GREEN -- 'The last are first' is more than just scripture for pastor and social justice activist turned gubernatorial candidate, Seth Kaper-Dale.

GREEN -- 'The last are first' is more than just scripture for pastor and social justice activist turned gubernatorial candidate, Seth Kaper-Dale.

They are words that the Green Party candidate for governor believes guide his view for how to address the state's myriad issues.

Speaking at a small town-hall-style gathering at the home of his brother in Green Township on Monday night, Kaper-Dale said he has three policies that would be "game changers" for New Jersey.

The first, and arguably the most important as it seemed to be a catalyst for tackling macro issues, is a statewide single-payer healthcare system. Kaper-Dale said with a 6 percent payroll tax on employers and a 2 percent payroll tax on employees, coupled with federal funding and other smaller pools of financial resources, New Jersey would be able to fund a "fairly robust" healthcare system.

"We shouldn't be fleecing people when they're sick," Kaper-Dale said.

Kaper-Dale said the single-payer system would drive down property taxes since most municipalities throughout the state are currently using about 20 percent, on average, of their budgets on healthcare costs for their employees.

He also said he believed the savings experienced by employers would result in job growth across all sectors.

The second policy that the co-pastor of the Reformed Church of Highland Park said he would push for if he became the state's 56th governor is a state bank. Citing uncertainty about federal funding under the current presidential administration, Kaper-Dale said creating "our own revenue" would be important.

Rather than investing funds in the stock market and hedge funds, New Jersey residents and businesses would invest their money in the bank.

The state bank would provided low-interest loans to counties and municipalities for infrastructure projects, buy out mortgages of homes in contested processes of foreclosure and re-negotiate fair mortgages and provide low-interest loans to New Jersey university students to make higher education affordable.

The last policy Kaper-Dale spoke about was the need for a progressive tax structure.

"If you're making millions you should be taxed at a higher rate," he said.

Kaper-Dale spoke to his religious beliefs forming the backbone for his political ideals. He said three demographics that he and his running mate, Lisa Durden, would focus on -- children, undocumented immigrants and those caught in the criminal justice system -- can't even vote for him.

To Kaper-Dale, putting the last first is "the least we can do."

Green Party of New Jersey co-chair and 24th Legislative District Assembly candidate Aaron Hyndman, who was at the gathering, said his party's headliner has always been, and would continue to be in Trenton, a voice for those who feel marginalized or unappreciated by the two-party political system.

"The message (to residents in northwest New Jersey) is encapsulated in who he is," Hyndman said, referencing Kaper-Dale's publicized work with Indonesian immigrants and social justice. "As a minister, it's the example he's set all his life."

Kaper-Dale said he wanted to bring a "collaborative, non-anxious leadership style" to Trenton.

The Green Party candidate's platform also includes support for legalized marijuana, keeping families of undocumented immigrants together, a $15 minimum wage, elimination of solitary confinement in the state's correctional facilities and a moratorium on pipelines.

New Jersey's general election is Nov. 7.

To learn about Kaper-Dale's platform, go to: www.kaperdaleforgovernor.com.

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David Danzis can also be contacted on Facebook: ddanzisNJH, on Twitter: @ddanzisNJH, or by phone: 973-383-1274.