Join us for an enthralling conversation with Congressman Robert Menendez, where we dissect the symbiotic relationship between personal well-being, the twists and turns of political life, and the cultural comfort of Cuban cuisine. Unveiling his journey from the Port Authority to the halls of Congress, Menendez doesn't shy away from the heavy weights of responsibility, from addressing national concerns like infrastructure to the affordability crisis. As we swap stories about cultural heritage, he also shares his passion for engaging with the community and underscores the importance of political involvement, especially in light of recent events that rocked the nation.
Navigating the sensitive landscape of Middle East relations, Congressman Menendez dissects the pressing need for a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine. Menendez believes in a three-part plan that could pave the way to stability, though he's candid about the obstacles this fraught process entails. The conversation extends beyond international politics, touching on the rise of anti-Semitism at universities, and the challenge of fostering inclusive spaces for dialogue. We also celebrate the diversity of Hudson County, New Jersey, where the rich mosaic of immigrant stories has shaped a community that Menendez is proud to represent.
As we wind down, the Congressman opens the door to his family life, illustrating the trials and triumphs of parenting during the infamous "terrible twos." Juggling a demanding political role with cherishing moments at home, he emphasizes the irreplaceable support of partners and the community. We share a laugh about the little joys and challenges of fatherhood before departing with a heartfelt exchange of gratitude. Menendez leaves us with a reminder of the importance of staying connected to the work and issues that shape our everyday lives, and a nod to the beloved Liberty State Park, a symbol of community and connection for us both.
Join us for an enthralling conversation with Congressman Robert Menendez, where we dissect the symbiotic relationship between personal well-being, the twists and turns of political life, and the cultural comfort of Cuban cuisine. Unveiling his journey from the Port Authority to the halls of Congress, Menendez doesn't shy away from the heavy weights of responsibility, from addressing national concerns like infrastructure to the affordability crisis. As we swap stories about cultural heritage, he also shares his passion for engaging with the community and underscores the importance of political involvement, especially in light of recent events that rocked the nation.
Navigating the sensitive landscape of Middle East relations, Congressman Menendez dissects the pressing need for a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine. Menendez believes in a three-part plan that could pave the way to stability, though he's candid about the obstacles this fraught process entails. The conversation extends beyond international politics, touching on the rise of anti-Semitism at universities, and the challenge of fostering inclusive spaces for dialogue. We also celebrate the diversity of Hudson County, New Jersey, where the rich mosaic of immigrant stories has shaped a community that Menendez is proud to represent.
As we wind down, the Congressman opens the door to his family life, illustrating the trials and triumphs of parenting during the infamous "terrible twos." Juggling a demanding political role with cherishing moments at home, he emphasizes the irreplaceable support of partners and the community. We share a laugh about the little joys and challenges of fatherhood before departing with a heartfelt exchange of gratitude. Menendez leaves us with a reminder of the importance of staying connected to the work and issues that shape our everyday lives, and a nod to the beloved Liberty State Park, a symbol of community and connection for us both.
Your hosts: @lynnhazan_ and @tonydoesknow
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Speaker 1:
Hey, welcome to the Lynn and Tony Know podcast. I'm your host, Lynn.
Speaker 2:
And I'm Tony. We are both wellness coaches and married with kids.
Speaker 1:
Join us as we talk about all things health, wellness, relationships, life hacks, parenting and everything in between, unfiltered. Thanks for listening and let's get into it. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2:
Welcome back again.
Speaker 1:
Again. This is our fourth time trying this out because of technical difficulties, but it is what it is we're. We're gonna keep it moving. Uh, welcome back. It's been a while we've been. Why are you laughing?
Speaker 2:
like it was the fourth time you said it.
Speaker 1:
Go on uh, we've been busy yeah, very busy toddler life work yeah, war all the All the things.
Speaker 2:
All the things.
Speaker 1:
So much drama, yeah, but we're here, we're alive and we have a very special guest we do and I'm very excited to introduce him.
