Senator Joe Kyrillos came to the North library on Friday, March 2nd along with Dr. George to host a question and answer with students from the AP Economics and AP US History classes. Students asked questions about jobs, the economy, the presidency and current issues in the US. Kyrillos attempted to answer all of them, and told students things he would like to improve as he runs for US Senate.
 

     “Life is a great joy, it”s a challenge as well,” Kyrillos used as his opening statement.
 
     Kyrillos was a member of the State Assembly before joining the Senate, and now he plans to take the next step by running for US Senate. He has degrees in political science, communications and marketing. He said that politics have always been in his system; he finds political life exciting and frustrating. He always thinks that he is lucky because he ran at a younge age and said “fate” had everything lined up for him. His goals for New Jersey and America is to better prepare us for anything that comes our way and to make ourselves stronger.
 
     He also spoke about The Keystone Project, which will develop jobs and a better energy supply. This would slow down the rising prices of gasoline and create hundreds of job openings for people who need them. The Keystone Project was denied by President Obama, who Kyrillos is not a supporter of.
 
     Kyrillos shared that he in fact disagrees with everything Obama has done and is currently doing. Realizing he sounded a little cruel, Kyrillos added that he thinks Obama is a good person with a great family and he respects him. Personally, though, he would like to see Mitt Romney as our next President; he admires and supports him 100%.
 
     Another thing Kyrillos isn”t a supporter of is gay marriage. He openly admitted to the students that he voted against the bill for passing gay marriage in New Jersey. According to Kyrillos, marriage comes from a traditional religious base between a man and a woman and gay marriage would be a problem in civil union.
 
     “I have a lot of room to grow,” he added after stating his position on gay marriage.
 
     If voted into the US Senate, he said he is willing to compromise anything that doesn”t compromise his principles. He also plans to reward schools that perform well and plans on changing the guidelines for tenure so that teachers who work hard will be recognized.