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I was at the debate last night and these are my observations of the event:
The same few thoughts crossed my mind again and again. Clara Nibot is clueless. Simply Clueless. She and Woj were at the wrong debate. They should be running for Council, not Assembly and Senate. They had absolutely no idea that the things they said they are running for are things controlled by the Borough Council, NOT the State Legislature. It was so summed up by the moderator who at the end of the debate and to laughter all around said to the Republicans -"I'd like to thank the Republicans for RUNNING." Implied was a loss in their very near future.
However, to be fair, I will mention their positions on the questions asked:
8 Questions were asked and the positions stated were the following:
Question #1 Their view of the Clean Elections program:
Frank Cifarelli - is for the Clean Elections Program
Valerie Huttle - it increases women and minority participation in the process- increases voter participation.
Woj gave interesting excuses - answers as to why they couldn't get enough votes to qualify for the money that Ms. -Nibot now says is a travesty that the Weinberg team earned. He said that the 37th is a safe district for Democrats and that they had no BCRO chairman till late July He blamed voter apathy and that people were not familiar with the program as well as the fact that the ADS did not mention candidate names (even though there were several places on the internet you could easily find them).
Gordon Johnson said that the grassroots was already familiar with them so even though they started late - after the Primary, they were able to raise the contributions to qualify. He said it definitely keeps the special interests out of teh process. It is worth it.
Clara Nibot just came off as simply whiny. She said it wasn't hard for Loretta. The opponents had no name recognition. But she said was FOR Clean Elections, before she came out AGAINST it today.
Loretta Weinberg - money should be equalized across districts - District 37 will get LESS money than other Clean Elections Districts, but it will SAVE money in the long run. Public financing will have an impact on property taxes in the end.
Question # 2: Why should voters send Dems back to Trenton?
Huttle- The LD37 team have a proven record of good government and attention to social issues such as SCHIP, as well as a record of supporting clean government and fiscal responsibility. The LD37 team has stood up against Pay To PLay and has several bills on ethics reform in the Legislature currently.
Woj - the R's have honesty and integrity.
Johnson - The LD37 team serves the public first and can fight the machine to provide opportunity for all.
Cifarelli - taxes (what else)
All night the 3 Rs kept decrying high property taxes - which they did not understand were high in Bergenfield and Hackensack because of ethical lapses at the MUNICIPAL LEVEL. They were very misguided and ignorant on this point. They did not seem to even understand what Pay To Play really is and that to fight it in their towns they should have run for COUNCIL not ASSEMBLY AND SENATE.
Gordon - explained that property taxes are paid to the MUNICIPALITIES
Weinberg - Democrats provide better government, they helped get and increase in school funding. More than $25 million has been returned to District 37 because of efforts by the LD37 team.
Nibot - In a ridiculous rant, said that the LD37 team was not strong enough to withstand the power of Joe Ferriero's machine. (Hello????? Anybody home?????? She obviously has not been reading either the Record OR the Twin Boro news for the past two years). Nibot blamed the high taxes in Bergenfield on the LD37 team even though that is done on a MUNICIPAL level, not a state level. Clueless.
Weinberg:
The LD37 team actually ATTENDED Council Mtgs in Bergenfield to help residents there. They helped get residents an extended time to file their taxes by. They worked VERY hard to help any way they could. In fact, during the debate - the few applause moments belonged to the LD37 team when their efforts in Bergenfield were mentioned.
Question #3 Rebates - a Good Idea?
Johnson - The state does not recieve property taxes, rebates are a way the state can help alleviate this problem and give some relief.
Woj - the rebates were a bandaid - a gimmick - he says the LD37 team did nothing to help him with his property taxes.
Gordon: Again. Patiently as if to a child: The State legislature does not figure out MUNICIPAL PROPERTY TAXES.
Huttle: Her opponent did accept AND CASH his rebate check.
$40 million in rebate checks were sent to residents in LD37 alone.
Weinberg:
Real property tax reform can't happen until bad government is cleaned up with ethics reform first.
Nibot: Says rebates are a gimmick and goes off on a tangent about taxes at the gym for rehabilitation for health reasons. Goes on a rant about folks are leaving NJ because it isn't affordable. Sounds like she's afraid we'll have ghost towns and tumbleweeds pretty soon. Her only point is that NJ is not affordable - no argument there.
Weinberg:
We are a corridor state, we have a diverse population, the state started the 4% cap on spending and are reining spending in to keep NJ affordable.
Question #4: Dual Office Holding
Woj tries to paint Gordon Johnson as a corrupt pension padder, and fails miserably.
Cifarelli - says compared to Joe Ferriero ANYONE else is a reformer. He gets the biggest laugh of the entire debate. He actually gets it the the LD37 team is trying to clean up corruption and commends them for it.
Huttle: Stated that she was a dual office holder for only 1 year. She is for the Dual Office Holding ban. She was involved in ending Christmas tree grants, as well as getting legislative voting records online and is working on banning contributions from developers.
Cifarelli: Is against no-bid contracts
Nibot: Dual office holding is at heart of Pay To Play. ( Now if she only knew what Pay to Play is.....)
Weinberg: Explained the Clean Up NJ initiative. A full time legislature would end the current practice of a legislator having 5 or 6 outside PUBLIC jobs which are often outside PAID jobs for government agencies.
Question #5 - Stem Cell Research Ballot Initiative
$450 Million to finance = 9 years - $50 million each year for research grants
Woj: Doubtful it would help the states budget. Does not think that the US could surpass the efforts of the European countries.
