allocate the reaming new 23 seats of 899 to various Native American Nations & vitally important far-flung territory islands of the United States. These new 23 seats would help with our environmental & military initiatives of the 21st century.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Louis Vellucci completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Vellucci's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am the proud father of a wonderful daughter who we raised in the 5th District. My work in several environmental initiatives over the last decade at the state and federal level serendipitously led me back to public service since completing my tour of duty in the Army after graduating from West Point. Other than my NATO service in Europe, this area has been my home since elementary school. Proud to be the son of "The Greatest Generation," the values that my parents, Aunts, and Uncles taught me remain the cornerstone of my personal philosophy and political platform. Like the Founding Fathers, my religion, is quite literally, "Americanism." The role of government is to support its citizens' well being, right to happiness, and the natural environment we are blessed with. Interestingly, a high quality of life is not always measured solely in GDP growth. These values, along with my diverse professional experiences foster an integrated, practical, creative common-sense approach to political conundrums. I believe in the American values of patriotism, gratitude, fairness, security, compassion, and independence from political party dogmas. t\Thanks to my experience on Wall Street, in the military, and as a teacher, I am well-versed in the inner-workings of American banking, global military strategy, and the most effective methods to raise education standards in the United States. I strongly support sports in our schools,, having benefited from intense ice hockey training.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Yes, "it's the economy stupid" Economic Justice is paramount to ALL American citizen. A free, but FAIR market .70% of our economy is consumer-driven This would include protecting our citizens from unfair interest rates, especially in light of the current 0% interest rate Fed policy through 2023. Additionally savers have a right to competitive interest rates, instead of being coerced to risk. Corporate tax rates need to be progressive, just like individuals, so that the global behemoths can help fund the great nation that buttresses their success, while giving the smaller entrepreneurs and consumers a fairer field to participate in.
• Environmental Protection is a key economic driver we transition to a less wasteful economy. A transition from fossil fuels should include a large component clean carbon-free nuclear energy, raising the US to 40% from the current 20% Nuclear, at the moment, still, reduces noxious gases more than wind & solar combined. As DECADES of data show, nuclear energy has been proven safe, Bill Gates' TerraPower is onboard with my platform.
• I support an even greater investment in our national defense, coupled, of course, with great diplomacy, as demonstrated by the current Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. Without safety & security on a global basis, as well as domestically on our city streets, we cannot move forward with our noble goals of enhanced environmental protection, economic fairness, and a more representative government.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As mentioned above , our public is passionate about environmental protection, to include the protection of innocent wildlife. We need to foster a sustainable lifestyle that protects our atmosphere, our oceans, and the Earth's forests, with a comprehensive, global initiative. Though thankful to live in a prosperous area, it has become prohibitively expensive to live in the Garden State; accordingly, the people demand a fairer economic system that prohibits usury from the too-big-to-fail banking oligarchy, more restraint on well-intentioned government programs and an elimination of government subsidies that are gamed by the few unscrupulous citizens. Being fiscally conservative, supporting a strong Union & military, with compassion to the natural world, and it's innocent inhabitants, exemplified by U. S.. Grant & Eisenhower is my mantra.
Remember the "conservatives" Grant & Eisenhower were most responsible for promoting Civil Rights amongst Americans!

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

As mentioned earlier, I look up to both President Grant & Eisenhower as political role models for being compassionate, fair, and practical. Grant was the consummate animal lover too! More recently, I also look up to Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, both of whom I've had the true honor to meet. President Carter's books inspire me with his belief in non-profit service and the importance of moral reasoning in resolving public problems; and President Clinton always impressed me with his sincere warmth and caring for people. Of course, Ross Perot and Ralph Nader, two individuals I voted for, are role models with their creative, non-partisan insight for providing the right solutions, though the two-party system unfortunately so often ignores their logic. Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis also provide a beautiful, logical paradigm to view the natural world; and motivate us to be grateful and protect the Planet. The prognostic political and military philosophy of LTC Jim Channon has been influential on my views and I am truly honored to have corresponded with the leader of the "1st Earth Battalion". Jeremy Rifkin opened my mind decades ago to "the big picture" - that being our economic history and it's physical consequences over centuries, rather than the short-term corporate view fostered by modern economics. I differ significantly with him in my environmental solutions, in that I would include nuclear in the green mix, just as France currently does. Most recently, Dr. Joseph Gallenberger, has had a pronounced positive influence on my personal outlook. I also look up to the tenacity and discipline of many military leaders, teachers, and coaches I have been thankful to have been led by, such as the legendary Coach John Orlando .

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Thank you Ballotpedia, great question! I would much rather study from diverse disciplines such as science, economics, and philosophy, to arrive at creative, integrated solutions, rather than spend my time raising money. Here you go!

