For perhaps the first time in a long time, State Senator Linda Greenstein of Plainsboro faces a serious challenge in November’s election — Hamilton resident and longtime state senator Peter Inverso. Nonetheless, the state senator isn’t worried. “I am very proud of my record,” Greenstein explained over lunch recently. “The bills that I have sponsored and supported are consumer-oriented and relate to the public interest, rather than special interests and my constituents know that.”
One reason Greenstein faces a tough election is because her opponent is well known; another is re-districting, which altered the composition of the 14th district, causing Greenstein to lose part of her political base, such as West Windsor. Her district now includes Plainsboro, Spotswood, Cranbury, Monroe, Jamesburg, Hamilton, Robbinsville, East Windsor, and Hightstown.
“The district is smaller now than it was, with a larger senior population, and a larger Asian population, and is slightly less affluent. Geographically, the district has moved closer to Route 130 and away from Route 1. Although I miss the people in West Windsor very much, I am very happy with my new district. It is very diverse. I have been able to attend functions and events with people from virtually every nationality, religion, and cultural background, and it has really been a lot of fun,” said Greenstein.
“Hamilton is an important town in the district,” she continued, “because it is so large and because all of my senate opponents have come from Hamilton, including Inverso. But I feel a real connection to the people of Hamilton, which is why I think I have always done well there. Of course the campaign is emphasizing Hamilton, but every town in the district is important, and I am going door-to-door to meet the constituents in every town I represent, just as I always have.”
“When I first decided to run for local office — the West Windsor-Plainsboro School Board — back in 1992, I called a friend who was active in Philadelphia politics and asked for some advice. My friend gave me three pieces of advice: figure out who votes in the election and target them; get to know your neighbors, and visit them and your target audience door-to-door, rather than just calling them; and write each one a personal, hand-written note addressing what you spoke about with them. This was valuable advice then, and it is equally applicable now,” she noted.
“This is my 12th election since the early 1990s. I have always used this strategy and I have won every election,” she said. “During the last few elections, I have done extremely well in Hamilton, even running against Hamiltonians. I am confident that I will do equally well against Inverso,” she added.
“Of course, there are some changes to our campaign strategy, particularly in the area of social media. We are making use of Facebook and Twitter in a big way to reach more people, especially the younger generation. But my general campaign strategy for this election remains the same.”
“Politically, I am very independent — I look at what’s best for the 14th district, and that’s the way I vote. I don’t necessarily vote along party lines if I feel that the legislation is not something I agree with. I need to feel good about what I am doing and I want to represent my district to the best of my ability. Legislators will ask: ‘where is Greenstein on this bill?’ And the answer always is: ‘with her constituents.’ And that’s where I always want to be.”
At times a legislator has to compromise to get a bill passed, but it is also important to know when to stand your ground, even if you know the bill might not pass.
Greenstein provided an example: “As a new Assembly member, I had gone door-to-door one afternoon to talk to constituents and find out what issues were important, and I learned that many were quite concerned, understandably, about taxes. So I began talking about taxes during debates, town meetings, and elsewhere. I signed onto a bill which proposed a property tax convention. Joe Roberts and I were two of the prime sponsors. It was a vehicle for tax reform, and eventually we held a special legislative session on tax reform. Of course there is still more to do in that area, but at least I helped get the issue into the spotlight, and I did it as a brand new legislator. There are many ways to be a leader while in public office, and one way is to get a dialog going about things that are important to our constituents.”
One accomplishment of which Greenstein is most proud is a 2001 bill she sponsored regarding a telemarketing, do not call list. She originally proposed the bill in the state legislature before a federal law had been passed and faced steep opposition from some segments of the business community. An Associated Press reporter happened to feature Greenstein’s bill in a news article that was distributed nationwide, and soon her bill garnered significant support.
“It was finally passed in 2001 when the Democrats gained control of the legislature. It was the first big bill that I had sponsored that became law, and it was something that benefited everyone in the state, and I am very proud of that.”
Greenstein first decided she wanted to get more involved with her local community in the early 1990s. She was reading the local paper and saw that there were openings on the school board, so she decided to run for a spot. “I had been an intern in Washington, DC, and had been involved in the Women’s Political Caucus in Kentucky but had never really considered running for political office. However, after moving to Plainsboro, I became involved in the community, and decided that I wanted to try out elective office.”
