It's only fair, from one candidate to another

I was pleased today after reading the most recent blog posting of my opponent, Bo Vastine. Congratulations from one candidate to another. It is clear from the article he includes in that post that I have done nothing illegal in my prior work as a consultant while serving as a legislator. Mr. Vastine has accused me several times, including in our recent debate, of profiting from my position as an assemblyman. His research has shown him this is not true. In the past I have always been careful to separate my legislative duties from my private business. Any fair reading of this article shows how far I went to do so.

In the past two years I have taken the best and safest route possible, putting even my limited relationship with the Alman Group on hold. I am now a full time legislator and my personal business deals solely with real estate that I own. As I moved into a larger leadership role as Speaker Pro Tempore of the Assembly I wanted to avoid even the appearance of conflict. Laws and rules are changing rather fast as we deal with these issues in the Legislature. That is why even though I received non-partisan legal opinions that I could continue consulting, I have chosen to devote my full energy to the citizens I serve. I have always known that elected officials are and should be held to a higher standard. In twenty-five years of public service I have not had a problem with the law larger than a parking ticket. Now that my opponent has finally stopped arguing that I’m a criminal, maybe we can get back to the issues. The people of the 22nd District want to hear about education, health care, housing, and finding ways to make sure people can live in this State.

The high taxes in this State are a big issue. Both parties, Democrats and Republicans must take responsibility for our current situation. I’m not blaming my opponents individually but everyone knows that eight years of George Bush and Republican rule made things much worse. I’m more interested in what we will do about it. We need new plans in this State for job creation. Many people in New Jersey travel every day from the suburbs to our urban centers for work. We must make sure that we create jobs in the suburbs as well as in the cities to solve this problem. Our State’s economy cannot be fueled only by government grants and spending.

Educating our children is vital to our future. The competition from children abroad is getting larger and our kids must have the tools to compete. The Democrats and Jon Corzine have made this a top priority. That is why I was one of the key sponsors of a change to the school funding formula. All children must get a good education whether or not they live in a certain district. Creating new affordable housing is also important. That is why as Chairman of the Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee I was a part of one of the most significant New Jersey housing reform laws of our generation. COAH still has problems, but we are working to fix it. Health care is extremely important as well. That is why I fully support President Obama’s health care plan. Even though George Bush and the Republicans did everything they could to break the system, only one Republican Senator voted to begin to fix it. I did everything in my power to save Muhlenberg hospital, and if Democrats reform health care, I will do everything I can to make sure it re-opens stronger than before. I have brought money to my district for education, medical care, and transportation.

I have a demonstrated record and experiences that have prepared me to offer new solutions to the problems New Jersey faces. Now that he can admit I’m not a criminal, I ask my opponent to lay out his plans, his experiences. This campaign has been all about attacking my running mate and me. Mr. Vastine, what have you done as a citizen of either Texas or New Jersey to address these issues? How have you gotten involved since moving to New Jersey? What is your record? What ideas do you have to move New Jersey forward? You say that you like to respond to blogs, well respond to these questions. It is only fair, from one candidate to another.