Terry McGowan challenges Chris Smith in Republican primary
The 4th Congressional District which encompasses Jackson will have a contested Republican primary this year with a political newcomer challenging the long-serving Republican, Chris Smith, who has represented New Jersey for thirty years in the House of Representatives.
Terrence McGowan, a Howell Township resident, has never before been active in a political campaign, but he has been motivated by the state of our country and our community to try to unseat the veteran politician because as he states on his Facebook page, “apathy is the curse of free men and I can no longer stand by watching our country erode. It is time for people of honor to take action.”
McGowan is not a newcomer in self-sacrifice. He has served the country as a veteran on the United States Navy where he served as a Navy Seal. After serving in the Navy McGowan moved to New Jersey from his childhood home of Bowie, Maryland and continued his career of service by serving his community as a volunteer firefighter in Plainsboro Township and a police officer in Sommerville. When the war broke out, McGowan went back to serving the country by working as a civilian contractor in Iraq during the Operation Iraqi Freedom phase of the War on Terrorism.
McGowan sums up his career background by stating “I have always placed country and community in front.”
In making the case for why he is challenging Smith, McGowan states on his Facebook page: “While I offer my most sincere thanks to Congressmen Smith for his 30 years of service, I think this district has been underserved and is in need of new representation. I have always felt a deep sense of personal responsibility for my country and tried to do my part in my career choices. This seems like a logical next step and a real opportunity to provide some true conservative leadership in Washington.”
McGowan elaborated in an interview recently about what motivated him to step forward and run for congress. He explained “I was fed up. The pivotal moment was during the financial crisis last year. While the country was consumed with the budget talks and what was going to happen I went to Chris Smith’s web site to see where he stood on the issue and his website was touting Lyme Disease legislation that he was proposing. He totally avoids controversy.”
McGowan says that because of his public sector employment he has always kept a close eye on local and national politics because it affected him directly but he was never active in party politics. McGowan joked that he has never run for any office “other than 9th grade Class President…which I lost.”
When asked to describe his political philosophy McGowan says that he is a big fan of small government and low taxes. He states “a lot of people are of the mindset that the government should do many things and be active in solving problems. I, on the other hand, want the government to leave me alone.”
On the subject of why he wants to challenge Congressman Smith, McGowan explains that he and Smith agree on a lot of topics. Specifically he cites Smith’s stances as pro-life and pro-military. But he differs strongly on Smith’s role in Congress. “Chris Smith is proud of the bureaucracy that he has created with his legislation. He boasts that he is ranked number two in congress for the number of laws that he has offered. I don’t understand that mindset. Legislation costs us money. I feel like every time I hear about some new legislation passing, that just lost me money.”
When asked why he believes that he is better suited to serve the constituents of the Fourth District, McGowan points out that he is more in tune with the needs of the local residents and what the issues in New Jersey are. He joked, “His (Smith’s) children are residents of Virginia. I coach kids sports teams in Howell. I go to the local Dunkin’ Donuts in Howell for coffee in the morning. I talk to the people and I know what issues concern them. I don’t think that anyone in Smith’s local Dunkin’ Donuts in Virginia want to discuss New Jersey politics with him.”
He continues by pointing out that recently Smith spent more time dealing with protecting a single dissident overseas then he has in trying to help protect the thousands of children in Lakewood that are at risk because their school district is in dire straights.
McGowan says that if he is elected he plans on being what he described as a “loudmouth” in congress to ensure that the residents of the Fourth District get the representation that we need. Taking a page from Governor Chris Christie’s book he says that he plans on treating his first term as his last. He says he doesn’t plan on taking popular stances, instead he will make the hard decisions that may be unpopular, but are the right choices.
He sums up his experience and background as his preparation to serve the people of the district by stating “I have spent my entire life serving the citizens of my country and my community. It is in my blood to serve the people of the Fourth District.”
McGowan is holding a campaign fundraiser on May 30th at Woodlake Country Club in Lakewood. The event will be a cocktail party and gift auction. The cost is $25 per person.
Matt Genovese 