Melisssa Hotchkiss

**Melissa Hotchkiss** (born March 7, 1955) (Formerly Melissa Szabó) is an American businesswoman, diplomat, and politician currently serving as the 57th Governor of New Jersey

Following eight years of service as a logistics officer in the U.S. Army, Hotchkiss moved into private business, becoming involved in the political process as a minor donor. Hotchkiss would be appointed to her first political position in 1988, selected by Owen B. K. Shrub as Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau.

Following the end of her term as Ambassador, Hotchkiss made two failed bids for the state legislature in New Jersey, before transferring to a campaign management role. Hotckiss would win her first election in 2000, elected to New Jersey's 11th Congressional District following the incumbent's retirement.

After two terms in office, Hotchkiss, now Melissa Szabó, ran for Governor in 2005, narrowly winning a plurality victory. Her first term in office was characterized by budget reforms, the passage of Civil Union legislation, and Civil Service reform, but was cut short by an attempted assassination by a mentally unstable gunman in 2007, leading to Szabó's resignation.

Szabó was re-elected in 2013 by a broad margin, and entered a second term characterized by conflicts with the state legislature and tumult in-state, leading to a significant reduction in approval rating from her first term.

Hotchkiss is currently seeking re-election to a second consecutive term, having received the Republican nomination in the June 6th primary elections.

## Early Life and Education

Melissa Hotchkiss was born on March 7, 1955 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to an American father and a Hungarian-American mother. Melissa was one of three children, with two brothers, one older, one younger, and was raised in a single-income household, her mother one of the first female Principals in the New Jersey school system.

After graduating high school,Hotchkiss attended Rutgers University, where she would graduate after four years with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, posting a 3.1 GPA.

## Military Service

Hotchkiss joined the United States Army upon graduating from college, commissioning in 1977 as a Second Lieutenant. As women were not yet permitted to serve in combat roles, Hotchkiss served in a support role in logistics as an MOS 92A.

Hotchkiss was deployed overseas several times during her service in the Army. She participated in the 1983 Invasion of Grenada, but never saw combat.

Hotckiss, at the time a Captain, while deployed in Germany, would receive a commendation for reporting a small base-wide gambling ring to her commanding officer.

Hotchkiss was honorably discharged with the rank of Captain in 1985.

## Business Career

After her discharge from the Army, Hotchkiss attempted to start her own business in the nascent field of personal computers. Her self-funded startup, CPYou, failed and Hotchkiss was forced to file for bankruptcy.

After a period of unemployment, Hotckiss would work as the Chief Marketing Consultant for Krot Hand Wipes.

Hotchkiss would Hotchkiss would make a second attempt at entrepreneurship, founding SimpleStick. The small manufacturing business was designed to provide labeling for military equipment and packaging, and successfully contracted with the U.S. Army as the lowest bidder in a contract offering.

## Early Political Career

Hotchkiss began her political involvement while still serving as the President and Chief Executive Officer of SimpleStick, with early attempts at personal lobbying, donations, and local political involvement in the 1988 election. After the election of President B.K. Shrub, Hotchkiss through a previous military connection, would receive an appointment to serve as Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau.

After serving for four years as Ambassador, Hotchkiss would return to New Jersey. After selling off her controlling interest and shares in SimpleStick and divesting herself from business interests, Hotchkiss joined the New Jersey Republican Party, and ran for State Senate in 1993, but was defeated. Hotchkiss made a second attempt at office in 1997, but was again defeated.

Hotchkiss would involve herself in politics again in 1998, serving as the campaign manager of Matthew St. Louis, helping him to win victory in the 12th District election, after the seat had been captured by Democrats in the 1996 federal elections.

## Representative

In 2000, Hotchkiss would run for the United States House of Representatives for New Jersey's 11th District in a bid to succeed the Republican who had held the seat, and was now retiring. Hotchkiss successfully won the open election, and was sworn into office in 2001.

Hotchkiss was considered to be an "establishment" Republican during her time in office, and worked in support and defense of the administration and the Speaker. Hotchkiss would vote in favor of the authorizations for the use of military force for both the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.

