Jon Bon Jovi Helps Launch Group Hoping To Help New Jersey's Middle Class
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New Jersey rocker Jon Bon Jovi is lending his name to a middle-class advocacy group led by a potential gubernatorial hopeful.
Philip Murphy announced the launch Monday of New Start New Jersey, a group that seeks to influence policy to strengthen New Jersey's middle class.
Jon Bon Jovi Helps Launch Group Hoping To Help New Jersey's Middle Class
Former governors Brendan Byrne and Tom Kean were among those attending the event staged at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Murphy said three-quarters of New Jersey residents consider themselves middle-class, but a survey his group conducted found that two-thirds of them feel they are just getting by, while 9 percent feel they're falling behind.
Bon Jovi, who runs the charity restaurant Soul Kitchen in Red Bank, said some families of four making $70,000 a year in Monmouth County, under certain circumstances, still can't get by.
"We have had so many people who have come and said, 'I was the one who would donate to a restaurant like this, now I am the one who is in need,'" Bon Jovi said. "In Monmouth County, New Jersey that is humbling and it's unacceptable."
"We don't need a scientist to find a cure," he added.
The group hopes to help grow the economy in New Jersey, create jobs and improve the quality of life, 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reported.
Murphy, who is a former ambassador to Germany and worked for Goldman Sachs for 20 years, has said he's considering running for governor.
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