Primary Election Date: 07/01/2006
General Election Date: 11/08/2011

Who Am I?

Dan Benson was selected as the newest 14th District Assemblyman on
January 8, 2011 replacing Linda Greenstein upon her election to the
State Senate.

Dan is an alumnus of Georgetown University where he received a
Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Government and Rutgers
University where he received a Master of Public Policy degree from the
Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Professionally, Dan is
a consultant in the energy and telecommunications policy field, having
worked for twelve years in public policy and regulatory affairs both
in the private and public sectors.

From 2002 to 2005, Dan served his hometown of Hamilton as Councilman,
serving as Council President for two years. In March of 2008, Dan was
appointed to the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders to an
unexpired term and won a special Election in November 2008 and
re-election in 2009. In public office Dan has focused on investing in
our communities to create economic opportunities, improving quality of
life, and making New Jersey more affordable.

Outside of elected office, Dan is the President of the Kiwanis Club of
Hamilton Township. He is a member of the Mercer County Board of
Catholic Charities, the Young Professionals Board of Robert Wood
Johnson Hospital at Hamilton, and the Benevolent and Protective Order
of the Elks Lodge #2622. He is Vice President of Friends of the
Hamilton Township Library, a Life Member of the American Council of
Young Political Leaders, and an alumnus of Leadership NJ, class of
2010.

Dan is a lifelong resident of Hamilton Township and is married to Dr.
Hande Benson, an assistant professor at Drexel University.

Why Am I Running?

With so many of our residents out of work, I believe we need
representatives who on their side, not powerful special interests. I
am focusing on progressive policies that will put people back to work.
I am using my private sector experience in energy and
telecommunications to create more clean energy jobs in Central Jersey
through investments and incentives in renewables and alternative
energy sectors. I hope to continue to build on my progressive record
and continue to find ways to position NJ's economy to create jobs and
invest in our future, while protecting residents from the negative and
misguided policies that Governor Christie and his support of
millionaires have created.

Hold Me Accountable!

Increase property tax relief
Provide property tax relief by limiting tax hikes and making
millionaires pay their fair share. Continue to push for fairer
taxation by reinstituting the millionaires tax that was allowed to
expire by Gov. Christie
Grow the economy
Reduce small business taxes and cut red tape to improve New Jersey's
business climate. We have focused on making government more efficient
without reducing accountability and oversight.
Improve government transparency
Make government more transparent by letting taxpayers know how their
money is being spent. We have passed legislation requiring
independent agencies to post their budgets, staffing and minutes
online. We continue to push for further ethics reforms so that
government is accountable to the people.

My DFA values:

I have been a past DFA recommended candidate and DFA+list endorsed
candidate previously when I ran for the Assembly in 2005 and as a
county legislative candidate (Freeholder) in 2008 and 2009. My focus
has been on revenue/tax fairness, open government and job creation in
green technologies. Using a strong student volunteer base and a
strong populist message we have built a local movement here in the
14th during a time when the political climate in DC is viewed very
negatively. Our hope is to not only use this grassroots base for the
election this November but to build up the Party for building support
for progressive issues.

My Campaign is People-Powered!

I have worked to ensure that we have a strong grassroots campaign for
our campaign. We are focused on student engagement, working with them
as volunteers at the high school and college level as well as peer
outreach for our vote-by-mail campaign. Second, we are working with
members of local building trades and public employee unions after
standing up for collective bargaining during the recent legislative
session. They are engaged in labor-to-labor walks as well as
grassroots outreach in base neighborhoods within the 14th Legislative
District.