The Good Earth, Pearl S Buck - still relevant today!
Entropy, Jeremy Rifkin - first 40 pages - awesome millennial economic/philosophical synopsis
Wealth & Poverty George Gilder - social aspect of economics
Irrational Exuberance, Robert Shiller - bubbles tend to reoccur
Eisenhower In War & Peace, Jean Edward Smith
American Ulysses (US Grant), Ronald C White
American Soldier, Gen Tommy Franks
First Earth Battalion Handbook*, Jim Channon
American Underdog, Congressman David Brat Morals, Philosophy count!
The Great 401k Hoax & Judas Economy, Wm Wolman ,Anne Colamosca Capital vs Labor balance
Bad Money & Wealth & Democracy, Kevin Phillips Finance Oversized influence on economy
The Crash of 2016, Thom Hartmann Corporate Power
Power To Save The World, Gwyneth Cravens why Nuclear energy is green
Trump :The Blue-Collar President, Anthony Scaramucci
For The Record, Donald Regan
The Good Fight, To The Ramparts, others Ralph Nader
A Big Little Life, Dean Koontz The" Goldens" Rule!
Captured/Corporate Infiltration of Amer Democracy, US Senator Whitehouse
The Hundred Year Marathon, Michael Pillsbury China Competition
LAUDATO SI, (Praise Be), Pope Francis- Secular essay integrating Environment/Economy/Sociology
Crossing The Threshold of Hope & Be Not Afraid Pope John Paul II- First books" by a Pontiff
The Jefferson Bible -compiled by Thomas Jefferson
The Hidden Life of Tress, Peter Wohlleben will expand your mental paradigm
Liquid Luck Joseph Gallenberger
Listen Liberal, Thomas Frank, New Dems abandon labor for banks
The Green New Deal, Rifkin
How Full is Your Bucket, Tom Rath
The Great Influenza, John Barry

Four Fish, Wild Food, P Greenberg -Protect The Oceans

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Non-partial representation is paramount. FAIRNESS all the way! Seems like big business may have an undue advantage over the citizenry and innocent physical environment we depend on !

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Fairly represent your district, the nation as a whole, and the global ecosystem. Sound, moral judgement to most efficiently and fairly allocate resources for maximum benefit to all.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Sustainability. Reverse the trend of the modern economy in destroying the physical environment and biodiversity. Rein in international greed attacking innocent wildlife. Protect our oceans, atmosphere, and forests. Bring back the proper balance of labor and capital, to strengthen and broaden the US middle class, while emphasizing a high quality lifestyle, not solely dependent on radical economic stimulus.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I still have my scrapbook with Apollo 11 clippings as a 1st Grader. This still inspires me, not only because of their bravery and skill, but also because of the unique perspective of the Earth only they could have experienced. Edgar Mitchell's view of politics to emphasize peace and respect for our environment needs to be pondered by us mere mortals....like I always say, "If you want a good politician- recruit an astronaut!"

I was jubilant to see the Berlin Wall come down, after serving in the same spot my dad had 40 years prior.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Fiction: The Good Earth....a better way of being in harmony with the natural world.

Non-Fiction Science: Entropy, Jeremy Rifkin Sustainability & Economics

Non-Fiction: Liquid Luck Dr. Joseph Gallenberger & How Full Is Your Bucket? Tom Rath

Read this books for a healthy social philosophy

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

The Iron Giant.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The US House has the unique strength of having the greatest number of members- in fact that number should be doubled to provide even better representative government for the citizens, and increase the correlation of the electoral college to the popular vote. A simple idea with a double win-win! However, this advantage of the House in fostering representative government for its constituents is lost when the two-party system coaxes members to too often vote strictly along party lines. This dissuades creative thinking, and leads to more divisiveness that hinders speedy political compromise. Our economy and environment has little time to waste! We need more independents in the House! This binary-event system is, for sure, NOT the most effective!

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

No. We would benefit from more diversity in our government. More engineers, farmers, business people, veterans, and homemakers would be a great thing (perhaps less bankers for now-, seems like we've had quite a few of them in both Democratic and Republican administrations recently!) In fact, we would hardly recognize the original representatives. Fewer lawyers, and, more "middle-class" folks? They can relate better to their constituents. The "workers party" is currently being led by someone worth over$100 million. Does that really make sense?

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

The greatest challenge to the United States are the still present military challenges of a very small number of rogue states and the acceleration of environmental degradation from very small changes in the Earth's sensitive ecosystem balance of temperature, ocean acidity, and atmospheric chemical composition, as adversely influenced by the modern economic model. The third challenge is internal, and the easiest to remedy, that being the destruction of the economic model of the past that correctly balanced capital and labor to sustain the long-term success of DOMESTIC United States economy..

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Finance Committee
Environemntal Protection/Wildlife Committee

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

George Graham Vest

Author of "Eulogy For a Dog"

He gets it!

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Candidate

U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Website

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Footnotes

[show]

New Jersey's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Cory Booker (D)

Andrew Kim (D)

Representatives

District 1

Donald Norcross (D)

District 2

Jeff Van Drew (R)

District 3

Herbert Conaway (D)

District 4

Chris Smith (R)

District 5

Josh Gottheimer (D)

District 6

Frank Pallone (D)

District 7

Thomas Kean (R)

District 8

Robert Menendez (D)

District 9

Nellie Pou (D)

District 10

LaMonica McIver (D)

District 11

Mikie Sherrill (D)

District 12

Bonnie Coleman (D)

Democratic Party (11)

Republican Party (3)