Assembly Seat E: John Kohler Jr. Round 1 Q & A

Mr. Kohler responded in a respectable amount of time. Here are his answers.

I'll be rolling out my web site about September 1st, which should answer many of these questions @ www.kohler4assembly.com but until then, please let me try to answer your questions about my candidacy for seat E in order:


What would you say are the top 3 attributes in a candidate?
1. Heart for service
2. Ability to learn from others
3. Experience in working through problems with private sector (business) ,public , and non-profit enterprises. Some of the best solutions for problems come from Synergies between the different kinds of organizations. I hate those kinds of buzz words, but sometimes they are aptly used.


What top five principles do you try to live by? Why? 1. Love your neighbor (why else would a guy put himself through a campaign- YUK) . 2. Work Hard (nobody like a slacker). 3. Enjoy Helping( I do a lot of non-public helping with non-profits I care about) 4. Don't be afraid to try (and try hard) 5. KNow when to get help- (only about always- many hands make light work- and a person will rarely think of or be an expert on everything).


What makes a community a great place to live? Good people, and great opportunities to succeed. I am a fan of our borough in this regard.

Have you ever made missteps in your political career? My "political career" mostly consists of an appoint to the State Council on the Arts. My misstep was thinking that a statewide appoint/responsability would trump what I can accomplish working locally. I prefer local helping. it's easioer to wrap your mind and arms around problems that are within easy reach. When offered a shot at re-upping my State appointment I declined, and rejoined my local non-profit's board.


Many politicians (whether they run for Senate or School Board) always claim their best for the job due to “experience”, is experience all its cut out to be or are there more attributes we should be looking for? I think experience can count for alot. That being said, fresh energy and ideas and perspective is what refreshes the republic. I think everyone should have their turn in the barrel. I think experience is gained in local offices, and generally builds upon itself to the benefit of the folks represented. This is my first real stab at public office. I think my experience in business, Non-profits and light government service puts me in a good place to be a start up public servant.