Frank Pallotta, the Republican challenger to Rep. Josh Gottheimer in the fifth district, believes his financial background can help bring needed relief to the overburdened taxpayers of New Jersey.

“The taxpayers of New Jersey have been in a pretty tough spot having the highest property taxes and the worst business environment in the country,” said the former Wall Street executive who spent 25 years at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. “I know how to deal with the financial industry and everything in between. It’s honestly a commonsense approach to managing the private and public sectors. That’s the bottom line right now.”

Pallotta owns and operates Steel Curtain Capital Group, LLC, which he founded in 2009 as a mortgage advisory, analytics and consumer marketing firm.

Gottheimer is running for a third term after wresting the seat in 2016 from Scott Garrett, a five-term incumbent, in the historically Republican district.

In a phone interview with The Jewish Link, Pallotta pledged his support for Israel and condemned the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign against it.

“I always have and will continue to stand firm with the state of Israel,” said Pallotta, noting that in recent years the ramping up of the BDS campaign against Israel has resulted in unwarranted sanctions and criticism of the country at the United Nations to the detriment of the world economy.

“You do a disservice not only to the Jewish people, but to the entire world,” said Pallotta. “It bothers me to see this BDS movement and I am steadfastly against anyone not having the ability to operate in this global economy. I stand firmly engaged with the Jewish people against the BDS movement and would like to see it start to be reversed. No one I talk to really understands it outside of the Jewish people, but I have worked on economic issues in the financial service industry and can see the damage it can do.”

Equally troubling, said Pallotta, is the rise of BDS on college campuses with little vocal opposition, which leaves Pallotta “heartbroken and angry.”

“I will always stand behind Israel and I also think the president does a great job in supporting Israel,” said Pallotta.

He pledged to go to Washington with an eye to cutting taxes, reining in spending and repealing the two-year-old $10,000 cap on deductions of state and local taxes when filing federal taxes. He also would like to cut red tape and fight for further tax reform to support small business and create jobs.

“I think what this president has done should be used as a model,” said Pallotta. “He has surrounded himself with the right people and has started to knock down the issues one by one, much like a CEO does looking to review expenses with an eye toward his shareholders and consumers.”

Pallotta said he believed the top issues for voters are taxes, immigration and healthcare and criticized the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by the administration of Gov. Phil Murphy and Gottheimer’s silence about it.

“We have been one of the most restrictive states in closing,” he explained. “Phil Murphy has put the handcuffs on every one of the small businesses in this district, particularly restaurants. The answer is to open smart with proper restrictions by looking at the data.”

The Mahwah resident pointed out he lives a quarter mile from New York and can easily drive there to dine indoors, where restaurants are opened at 50% capacity.

“I was out to dinner last night and the servers were wearing masks and gloves and the way they were handling menus was in strict compliance with safety protocols,” said Pallotta. “If the big box stores can open with restrictions without increasing the rate of transmission why not let restaurants open with the same restrictions?”

Pallotta also was critical of the constraints put on faith institutions, noting, “No matter what faith you follow, faith is critically important…We have to be mindful that we don’t just have a health crisis but also an economic crisis, and during these times people need to reach out to God.”

Pallotta suggested religious institutions could be opened at 40 or 50% capacity with people booking a time online to attend. Indoor services are now limited to 100 people or 25% of the room’s capacity, whichever number is lower.

Pallotta, who volunteered his expertise to help people through the mortgage crisis after leaving his Wall Street jobs, said his goal has always been helping people.

“I have the ability to help,” he added. “I will be beholden to no one but the people in my district if elected.”