“For my first election, I went door to door, meeting people, and the people I met really started responding. They were interested in what I had to say, and we shared thoughts and viewpoints on many issues. I felt the beginning of a groundswell, and realized that making personal contact with the voters really works. And I was proven right on election day.”
“Two stories really stand out in my mind from that first election. One man left a business meeting in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to make sure he was able to vote, all because I had gone to his house and knocked on his door on a rainy day. Another man brought his entire family, and all of his friends, to the polls, because I had had a personal conversation with him. I will never forget that. People want to connect, want to feel a connection with their elected officials, and that’s why making the effort to meet people is so important.
“After serving on the school board, I thought about town government. I had been teaching at the Disability Rights Clinic at Seton Hall Law School while I was a board member, but once I was no longer teaching there, I thought that might have the time to take on the additional responsibility of being a Plainsboro Committee member-and I would have more time to focus on a campaign too! So I went to a Democratic Committee meeting, and decided to run. I served on the Plainsboro Township Committee from 1995-2000.
“After serving on the Plainsboro Township Committee, I decided to run for the state Assembly,” Greenstein continued. “I realized I would have to run against two incumbents, Paul Cramer and Barbara Wright. Both my husband and my son encouraged me to go for it, so I decided to run. It was not easy —first I had to win at the convention, because I was not the only Democrat running. I beat out my Democratic opponent 2-1, and then I went on to beat Cramer and Wright. And I have been serving the 14th District ever since.”
Greenstein grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in a housing project “that was actually a good place to live,” she says. “So many kids my age lived there, and the public schools were very good, so it was like having 20 sisters and brothers living in the same building. My mother was a bookkeeper, and my father was a shopkeeper, so higher education was a big thing for them. I have one brother and one sister, and all three of us are very educated. My brother has a PhD and my sister is a social worker.”
Greenstein received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Vassar College in 1971; earned a master’s degree in 1974 from Johns Hopkins University; and earned her law degree in 1984 from Georgetown University. She worked as an assistant district attorney for the city of Philadelphia from 1984 to 1986; and then at the Plainsboro firm of Smith, Stratton, Wise, Heher, and Brennan before becoming the deputy attorney general, criminal justice division, from 1987 to 1990. Greenstein then worked for a year as a staff attorney for the Community Health Law Project and taught at Seton Hall Law School from 1993 to 1996.
Greenstein moved to Plainsboro with her family in 1988. She and husband Michael have one son, Evan, 36, who works in Washington, DC, as an attorney for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and lives in Baltimore. “He went all through the schools here, and graduated from High School South because at that time there was only one high school,” said Greenstein.
“We moved to Plainsboro initially because my husband, an engineer who has been a professor for 10 years at New York University’s Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn, had been working in New Jersey at Lucent (Bell Labs), so we were looking for a town in New Jersey with a good school system. Plainsboro was a perfect fit. We love it here, and have no intention of leaving. It has everything we want and need in a town, including a great local government; and we have gotten to know so many wonderful people in our neighborhood and in town.”
She was elected to the Plainsboro Township Committee in 1995, and in 2000 was elected for to the New Jersey State Assembly. In November, 2010, she won her current Senate seat in a special election to replace Bill Baroni, who had accepted a position with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Currently, Greenstein serves as the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Innovative Practices, the vice chair of the Environment and Energy and the Law and Public Safety Committees, and is a member of the Budget and Appropriations and Public Schools Committees.
“I credit my parents with making me the person I am. They always made me feel that I could be whatever I wanted to be. They trusted me to make the right decisions, had confidence in me, and were integral to my success. And the values my mother instilled in me — honesty, sincerity, and civility — influenced what I did and how I did it.”
Greenstein shared some of her hobbies: “I like to read, and I wish I had more time for reading. I love to travel and go to new places. Sometimes I like to visit exciting places, sometimes I prefer a more relaxing vacation; but either way, I love traveling. I also like to spend time outdoors. I really enjoy meeting new people, and I also like to spend time visiting with family and friends. And sometimes I like to find a spot that offers peace and tranquility, so that I can have time to think.”
When asked if she has any aspirations for higher office, Greenstein says, “I am going to continue doing what I do now for the foreseeable future. If an opportunity comes up down the road, I will evaluate it at that time. But right now my plan is to represent District 14 in the Senate, because I really enjoy it.”
Linda Greenstein District Office, 1249 South River Road, Suite 105, Cranbury 08512. 609-395-9911. www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/bio.asp?Leg=329.
