Melissa Tomlinson – candidate for Atlantic County Freeholder at Large

Candidate information:

Email: Tomlinson4ACFreeholder@gmail.com
Phone number: 609-204-2203
Date of Birth: 8/7/71
Campaign website: Tomlinson4ACFreeholder.com
Social media: https://www.facebook.com/tomlinson4acfreeholder/ https://twitter.com/Tomlinson4AC
Education: Top degree: Master is Special Education
Occupation: Special Education Teacher
Party affiliation: Green Party
Public/Party service: Board of Directors member of a national public education advocacy organization, Board member of South Jersey Women for Progressive Change

Position on good government initiatives:

1. Would you support reinstituting the statewide public advocate and making it a directly elected position? Yes.
   
2. Would you support measures to increase voter participation (eg. same-day registration, early voting, vote by mail)? Yes.
   
3. Would you support ethics reforms that would require broader disclosure on financial information and the release of income taxes by candidates for public office, as a means for regulating campaigns and limiting corruption? Yes.
   
4. Would you support changing the nominating process for members of state-wide Commissions and Boards to have panels of nonpartisan experts nominate candidates, with full public disclosure of the candidates’ credentials, and to have the legislature vote on the nominations? Yes.
   
5. Would you support placing a nonpartisan commission in charge of the legislative redistricting process? Yes.
   
6. Would you support public funding of campaigns for all statewide offices, including the legislature? Yes. I believe that all candidates should run a campaign of even financial backing to allow candidates and voters to concentrate on platform issues. Elections should not be determined by campaign finances that bestow opportunities at the cost of future political favors.
   
7. Would you support making the state legislature full-time and prohibiting simultaneous holding of other paid positions? If it was done in a non-biased way that made the compensation, benefits, and pension package fair and aligned with the state budget. I would also like to see an initiative to provide pathways for people of color and other minorities to be promoted to these positions. I would also need to see a proposal of how the pension package would tie to the state employee and teacher pension systems to avoid the traps that those pension systems have fallen into.
   
8. Would you support reforming New Jersey’s Primary electoral ballots to give all candidates an equal chance of being elected? Yes.