Solutions for New Jersey was a fiscally conservative think tank which sought to identify, evaluate, and propose innovative solutions for New Jersey’s economic problems. Solutions for New Jersey promoted solutions based on the principles of fiscal responsibility, the free market, and personal liberty. ¹

Solutions for New Jersey was a member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. ² While Solutions for New Jersey was a nonpartisan organization, both its president and executive director were affiliated with the Republican Party. ³

Solutions for New Jersey ceased operations in early 2014. ⁴

Activities

Solutions for New Jersey claimed that New Jersey politicians had created progressively more government entitlements and more regulatory and oversight programs, which led to a cycle of overspending and over-borrowing to cover expenses, along with cost-of-living increases, businesses moving out of state, and job losses. Solutions for New Jersey stated that New Jersey had the highest property taxes in the country and one of the country’s highest debt levels. It further claimed that New Jersey was no longer affordable due to over-taxation of residents and businesses along with the over-regulation of businesses. ⁵

While Solutions for New Jersey was concerned with issues like property taxes, school funding, hospital charity care, waste, fraud and abuse, pension funding, and state debt in New Jersey, its initial focus was on the link between school funding and property taxes. ⁶

Solutions for New Jersey claimed that government interference was the primary reason for continued education problems in New Jersey. To this end, Solutions for New Jersey advocated for school choice and promoted the 2012 National School Choice Week in New Jersey, sponsored by the NJ Tea Party Caucus, NJ Tea Parties United, and Smart Girl Politics. The featured speaker at the 2012 event was Bob Bowdon, a school choice advocate, former executive director of ChoiceMedia.TV (now ChalkboardNEWS), and director of The Cartel, a documentary film about failures of public education in America. ⁷

Solutions for New Jersey also posted articles on its website produced by other right-leaning think tanks, like the Heritage Foundation, the State Policy Network, the Cato Institute, and the American Legislative Exchange Council, in an effort to bring attention to issues across the country. Issues at the time included education policy, the failure of “green jobs,” and expanding health care options. ⁸

Funding

Solutions for New Jersey was funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. While Solutions for New Jersey did not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm a $12,500 donation from the State Policy Network in 2010. ⁹

People

Richard “Dick” LaRossa was the president and CEO of Solutions for New Jersey. LaRossa is a Republican politician who served as a State Senator in the 1990s and was a former director of the State House Commission. ¹⁰

Christopher Kniesler was the executive director of Solutions for New Jersey. Kniesler was a special assistant to former Governor Thomas Kean, Sr. (R-NJ); an executive officer at the Shore Builders Association; and a director for governmental relations for the NJ School Boards Association. Kniesler passed away in March 2023. ¹¹

1. “About Us.” Solutions for New Jersey. Archived from the original September 24, 2015. Accessed August 24, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20150924103630/http://www.solutionsfornewjersey.org/?p=842.
2. “Directory: S.” State Policy Network. Archived from the original October 6, 2011. Accessed August 24, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20111006051122/http://www.spn.org/directory/char.S/organizations.asp
3. “About Us.” Solutions for New Jersey. Archived from the original September 24, 2015. Accessed August 24, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20150924103630/http://www.solutionsfornewjersey.org/?p=842.
4.  Solutions for New Jersey Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-EZ), 2015, Schedule O.
5. “Home.” Solutions for New Jersey. Archived from the original July 20, 2016. Accessed August 24, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20160720210745/http://www.solutionsfornewjersey.org/.
6. “About Us.” Solutions for New Jersey. Archived from the original September 24, 2015. Accessed August 24, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20150924103630/http://www.solutionsfornewjersey.org/?p=842.
7. “Current Projects.” Solutions for New Jersey. Archived from the original March 28, 2016. Accessed August 24, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20160328224617/http://www.solutionsfornewjersey.org/?cat=24.
8. “Monthly Archives: September 2011.” Solutions for New Jersey. Archived from the original March 28, 2016. Accessed August 24, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20160328101124/http://www.solutionsfornewjersey.org/?m=201109.
9. State Policy Network, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2010, Schedule I, Part II.
10. “About Us.” Solutions for New Jersey. Archived from the original September 24, 2015. Accessed August 24, 2023. http://web.archive.org/web/20150924103630/http://www.solutionsfornewjersey.org/?p=842.
11. Wildstein, David. “Chris Kniesler, former Kean aide, dies at 67.” New Jersey Globe, March 29,2023. Accessed August 24, 2023. https://newjerseyglobe.com/in-memoriam/chris-kniesler-former-kean-aide-dies-at-67/.