Speaker 1:
So today we're joined by Congressman Robert Menendez, who represents New Jersey's 8th Congressional District, an area covering much of Hudson County, parts of Newark and Elizabeth. Sworn into office in January 2023, congressman Menendez has a rich heritage as the grandson of Cuban immigrants and a deep commitment to public services instilled by his parents. Prior to Congress, he served as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, overseeing major infrastructure projects, and was a practicing attorney focusing on finance and technology sectors. In Congress, he champions issues like affordability, climate action, safer neighborhoods and robust transportation infrastructure. A dedicated member of several important caucuses, he is also a leader in efforts against anti-Semitism and gun violence. Congressman Menendez resides in Jersey City with his wife and two kids. Welcome to the show, rob.
Speaker 3:
Welcome. Great to be with you both. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:
Thank you so much for your patience today.
Speaker 3:
No problem.
Speaker 1:
Now, but seriously, I want to address the elephant in the room, a question that many people have.
Speaker 2:
What is it?
Speaker 1:
Do you prefer Ropa Vieja or Pernil?
Speaker 3:
it. Do you prefer Ropa Vieja or Pernil Uh? Pernil Uh, I'm team team. Pernil Uh, my mom's team.
Speaker 2:
Ropa Vieja, but I'm, I'm team Pernil, but both great options.
Speaker 3:
Can't go wrong with either. What's your choice?
Speaker 1:
I like Pernil, I like both.
Speaker 2:
I don't know what they are so like.
Speaker 1:
Cuban food. I need to take you to eat Cuban. What's a good Cuban spot around here?
Speaker 3:
So there's it's right in Hamilton Park. The name's escaping me.
Speaker 1:
Oh, rumba Cubana, Rumba Cubana. Yeah, you've had.
Speaker 3:
Cuban food. They have a bunch of locations.
Speaker 1:
Their mojitos are very strong.
Speaker 3:
Yeah. Your tolerance is very low. We generally order from there, so it is a good go-to for us.
Speaker 1:
So you have quite the impressive resume. Why run for Congress? Why do?
Speaker 3:
that to yourself.
Speaker 3:
There are some challenges, you know. Listen, two years ago, um, when my predecessor, albio series, retired, um, you know, I was at the poor authority, as you mentioned, and I was really enjoying, um, the idea of doing something, um to benefit the community. Giving back, I found my days doing poor authority work, um, I just got this sense of fulfillment that I never had professionally. And, you know, we announced our candidacy on the one-year anniversary of January 6th, feeling like the momentum was going in the wrong direction and having a sense of obligation that we wanted to do more, give more, and especially since, at the time, we had one child. And you know, as you know, as a parent, you start really thinking about what the future looks like and what type of world your children are going to grow up in.
Speaker 3:
And for me, I felt like, with all the challenges we had then, there's only been an increasing number of challenges since, you know, I had to raise my hand. I wanted to raise my hand and be of service to the district that I love. You know, this is where I grew up, in union city. It's obviously where I live with my wife and now two small kids. Um, I really believe in this place and what it means to so many families and individuals, and wanted to to represent everyone in washington and try to deliver for everyone that lives here.
Speaker 2:
Beautiful, everyone that lives here. Beautiful, that's a good answer. Um, how long has it been since january 6th?
Speaker 3:
now that you've said that, are we, yeah, so over two years removed from that. Now, yeah, yeah, I'm coming up on you know what will be, uh, three years, uh, come, you know, january of next year. So, um, yeah, and you know, and still people are still, you know, down here of next year. So, um, yeah, I mean, I'm still, people are still, you know, down here still litigating it right, what would happen that day? And you know it's law enforcement, we can. One of the two committees we sit on is Homeland Security, and Republicans still have difficulty acknowledging that, uh, it was a violent, uh assault on the Capitol, that police officers were assaulted that day, and the fact that we aren't in agreement on what happened that day is, to me, mind-boggling. But you know it's a challenge every day. We have to continue to invest in the health of our democracy.
Speaker 1:
And now you're up for re-election.
Speaker 3:
Yep.