In 2003, Hotchkiss authored and successfully passed the Protecting Officers' Safety Act (POSA), which superseded local and state regulations to allow an active-duty or retired law enforcement officer to carry a concealed firearm regardless of jurisdiction.

Having won re-election in 2002 as Melissa Szabó, Szabó did not run for re-election in 2004, and retired from the seat.

## 54th Governor of New Jersey

Upon returning from Washington, Szabó began to prepare for a campaign for the 2005 election for Governor of New Jersey. Receiving support from state and national Republican organizations, Szabó ran for office on a moderate platform, promising a restoration and strengthening of law enforcement and safer streets, transparency and accountability in government, and the legal recognition of civil unions for same-sex couples. Refraining from noticeably partisan attacks or rhetoric, Szabó would successful win the election by a plurality margin of 1.2%, aided by a left-wing independent campaign, and took her seat in Drumthwacket.

### 2005

Szabó, coming into office, made budget reform a first priority. Szabó would propose a budget including various targeted, modest cuts to programs considered wasteful or redundant, as well as limiting future growth in expenses, and successfully negotiated with moderate Democrats for its passage, aiding in a reduction in New Jersey's deficit. Szabó's budget also reformed police pay and benefits in a policy endorsed by the New Jersey State Policeman's Benevolent Association, committing to the hiring of more officers and compensation increases, along with a negotiated restructuring to balance future costs.

After a pay-to-play scandal hit Princeton, Szabó was able to pass a series of Civil Service reforms, increasing transparency and accountability in government.

### 2006

Szabó would successfully introduce and pass her Civil Union Equality bill in the 2006 session, providing for access to Civil Unions by same-sex couples in a fulfillment of her earlier campaign promise.

Szabó would work via a mix of executive power and legislative to the trim the extent of New Jersey business regulations over the course of his first term, with the intention of creating a more welcoming "habitat for investment" in the state.

### 2007

Szabó spent early 2007 negotiating a potential slate of moderate tax reductions and reforms. The effort would be cut short near midyear, as a mentally unstable gunman shot Szabó several times while she spoke at a public library opening, collapsing her left lung.

Szabó would be stabilized after emergency surgery, but an infection forced the removal of most of the left lung. As the state of New Jersey still did not have an office of Lieutenant Governor, the 2005 referendum to take effect in the 2009 elections, the next in the line of succession from Szabó was the President of the New Jersey Senate, a Democrat. Szabó attempted to recover from her injury, suffering continued complications. After several months confined to a hospital bed, Szabó resigned from office the day after New Years' in 2008 upon receiving further negative prognoses from her doctors. Unable to speak in public, the press release announcing her resignation from office stated a desire to avoid leaving New Jersey in "limbo". Szabó's and the subsequent transfer of Drumthwacket to Democratic control gave New Jersey its seventh Governor or Acting-Governor in the last eight years.

## Recovery and Second Term

Szabó would spend nearly an additional year in the hospital with worsening complications after her resignation, covered by her expiring state health plan, eventually being released to home rest, and slowly recovering over the course of the next few years.

In 2013, Szabó, though unable to speak at length or overexert herself due to her injury, considered herself sufficiently recovered to announce her candidacy for a second term. Having achieved over a seventy percent approval rating at the time of the assassination attempt, Szabó would win her second election in a landslide vote.

### 2014

While controlled under Szabó's first term budgets, state budget deficits had risen substantially in the period since she had held the office, but negotiations with the legislature's Democrats on a potential compromise fell through. Szabó argued for cuts to public spending, which was opposed by the majority-Democratic legislative branch. The fights over the budget would ultimately result in deep cuts to health and environmental spending, an unpopular compromise.

### 2015

Faced again with significant budget deficits, and unable to pass further cuts through the General Assembly, Szabó would come to a reluctant compromise with chamber Democrats on an income tax increase. Szabó attempted to soften higher tax increases on the upper brackets, but would see an attempted line-item veto overridden, with the only concession won being an increase in police funding. After the previous budget's spending cuts, the tax increases were unpopular, and Szabó's approval rating declined below the halfway mark.

