by Shirley L. Ng, AsAmNews contributor
Freehold Boro, NJ has a new neighbor in town. On Tuesday, Democrat Congressman Andy Kim of New Jersey’s District 3 hosted an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony at his new congressional office located at 30 Mechanic Street in the downtown area of Freehold Boro in Monmouth County.
The Freehold Boro office is a new addition to his other two offices located in Hamilton Township of Mercer County and Willingboro Township of Burlington County. Just to give you some perspective of where his office is exactly in Freehold Boro, it’s just an eight-minute walk from where Bruce Springsteen was raised.
In 2021, Kim was captured in a viral AP photograph that showed him kneeling in the rotunda of the Capitol picking up trash on January 7, the morning after the Capitol was attacked. What happened at the Capitol was not caused by a bunch of unruly tourists that came through as some may want you to believe. Anyhow, going back to the viral photograph of Kim, his humbleness and empathy that was captured in the photograph touched a nerve in many Americans. They possibly said to themselves, “this is what we need in our country.” Actions do speak louder than words.
Approximately 50 guests and constituents, including the Freehold Boro Mayor, Kevin Kane attended the occasion.
“I think this will be a really great place for us to be able to push forward, hopefully a good home for me for a long time to come and look forward to continuing to serve,” Kim said of his new office.
Kim believes he may be the only Congressional member that has the majority of their staff in their home district than in Washington DC.
“I want to have that very intentional focus on the district, to make sure we are there to be able to give the strongest level of constituent services provided in the country. That is my expectation, my hope, and what I promise to you all. I really do believe that my office runs the strongest level of any constituent service operation in the country. We’ll continue to work as hard as possible,” Kim told his guests.
Kim spoke of his commitment to working together, listening to his constituents during these tough times, and realizing that “politics is not keeping up” with the issues of their constituents. He is worried about how America might be when his two sons get older.
“I refuse to allow my kids to grow up in America that is this divided. I refuse to allow my kids to grow up in America that is fragmented, where people are looking for themselves or their political parties. We are better than that,” he told his guests.
When NJ redistricted congressional lines last year, Freehold Boro was one of several new towns in Monmouth County that became part of Kim’s District 3, but he no longer represented Ocean County. He won his third term with 55.5% of the vote in last November’s election.
The Freehold Boro office will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with two full-time staffers.
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