Johnson:
He is FOR it. It would be an "economic engine" for research and education in NJ. We will be in the forefront if we start now.
Cifarelli: Opposes Embryonic Stem cell research, but is for adult stem cell research. However that a good business environment is needed and it is the wrong time right now.
Huttle: FOR it. Mentioned it as and "economic engine". She pointed out we are known for our pharmaceuticval industry and biotechnology. It is a perfect fit. She also mentioned "You cannot put a price tag on a cure for cancer".
Cifarelli: For adult stem cell research
Nibot: Does not want to spend any money on stem cell reserach
Weinberg: Stem Cell Research is "One of the best investments the people of NJ can make". NJ is the perfect state to become a biotech center. It will creat jobs. There is a capital building section in the bond issue. "We must invest in what the new frontier of medical research is."
Question# 6 - Asset Monetization
Transforming state assets into cash.
Johnson: The plan has not been presented to the legislature yet, but it will be throroughly discussed at the local levels prior to the legislature voting on it.
Cifarelli: Bought the Republican party line that we will be SELLING The GSP and the Turnpike.
Woj: He said he has an open mind on it and that he is not a professional politician (no kidding - he definitely missed the class on not having a boring monotonous monotone and putting everyone to sleep).
Weinberg: She said she trusts that Jon Corzine would never sell a state asset. The Governor made clear that that is NOT part of the plan and that any emplyees would be protected. We will not be "selling any assets".
Nibot: just a nasty whiny rant that made no sense....(when she gets this way my notes simply say "clueless!")
Weinberg: There are still unanswered questions about this plan. The LD37 team will engage the local voters and will wait to see the plan.
Question #7 Civil Unions
Huttle: Would vote for same sex marriage. Has a bill in Legislature right now. She is pro-family and pro-marriage outside of religious institutions.
Cifarelli: Civil Unions are OK, needs a little work but it should be a public ballot question.
Woj: Complicated. Thinks it should be by referendum. Thinks only a small minority is actually for it. (Again shows lack of doing homework on this)
Johnson: FOR it. The people have already spoken - they want equal benefits. Employees have been having problems already with the civil unions law.
Weinberg: She stated that she knows loving families with children in longstanding relationships that lasted longer than heterosexual couples'. They should have the full benefits of civil marriage. "Words do matter" to all committed couples.
Nobot: It's a social issue and it would be a "big change". It should be a ballot initiative.
Weinberg: The courts have already spoken on it. We don;t have an initiative and referndum procedure in NJ, that's why we elect State Senators and Assemblymembers. (Again the LD37 team had to explain to their opponents how government works in NJ. So sad.)
Question #8 - School Aid Formula
Cifarelli: Current funding formula is unfair - only Garfield is an Abbott school district.
Johnson: The system is not perfect, but LD37 aid has gone UP.
Woj: School Construction is a problem and there are unaccounted for funds.
Nibot: Again talks about local problems in Bergenfield that are addressed at Municipal level, not state level. Clueless.
Cifarelli: Blamed local tax problems on the LD37 legislators (I need to remind folks here that Nibot and Woj are from Bergenfield - a Ferriero town steeped in Pay to Play, and that Cifarelli is from Hackensack, another town in need of Pay to Play housecleaning - their knowledge of taxes and what affects them needs a huge overhaul and education on how pay to play raises local taxes and that it is the County that affects that NOT the state legislators.)
Woj: nearly put me to sleep again. Recomended that the school funding should be based only on the # of children.
Weinberg:
School funding should follow the child and be based on the child's NEEDS. Hackensack got 11-1/2% MORE money thanks to the LD37 teams efforts and Bergenfield got 5% MORE. They passed a law to get the County School Superintendent to have oversight. They also voted to get rid of unfunded state mandates. 12 Boroughs in LD37 got MORE funds - from 3% to 13%.
Nibot: Pleased to hear that before she went into another rant about why are they worrying about this "now???!" Clueless. (She didn't even know it happened, how could she be expected to understand when they actually started working on it?)
Closing Arguments:
Weinberg: Proud of her record. She was a prime sponsor of the law to reduce the blood alcohol level for DWI.
Sponsored the Clean Indoor Air Act, the law to give new mothers more time in the hospital before being sent home, the law to have insurance cover mammograms for women under 40. She works hard to help children not just here but all over the state. It matters what happens to children in Newark as well as in the 37th.
Woj: He said we need a "change" (just what that means he didn't say). He talked about tax increases, no bid contracts, dual office holding, emminent domain, and school reforms.
Huttle: As a Funeral director she knows about compassion and she puts a human face on the issues of our district. She is a business owner with 2 daughters. She cares about children and has worked to change the way DYFS operates. She is concerned about saving the environment and quality of life in NJ.
Cifarelli:
He commended the LD37 team for getting more funding. He said we should directly elect the District Attorney and the State Comptroller. (If he only knew how difficult it is to have fair elections....)
Johnson:
When you support the LD37 team - you ARE supporting the reformers. To set the record straight he stated that the only pension he receives is from being a retired Police officer in Englewood. He feels that public service to his hometown of 50 years is very gratifying and it was because of that sense of service and duty that he ran for councilman while he was in the Assembly to try to clean up the Pay To Play corruption at the local level in Englewood.
Nibot: She is an ordinary citizen who is upset over property taxes and corruption. (like we aren't)
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