New teacher's union leadership would sour previously productive negotiations on pension benefits overseen by Szabó later in the year. Unable to come to an agreement, the union launched a massive strike. Szabó's response, referring to the union head as “That floozy bimbo leading the brainless brigade.", would reduce the Governor's popularity by an estimated five percentage points almost immediately. Szabó's would eventually take controversial action redirecting pension priority and funding from the teachers' union to fire and police unions.

After the death of her husband in a traffic accident on the Brooklyn Bridge, Szabó would legally change her last name and those of her children back to Hotchkiss, refusing to elaborate on the reasoning to news media, saying only that it was "A new chapter in my life." "I can't dwell on the past." and "I'm moving on."

2015 saw sluggish growth in the New Jersey economy after disappointing economic growth the previous year. Hotchkiss would blame the poor economy on her predecessor, and Democratic "obstructionism" of pro-business policies. Hotchkiss would work through executive action whenever possible for the purposes of deregulation and incentivizing of business over the year and the next.

### 2016

In February of 2016, a young black man by the name of Taylor Morgan was shot thirteen times by Newark police. The disputed nature of the shooting resulted in protests which Hotchkiss referred to as "riots", and mobilized the state National Guard. The resulting confrontation between the protesters and the Guard would result in hundreds of injuries and two protesters being shot, in a controversial series of events.

A backlash in public opinion would see "depolicing" efforts introduced by the state legislature. Hotchkiss's veto of such measures was overriden, and the legislation was passed.

Crime rates, which had previously fallen under Hotchkiss's administration, began to rise in 2016. Hotchkiss blamed the rise on the new legislation passed, while others would blame discontent after the shooting, or simply a national trend.

2016 saw the New Jersey economy begin to grow at a more rapid pace, prior to the crash of the Japanese stock markets and subsequent nationwide recession, resulting in major increases in unemployment and a reduction in GDP per capita in the state.

Hotchkiss would not involve herself in the year's Republican Presidential primaries, but would offer a basic endorsement of the Republican nominee after his selection.

### 2017

At the start of the 2017 legislative session, Hotchkiss attempted negotiations with chamber Democrats on a modification of state healthcare policy due to the changed circumstances arising from the RLSA. Negotiations dominated the first several months of the legislative session, eventually coming to a floor vote, successfully passing through the State Senate, but narrowly defeated in the General Assembly by Progressive and Democratic opposition. Hotchkiss's approval rating would again decline below forty percent in the weeks following the failed deal.

Hotchkiss was re-nominated by her party in the year's June sixth primaries, having faced no major primary challenge.

## Political Positions

Hotchkiss is generally considered to be a "Moderate" or "Establishment" Republican.

Hotchkiss is considered to be "Pro-life", opposing abortion except in limited cases. She voted in favor of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2003 as a Representative, but was not active in promoting the viewpoint as Governor.

Hotchkiss is generally considered to be a fiscal conservative. She has spoken on the importance of creating a "Habitat for investment" and "Flowering business environment" for companies in New Jersey, and promoting economic growth through lowered taxes and other incentives. Hotchkiss has argued for modest reductions in spending in order to lessen deficits.

Hotchkiss is typically categorized as moderately pro-LGBT. Hotchkiss was an early supporter of Civil Unions for same-sex couples, supporting and signing the New Jersey Civil Unions Equality Act in 2006. Hotchkiss is, however, opposed to same-sex marriage, believing Civil Unions to be sufficient.

Hotchkiss is a strong proponent of police unions, and "law and order." Hotchkiss consistently passed or attempted to pass increases in spending and benefits on and for police forces, as well as updating and reforming protocols. Hotchkiss authored the 2003 Protecting Officers' Safety Act, allowing active or retired law enforcement officers to concealed carry a firearm regardless of jurisdiction. Hotchkiss has also expressed support for Fire unions.

Hotchkiss is an advocate for transparency in government, and increased penalties for corruption, passing several Civil Service reform bills in her first term as Governor.

Hotchkiss was considered to be fairly hawkish in foreign policy, voting for the authorization of military force in both the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

## Personal Life and Family

Hotchkiss married József Szabó, a lobbyist, also from New Brunswick, whom she first met after her election as Representative of the state's 11th District, in 2001. The couple remained married for fourteen years and had three sons prior to his death in 2015.