Speaker 1:
And that's happening in June. So everybody primaries primaries June 4th.
Speaker 3:
You run every two years, which is you know, uh, I like it. Um, you know two years, especially, um, in your first term. Uh, you know, you have to hit the ground, running Like there's no, there's no time to sort of, you know, figure things out, you have to. You have to hit the ground running Like there's no, there's no time to sort of, you know, figure things out, you have to. You have to be ready to produce day one. And so, you know, in this reelection, a lot of what we talk about is our track record. You know there's there's two fronts that you operate on right here in the district delivering constituent services for for all of your residents, and then down in Washington, making sure that you have a legislative priority that benefits the district and you're bringing federal dollars back to the district for important projects in every municipality. So I'm really proud of the results we've been able to deliver for our district in a short amount of time, and the two years sort of keeps you at least keeps me laser focused, which I like.
Speaker 1:
And the two years sort of keeps you, at least keeps me, laser focused, which I like.
Speaker 2:
Now the situation with your dad, do you want?
Speaker 3:
to address it.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, what's going on and how do you feel about it and all that?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I mean, we're out there every single day, right, we've done debates, We've done forums, we've done interviews with local press, with national press. We know it's going to be a question asked and the way we handle it is it's a challenge. Right, it's a challenge that he's going through. It's a challenge when you have a family member that's going through something, through a hardship. But, at the end of the day, what I always tell people is that every individual, every family, has a challenge that they have to deal with. This is unique in the sense that very public, obviously, um, it cuts across both, obviously personal first, and professional second. But um, it's a challenge. And um, and just facing a challenge like every other individual, every other family would, is how I've handled it, and just staying a challenge like every other individual, every other family would, is how I've handled it, and just staying focused on what's within my control and making sure that, every single day, we're delivering for our residents. And that's where my focus has been.
Speaker 1:
That's a great answer.
Speaker 2:
Going back to your two fronts that you're talking about, and one being the services to your local constituents, if you could break down like maybe three of the digestible things that I don't know, because I don't know what you're working on in relation I consider myself relatively aware of what happens politically, but I wouldn't be able to tell somebody what my congressman has done necessarily. So if you were able to give us like three of your top achievements or things that impact us as residents the most, what would those be?
Speaker 3:
Well, let me just first say, because I think it is important, we do a lot of outreach to let people know what services our office can provide. So I think that's just a helpful thing for people to know Obviously, everyone that lives in the district where their liaison almost to the federal government and where their advocate with anything that relates to the federal government. So, because one of my favorite statistics about the district is that over 40% of the people that live here were born, were born outside the country. So are of the 15, almost 1600 cases that we've solved, that our offices solve Um, I think almost 90% of them are immigration related, um, which can range from a visa issue. 90% of them are immigration related, which can range from a visa issue. Reuniting families, mixed status households. You know, last year we dealt with a lot of passport issues. You know people hadn't traveled during COVID, didn't realize their passport was expired. That's something that we can help with Social Security, medicare, anything that relates to the federal government. We deal with veterans, veteran benefits. But what I always tell people is, you know, navigating the different levels of government, you may not know where to go with a particular issue. And the thing that I've tried to really instill in our team is if someone calls you with an issue and there's no federal nexus, you have to still find a way to be helpful, right, like get them to the appropriate place, to the appropriate department or agency, whatever it is. But you know, if someone has only time for one call and they call us, we want to make sure that we're helping them and I don't want them to hear no from their representative, because I think it's, you know, people are used to when they deal with government, just getting bad results. So we want to make sure that we're as helpful as we can be.
Speaker 3:
So, to answer your question, in terms of what we've done, as I mentioned, we're almost at 1,600 cases solved for individuals and for families, and I'm proud of that work. We have an incredible team that does the work every single day. They are incredible public servants. I know that a lot of times people know who their elected officials are, that a lot of times people know who their elected officials are, and you know. But it's really an entire team that serves the district and we have an incredible group that is hard at work for all of our residents every single day. So I'm proud of that team. I'm proud of the work that we've been able to accomplish together. You know and some of those cases are, you know, reuniting a family that was sort of separated during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and so we've been trying to. There's a brother and a mom here. We got one of the sisters back and working on getting another sister back from Afghanistan. It's obviously complicated given the dynamics on the ground, but you know, that type of work and keeping families together is something I'm incredibly proud of.
