Steven Farkas

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Steven Farkas

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2019

Personal

Birthplace

Somers Point, N.J.

Contact

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Steven Farkas (Democratic Party) ran for election to the New Jersey General Assembly to represent District 30. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2019.

Farkas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Elections

2019

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2019

General election

General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 30 (2 seats)

Incumbent Sean Kean and incumbent Edward Thomson III defeated Steven Farkas, Jason Celik, and Hank Schroeder in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 30 on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sean Kean (R)	36.3	25,426
✔		Edward Thomson III (R)	33.8	23,662
		Steven Farkas (D)	14.4	10,063
	Submit photo	Jason Celik (D)	13.8	9,666
		Hank Schroeder (The Other Candidate Party)	1.7	1,213

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 70,030
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 30 (2 seats)

Steven Farkas and Jason Celik advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 30 on June 4, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steven Farkas	52.2	2,649
✔	Submit photo	Jason Celik	47.8	2,429

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,078
= 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 New Jersey General Assembly District 30 (2 seats)

Incumbent Sean Kean and incumbent Edward Thomson III advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 30 on June 4, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sean Kean	51.5	4,078
✔		Edward Thomson III	48.5	3,834

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,912
= 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.

Campaign themes

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Steven Farkas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Farkas' 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.

Steven Farkas lives in Howell,NJ He is a writer of Horror and Science Fiction. He is also a longtime advocate for Single-payer healthcare. He has an MA in Holocaust and Genocide Studies as well as a BA in Political Science. He was an Assistant Professor in Government and History.

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?

• Support expanding healthcare to every citizen of NJ with a state based Public healthcare option
• Support free community college and debt free state college and university
• Support strong environmental protections and support for green technologies and jobs.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Healthcare is and always has been my top priority and issue.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am able to work with others well. I stand my ground when necessary on an issue. Always open about where I stand on the usses.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Most important is that I spearheaded and passed legislation to expand healthcare to every NJ citizen as right of citizenship in the state.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

My biggest struggle was the birth of my son who has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and went through 3 open heart surgeries in his first year of life.

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

There is little difference other then the number of legislators and terms. Both chambers are close to those they represent. But like on the Federal level each chamber has it's own and sometimes opposing legislative values.

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

Health

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.

Note: Farkas submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on October 24, 2019.

Show past responsesHide past responses

May 14 submission

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Steven Farkas lives in Howell,NJ He is a writer of Horror and Science Fiction. He is also a longtime advocate for Single-payer healthcare. He has an MA in Holocaust and Genocide Studies as well as a BA in Political Science. He was an Assistant Professor in Government and History.

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?

• Support expanding healthcare to every citizen of NJ with a state based Public healthcare option
• Support free community college and debt free state college and university
• Support strong environmental protections and support for green technologies and jobs.

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

Healthcare

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

Franklin Roosevelt because he stood up to help regular working people not just the rich American oligarchs.

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

Be yourself. Too many politicians just tell people what they want to hear even regardless of their own beliefs. You have to have a guiding principle you follow no matter the situation.

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

Serve those they represent not big business donars. Be willing to stand for average people.

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

The first space shuttle launched. I was 10.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked retail during my undergraduate years in college. About 4 years.

What is your favorite holiday? Why?

It's a tie between Halloween and Christmas. I have always loved horror since I was a child which is why I am now a horror writer so Halloween is a favorite. I love Christmas because I like decorating the house and seeing friends and family during the holidays.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My favorite book would have to be the short stories of Edgar Allen Poe and HP Lovecraft. Even as a young child I found myself drawn to stories of horror and Science Fiction. Often they were stories about lost, as well often hide a human truth which was subversive politically for their time but could be accepted as long as it was told as fantasy.

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

Since everyone in my friend and family refer to me as George Bailey I guess I could see myself in that light.

What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?

Love my woodstove and the brick around it. Nothing beats a nice fire on a snowy day.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Not necessarily. I think as long as you are smart, educated, and have empathy for others you would would be a good representative.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Butget issues, healthcare, cost of education.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

Equal power between the Governor and Legislature.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

It's always beneficial to build relationships in any employment area including the state legislature.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

I favor using a nonpartisan committee to draw districts.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the legislature, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

Yes I would like to join the leadership of my party in the legislature.

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

No.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

No.

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.

Note: Farkas submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on May 14, 2019.

See also

2019 Elections

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the New Jersey General Assembly

Leadership

Representatives

District 1

Antwan McClellan (R)

Erik Simonsen (R)

District 2

Don Guardian (R)

Claire Swift (R)

District 3

Dave Bailey (D)

Heather Simmons (D)

District 4

Dan Hutchison (D)

Cody Miller (D)

District 5

William Moen (D)

William Spearman (D)

District 6

Louis Greenwald (D)

Melinda Kane (D)

District 7

Carol Murphy (D)

Balvir Singh (D)

District 8

Andrea Katz (D)

Michael Torrissi (R)

District 9

Gregory Myhre (R)

Brian Rumpf (R)

District 10

Paul Kanitra (R)

Gregory McGuckin (R)

District 11

Margie Donlon (D)

Luanne Peterpaul (D)

District 12

Robert Clifton (R)

Alex Sauickie (R)

District 13

Victoria Flynn (R)

Gerard Scharfenberger (R)

District 14

Wayne DeAngelo (D)

Tennille McCoy (D)

District 15

Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D)

Anthony Verrelli (D)

District 16

Mitchelle Drulis (D)

Roy Freiman (D)

District 17

Joseph Danielsen (D)

Kevin Egan (D)

District 18

Robert Karabinchak (D)

Sterley Stanley (D)

District 19

Craig Coughlin (D)

Yvonne Lopez (D)

District 20

Reginald Atkins (D)

Annette Quijano (D)

District 21

Michele Matsikoudis (R)

Nancy Muñoz (R)

District 22

Linda Carter (D)

James Kennedy (D)

District 23

John DiMaio (R)

Erik Peterson (R)

District 24

Dawn Fantasia (R)

Michael Inganamort (R)

District 25

Christian Barranco (R)

Aura Dunn (R)

District 26

Brian Bergen (R)

Jay Webber (R)

District 27

Rosy Bagolie (D)

Alixon Collazos-Gill (D)

District 28

Garnet Hall (D)

Cleopatra Tucker (D)

District 29

Eliana Marin (D)

Shanique Speight (D)

District 30

Sean Kean (R)

Avi Schnall (D)

District 31

William Sampson (D)

Barbara Stamato (D)

District 32

John Allen (D)

Jessica Ramirez (D)

District 33

Julio Marenco (D)

Gabriel Rodriguez (D)

District 34

Carmen Morales (D)

Michael Venezia (D)

District 35

Alaa Abdelaziz (D)

Shavonda Sumter (D)

District 36

Clinton Calabrese (D)

Gary Schaer (D)

District 37

Shama Haider (D)

Ellen Park (D)

District 38

Lisa Swain (D)

Chris Tully (D)

District 39

Robert Auth (R)

John Azzariti (R)

District 40

Al Barlas (R)

Christopher DePhillips (R)

Democratic Party (52)

Republican Party (28)