Bradley Beach Democrats back Schmid for Congress

Bradley Beach Democratic Municipal Chairman Stephen Lozowick has endorsed Stephanie Schmid for Congress in New Jersey’s 4th district – the first party leader to endorse Schmid’s bid to unseat Rep. Christopher Smith (R-Hamilton).

Schmid has also won the backing of the full Bradley Beach Democratic county committee.

“Stephanie is already building a grassroots coalition and we are thrilled to be early members of that group,” said Lozowick.  “Her passion and policy expertise were clear to us immediately, and we are thrilled by the prospect of a Congresswoman who is committed to regular engagement with her constituents and working tirelessly on behalf of Bradley Beach and the rest of our community in Washington, DC.”

Lozowick has been around New Jersey politics for more than 40 years.

A former deputy director of the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles under Gov. Brendan Byrne, the then-West Orange resident was one of four candidates for Essex County Freeholder-at-Large in the 1978 Democratic primary.  He ran on the organization line with Sheriff John Cryan, the candidate for County Executive.

Three of the four Cryan candidates won the nomination, but Lozowick lost to Lincoln Turner, who was running on Peter Shapiro’s line.  Lozowick finished 1,286 votes behind the fourth place candidate.

A former State Department diplomat, Schmid is one of five candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to take on Smith.

Former Asbury Park Councilman James Keady announced his candidacy on Monday.  Lobbyist Tiffany Kaszuba, former journalist David Applefield, and former United Nations project manager Christine Conforti are also running.

“The Bradley Beach County Committee is a dedicated and active group that has consistently worked on behalf of Democratic nominees, increasing advocacy and voter turnout within their town and throughout Monmouth County,” said Schmid. “I am thrilled to have their support.”

The fledgling candidate raised more than $100,000 during her first month as a candidate for Congress.

Smith, the lone Republican in the New Jersey congressional delegation, has $416,711 cash-on-hand, according to his 3rd quarter reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Smith is seeking re-election to his 21st term in the U.S. House of Representatives.  If he wins re-election, he would set the record as the longest-serving congressman in New Jersey history.

From 2018 until last month, Schmid served as U.S. Foreign Policy Counsel to the Center for Reproductive Rights.   Before that, she spent seven years as a foreign service officer assigned to the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor – the office headed by now-Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Rocky Hill) when he was Assistant U.S. Secretary of State from 2014 to 2017.

A graduate of Yale and University of California, Berkeley Law School, Schmid was a law clerk to Judge Ronald Gould of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. District Court Judge George Daniels of the Southern District of New York.  She was a civil and white collar litigation lawyer before joining the State Department.

Smith was first elected to Congress in 1980, at age 27, after thirteen-term Rep. Frank B. Thompson, Jr. (D-Trenton) was indicted as part of the Abscam scandal.  Smith won, 57%-41%, in a district that Ronald Reagan carried by three points.

Democrats thought they had a shot at beating Smith last year when Democrat Josh Welle raised $1.8 million, the often underestimated Smith raised $1.5 million and won by 12 percentage points.