Speaker 3:
And just even the little wins. You know, when we help, you know, a senior, there's a hole on Kennedy Boulevard that no one fixed. Like we work with our city, our friends at the city, to get it done. So you know, I'm proud of the small wins, I'm proud of the big wins. We brought a lot of money back to the district in our critical infrastructure, the Gateway Program, the most important infrastructure project in the country. It goes through the district. We had a groundbreaking in North Bergen a couple of months ago money for the Northeast Corridor, money going back to municipalities, for environmental justice grants, for lead pipe replacements in Elizabeth. So there's a lot of great work and again, it's great to be able to deliver for the district, but it's really because we have just a great team that I'm really proud of and people should know that they're being served by an incredible team of public servants.
Speaker 2:
I love that Follow-up question on that. Would the Cave and Point parking lot fall under the infrastructure? Uh, subcommittee that you serve on?
Speaker 3:
so um.
Speaker 2:
So the cave in point um, I'm joking, but also not well, I mean listen, we.
Speaker 3:
I mean in terms of cave in point. We've we've been there with friends of livery state park making sure that that remains a natural preserve. It's one of our favorite places when it's open.
Speaker 2:
The parking lot at the soccer and football stadium.
Speaker 3:
Oh, sorry, I thought you were talking about the Cave and Point.
Speaker 2:
No, no, no. The parking lot is a mess. It's going to break down eventually.
Speaker 3:
Alright, well, well, listen, call us and we'll look into it.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, just send us an email this is not not for the podcast seriously, seriously.
Speaker 1:
We'll follow up after this I want to switch gears, because this is obviously something that we're very, you know, passionate about is going on in our lives. Like I'm israeli and you know it's, it's very top of mind, right. Um, given the ongoing tensions and conflict that's happening in Israel and Gaza, can you share your perspective on what role the U? S should play in this situation and how do you balance the complex international relations involved? How do you feel about it?
Speaker 3:
This has been one of the most challenging things. Um, do you feel about it? This has been one of the most challenging things to deal with this Congress. You know it's just a difficult dynamic and it has been for months now. You know the way I start the conversation about what's happening is I think we all agree that no one wants what's happening today to go on for one day longer. There's no family that is not yearning to have the hostages returned to them. You know the destruction that you're seeing in Gaza. No one wants that to go on any longer. But it's a challenging dynamic.
Speaker 3:
I mean, dealing with Hamas is something that I think people don't address head on.
Speaker 3:
You know the fact that we're in the situation is Moss attacked Israel on October 7th and it's been a terrible series of days for so many people for Palestinians, for Israelis, for Americans but we need to stay focused on a pathway forward that looks much different than what's gone on and what continues to go on, than what's gone on and what continues to go on, and we need to work towards that.
Speaker 3:
There's ongoing conversations about how we get there. It's been a challenge in terms of getting both sides to agree on what a three-part process would look like to return the hostages, to have a ceasefire and then to start working and creating the space to have a long-term solution, but we need to do that work. The US has a role to play in it. To answer your question, we need to continue to be a partner as we move towards those much better tomorrows. That, in my opinion, includes a two-state solution, and we need to find a way to build trust again where we can live and where Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace side by side, because what's happening now just doesn't work for anyone.
Speaker 1:
Agreed.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I mean it's.
Speaker 2:
One of the more interesting parts that has unfolded over the past seven months for me is simply the agreement that Hamas started the war, and that even includes people in Congress that we can't even agree on the basics of how this began and it's difficult to imagine those same people agreeing on an outcome as well, just as a spectator, somebody that follows it and somebody that listens to people talk about it.
