An adjunct professor from the Criminal Justice department of Seton Hall University is running for the New Jersey State Assembly 2011-33rd District this November.
Professor Fernando Uribe has worked part-time at Seton Hall since 2007 while also working full time at Berkeley College.
Uribe said he takes great pride that he is not a career politician but rather is coming from academia to run for public office at such a young age.
"I am a regular person living through difficult times like everyone else," Uribe said. "As a fellow homeowner and taxpayer, I want to do my part to make the state of New Jersey better."
Uribe said he has a personal understanding of the wasteful spending and poor leadership that has occurred in the past in Trenton, after working as a civil servant and probation officer for 10 years before transitioning into academia.
"I want to be a breath of fresh air for the tax payers of New Jersey," Uribe said.
The New Jersey State Assembly gets the legislative ball rolling, Uribe said, when explaining their role. It is in the N.J. Constitution that a balanced budget must be introduced every fiscal year.
The process begins in the state assembly and then eventually it travels to the governor to sign, Uribe said.
Uribe completed his undergraduate at Rutgers University in New Brunswick and then his graduate degree in Newark, according to his biography at www.uribeforassembly.com .
Uribe said he wants to be the assemblyman to require accountability and ensure transparency in Trenton.
"I want people to say, ‘he's going to go to Trenton to raise hell, to demand answers, ask questions and speak up!'" Uribe said.
Uribe said he has been advertising his campaign to his students, who have been liking and commenting on his Facebook campaign page.
"My Seton Hall students have been great and very supportive," Uribe said. "I'm not the ordinary type of professor and I take a lot of pride in that."
Aside from working on his campaign and serving as a professor, Uribe has also been highly involved in a fundraiser to support the American Cancer Society.
This past Saturday, Oct. 15, the State Assembly candidate hosted his fifth annual event called, "A Professor's Quest to Save Breasts," which raised over $3,000 for breast cancer research, Uribe said.
Uribe has volunteered for the American Cancer Society since 2007, and says he takes great pride in his charity work.
Uribe said he is trying to show that he is truly sincere and genuine, and will take the time to talk with the people he will be representing, not talk at them.
"Career politicians pander to the people and that's not good," Uribe said. "I'm someone that's going to take you seriously."
"I don't have an agenda for this position," Uribe said. "If I die tomorrow I'd die happy because I've done a lot in my life and I've done good."
Uribe said he hopes his message translates to people and they come out on Nov. 8 to support him and give him a chance.
Joanna Toole can be reached at joanna.toole@student.shu.edu.
