What this possible Republican candidate for governor wants for N.J.

State Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick laid out his goals for the fall and discussed possibly running for governor in 2017.

TRENTON -- He has been mentioned for months as a possible Republican candidate to succeed Chris Christie as New Jersey's governor.

And even as experts whisper that Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno is the favorite for the 2017 GOP nomination, state Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick said Tuesday that he is still considering launching a campaign for the governor's office.

"I haven't ruled that out yet," Bramnick (R-Union), one of Christie's top allies in the New Jersey Legislature, said at a Statehouse news conference. "But I'm going to wait until November, until after this election, to make a determination."

Bramnick's guide to how Jerseyans should act at RNC 2016 in Cleveland

Other potential Republican candidates are Evesham Mayor Randy Brown, Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Somerset), and state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R-Union). No Republican, however, has officially declared.

For now at least, Bramnick is focusing on his role as GOP leader in the Assembly, the lower house of the Legislature. Democrats outnumber Republicans in the chamber, 52-28. 

The crux of Tuesday's news conference was Bramnick's agenda for the fall. Some goals include:

* Finding a solution to the stalemate over state transportation funding that led to a statewide road construction shutdown that is nearly in its third month. Christie said he is meeting with legislative leaders this week over the issue.

"Not to pass anything, not to press the button and vote for some sort of funding to me is simply unfair to the people of the state," Bramnick said. 

* Passing a bill to make legislative districts more competitive. That comes in response to a Democratic push for a constitutional amendment that would change the way New Jersey redraws its districts -- a move that Republicans argue would allow Democrats to tighten their political grip on the state for decades.

Brramnick said "if you have a competitive district, you will then have elected officials who are governing from the center." 

* A bill that would require mandatory quarterly meetings between the governor and legislative leaders.

"All of us can agree that a face-to-face meting in a room leads to discussion," Bramnick said. 

* A bipartisan campaign finance reform bill that would require "independent groups to be more transparent."

* Pushing Christie's controversial school funding plan, which would give every school district the exact same amount of state aid per student.

Bramnick also called for an end to partisan bickering between Democrats and Republicans. 

"There's a lot of work to be done," he said. "But let's do it in a substantive way. Let's do it as mature leaders. This back and forth is dangerous. It's divisive."

 

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

What this possible Republican candidate for governor wants for N.J.