Speaker 2:
It's so hard to imagine that because I was watching the House Subcommittee hearing on primary and secondary education last week, which was, I think I don't even remember what day it was, but I watched the whole thing and just hearing different committee members use it, not necessarily as a way to help strengthen the primary and secondary education system on fighting anti-Semitism, but it was used as a way to promote whatever opinion they had on the subject. And, more specifically, listening to Jamal Bowman speak, at that, he did not even address the topic but then conflated it with having Confederate statues around the campuses of Washington DC, as that's just as hateful as the anti-Semitism that's happening in the school system. And it seems so bizarre to imagine, you know, when we can't even agree on what happened, how we're supposed to expect a path forward that is supported by the United States. It becomes very hard to look at that and feel that.
Speaker 3:
Listen, I would you know sort of on any particular issue right, there's always going to be I think you have to there's an overwhelming majority of folks who understand what happened, in agreement on what happened and on any issue. There's always going to be agreement on what happened and on any issue, there's always going to be dissenting views and I think it's also important to remember that to have a durable peace right, a resilient peace and what that looks like, israelis and Palestinians are going to drive that conversation and what the role the US has to play is creating a framework in the space to ensure that they can do so and that that future they can build together. I mean, I know it's been elusive for generations, but there's no other option and as long as we remain committed to that and try to create a framework where we can work towards that, that's the role for the US to play. I believe there's, you know, by parts and near unanimous agreement that that's a direction that we have to move in.
Speaker 1:
Now speaking of? With rising concerns about anti-Semitism on college campuses, what steps do you believe need to be taken to address this issue? How can legislation or policy change help ensure a safer and more inclusive environment for all students?
Speaker 3:
Yeah. So I mean, the key is all students right, because we've seen rises in anti-Semitism, we've seen rises in Islamophobia. You know we need to foster safe environments, especially on college campuses. You know the last several weeks have been challenging on that front, but you, you know that is.
Speaker 3:
That is the goal, that is the target, um, where all students from all walks of life, from all faiths, uh feel like they are part of a, a, a community and environment where they're they're safe to express their views, they're safe to um engage in these, these difficult conversations. It's safe to engage in these difficult conversations. I think it's been a challenging couple of months and weeks for colleges to figure out the best framework to do so, but it's a critically important conversation. I think we should look at the places and do sort of a survey of where there's been successes, because obviously, seeing what's happened here at Columbia has been a challenge. Talking to parents of students, talking to alumni, the things that you saw happening there are concerning, but nonetheless, you know we need to continue to push all of these universities, all of these colleges, to make sure that they're creating safe environments, because that's the thing that's most critically important and they need to be safe environments for all students.
Speaker 1:
But what about some of these universities getting funding from Qatar and outside?
Speaker 2:
countries. When you see numbers like $6 billion or whatever the number is I believe that was one that I saw reported like $6 billion donated across however many years to our universities and what it brings up for me is campaign contributions have a limit right. They're very public. There's a limit to what you can contribute and for many good reasons, that sort of campaign financing is in place, and I'm wondering if there's anything that has come up within Congress or the government that is taking a look at how college universities are accepting donations and what kind of reform might be in place there, because money wins in a lot of cases and I think we've seen what some of the money has bought us over the past couple months and I'm wondering what your take is on that.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, well, I mean it goes back to no matter what the dynamic is or what the situation is, every university and college has an obligation to its students and they have an obligation to their various codes, various missions and that and sort of making sure that they remain focused on that is critically important. You know, without getting into sort of where they may have different support from or receive funds from, I think just sort of staying focused on that they have an obligation to create these safe learning environments for all their students is where Congress has been focused. And again, there's been some things some situations have been more challenging than others, some situations where the outcomes have been much better but continuing to push to make sure that we're creating these safe environments on all campuses, on all colleges, regardless of sort of where they might have financial support from.
Speaker 1:
So let's get back to the local stuff, because you are in New Jersey, so how has it been growing up in this area? Tell us a little bit more about it, yeah.
Speaker 3:
I love. You know, I grew up in union city, uh, went to high school in hoboken, live in jersey city. Now, uh, you know, I love, I love hudson county. Um, I love the, the rich fabric, uh, of different cultures, uh, different, different faiths, different backgrounds, um, and it's a truly special place.
Speaker 3:
You know the the thing I always like to share with people is when my paternal grandparents came here from Cuba, they lived in Union City, they moved to Union City and that's where they started all over again, and for a while, union City had the second highest population of Cubans outside of Miami. And now you go to Union City, it's Guatemalans, el Salvadorans, peruvians, it's a whole next generation of folks who are starting their American story and they're doing in the same place that other generations of immigrants started their story. I think that's something that's so incredibly beautiful about this area, you know, and for me now raising kids, you know I love the idea that we're here in Jersey City. I love what it represents. My wife grew up in Indiana so it's a little bit different for her, but, um, he's taken to it and um, it's a special place and we just love it. And the fact that I get to represent in Washington is um the most incredible thing that that I could do.
Speaker 1:
How old are your kids now?
Speaker 3:
My daughter just turned four in April. Uh, my son turns two in September.
Speaker 1:
So small kids how's the? Terrible twos going.
Speaker 3:
Uh, so it's funny that you said terrible twos. A quick story uh, sam Pessin, from a friend's Olivia state park, uh, always, yeah, always asked about the kids and when my daughter was turning two, uh, he said, uh, you know. I said he asked about Olivia and I said, oh, you know, she's good, she's about to turn to you know the terrible twos. And because Sam's the best, he was like no, I don't believe in the terrible twos, I call them the terrific twos. I said, all right, like I'm going to take, I'm going to take that mindset. Sam and uh talked about with my wife. Uh, a couple weeks later I saw sam and he asked about the kids again and I said, sam, I love you, but, uh, I'm sticking with the terrible twos. Uh, the terrific two.
Speaker 3:
Spin is a great thing, uh, but, but it's a unique set of challenges. But they're great, you know. I mean um, you know, my son is just. He has this different energy than his sister had when she was two. He loves testing the limits of what is dangerous and how much he can engage in a dangerous pursuit, whether it's climbing or knocking things over or throwing things down the stairs. But they're both great and they're a lot of fun, uh, but uh, they're both great and they're a lot of fun and um, face time every morning when I'm in washington and uh love when I'm home, because I spending time with them is the best how do you balance, because you're in washington four days a week yeah so how do you bet?
Speaker 1:
and you I'm assuming, your wife and kids are obviously in jersey city. How do you balance family life and working in Washington?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, Um, it's a challenge, um, you know, having a wife who's beyond incredible, um, having a partner who's beyond incredible, uh, makes it possible. You know we have a great support network. Uh, you know, my wife is an incredible professional, um, you know, committed to her, to her career growth, um, and that I want to make sure I'm supportive of Um. So, you know, the way it works is listen, I'm fortunate in the fact that I can get to Washington pretty quickly. Um, you know, you have colleagues flying in from California, from Alaska, from Hawaii, so, um, the proximity makes it more manageable. So, for instance, uh, let's say it's a Monday through Thursday week, monday I'll get up, you know I'll be in Jersey, spend the morning with the kids, take my daughter to school, come back, spend some time with my son and then, you know, head down to Washington, gone Monday night, tuesday night, wednesday night, thursday, have votes here and then get back, uh, as soon as I can to, to see my daughter. She comes back from school to spend time with my son, do bath time routine and then do bedtime routine. Um, but it's a challenge, you know, um, you know I miss them all the time when I'm here.
Speaker 3:
But the way I've sort of um, I made a decision that you know, if I was gonna, you know, ask my family, especially my wife, to do this, then when I'm in Washington, I have to be as productive as I can be. Um, you know, like we start I start the day early, I get up early, um, I do. I get prepped for the whole day. Memos, I take as many meetings with constituents as I can. We're on two committees, so I'll prep for committee when we have committee hearings, you know, after there's events, you know different organizations will have events go to those events and try to, you know, be as engaged as possible, because you know my wife's at home getting two kids bathed and put down for bed, and so I'm not going to sit here and like watch Netflix right, like it's. I'm going to be as productive as I can be and that's how I've gone about it to sort of justify the sacrifice that that my wife and our kids are making for for me to have this opportunity.
Speaker 2:
Okay, if you were going to watch Netflix, though, what would it be?
Speaker 3:
That's a great question. Honestly, if I was going to watch Netflix, whatever my wife wanted to watch on Netflix because, like you know, when I get home and we have, you know, so many nights to hang out together, uh, if she wants to watch something, uh, I've, I've surrendered. I say, okay, she really loves below deck, which.
Speaker 1:
I was not. I was not a fan of.
Speaker 3:
But you know, again, once I surrendered and was like I'm not watching Nick's playoff basketball, I'm not watching. You know rewatching, you know an HBO series watch whatever she wants. That's, that's my answer.
Speaker 2:
Amazing. Well, she's saving you from from Nick's basketball heartache anyway, so you should probably just thank her. It's, yeah, that's fair. I think they're going to they're going to.
Speaker 3:
I think they're going to pull this series out, but we'll see.
Speaker 1:
So if people want to learn more about you, everybody needs to go out to vote, obviously, and do your research. Where can people find you? And just time to plug all your stuff.
Speaker 3:
So, no, I appreciate it. So we have two sort of presences, right Like we have the official side. So obviously, anything that anyone needs from our office, um, like there's a two. It's a weird thing. There's like two separate worlds that, um, that exists, and we always try to keep them very clean.
Speaker 3:
So, for anyone that needs anything from our office, you can go to Menendezhousegov. Um, we're our offices in Jersey city, but you can reach us by phone or email. Anything that we can be helpful with. Never hesitate to reach out. If you're not sure whether it's something we can be helpful with. Just reach out, um, and you'll see our social media accounts there. We're at Menendez? Uh, across all different platforms. Um, on the political side, uh, we have our um campaign website, robmenendezcom uh, all social medias robmenendezcom. All social media is robmenendez4nj.
Speaker 3:
So check us out there and learn more about what we're doing. I think you'll see that, no matter which account you follow, that we're hustling every day. We're engaged. We try to be as many places as we can be. The best compliment that people can give us based on our social media is working hard, and every day we're out there doing something to improve our community, and that's what we want to be doing. This is an incredible opportunity, and so every day we're just trying to make the most of it in terms of what we deliver for our constituents, for our residents, and that's every day. That's the goal, and then we start over next day and just try to figure out a way to continue producing for the folks that live here.
Speaker 1:
I love that. Well, we really appreciate your time and thanks for everything that you're doing. Especially, you know your advocacy when it comes to the things that concern us. Um, and, yeah, we really appreciate it and wish you the best of luck. Yeah, Do you have anything you want to say?
Speaker 2:
I did have one question and I know we kind of wrapped up. But we've got seven minutes and I want to make the most of it Okay. I have one question because I think it's relevant and it's not often we're talking to a politician on our show. My question would be what would you say to traditionally liberal Jewish voters who feel a little bit disenfranchised by the Democratic Party when it comes to, most specifically, biden's handling of the response to the war?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I mean it goes back to that. This is an incredibly difficult situation for for so many people. You know it's it is. I can't imagine a more challenging situation, given the dynamics for anyone to navigate. But you know, the administration has made it clear that we support our ally, israel, that we're going to continue to work towards getting out of this conflict Again, because it inures to the benefit of everyone and people, I do believe, very much want this conflict to end. So we have to continue to work towards reaching a conclusion and I think I would just say they should continue to engage, continue to reach out. You know we've met with so many different stakeholders on this issue, people who have very different views about the conflict, but you know, for me, as a representative, it's important to listen to everyone, which I have. We will continue to listen to people and make sure that we take all views into consideration as we do our part working towards a resolution of this conflict.
Speaker 2:
Okay, on that note.
Speaker 1:
Thank you, rob, you're the best. Thank you so much, thank you guys, see you at the next kid party.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, anytime anytime you want. You'll find us at Liberty State Park all the time. Cool, all right. I appreciate you guys having me.
