Fractured Democratic Party battles in 21st Dist.

Green Party puts forth a full slate for legislative seats up for grabs

Tuesday, October 21, 2003

BY GABRIEL H. GLUCK
Star-Ledger Staff

Whether Sen. Thomas Kean Jr. and his GOP running mates can be beaten in the heavily Republican 21st Legislative District is debatable, but it won't be for lack of trying.

However, the Democrats are a house divided and the underfunded Green Party continues to struggle to get its third-party message across.

Senate candidate Francis McIntyre and Assembly candidate Norm Albert are running together with the blessing of Democratic Party leaders. But the same cannot be said for Union attorney Ellen Steinberg, who is seeking one of the two open Assembly seats.

While Steinberg is running on the Democratic line, she and Union County Democratic Chair Charlotte DeFilippo have yet to kiss and make up after Steinberg routed Roselle Park Councilwoman Melanie Selk from the ticket in the June primary.

But that has not stopped Steinberg, who raised nearly $72,000 for her campaign, while McIntyre and Albert have $2,641.30 between them, as of the last campaign report filings.

But no one comes remotely close to Kean, who amassed nearly $401,000 before spending $127,000 of it. And that does not include the more than $109,000 raised by Kean's running mates, Assemblymen Eric Munoz, an emergency trauma surgeon, and Jon Bramnick, an attorney.

Kean assumed the district's Senate seat in January following the resignation of former Sen. Richard Bagger. His seat was filled by Bramnick, who served on the Plainfield City Council before moving to Westfield.

The Green Party, which has nearly 50 candidates seeking seats in the Legislature this year, has fielded a full slate in the 21st District, with Teresa Migliore-DiMatteo, 42, an elementary school teacher, seeking the Senate seat. George DeCarlo, 45, an office administrator, and Ryan Reyes, 27, who works in a Metuchen coffee shop, are looking to fill the two Assembly seats.

Running under the slogan, "Unemployed Party," Joshua Jacobs, 22, of Millburn, is also seeking an Assembly seat. The Rutgers University philosophy major said he would appeal to the young and work to reverse citizen apathy.

Albert, 49, is an attorney and former Cranford township committeeman. The district hasn't sent a Democrat to the Legislature "in quite a while," he says, adding that he would focus on preserving open space, property tax reform and education funding.

But what really separates Albert and McIntyre from all the other candidates in the race is that they are the only ones supporting the resumption of freight rail service on the Rahway Valley and Staten Island rail lines. The rail lines run through four of the communities in this district, Cranford, Roselle Park, Springfield and Summit.

The district also includes Berkeley Heights, Garwood, Mountainside, New Providence and Westfield in Union County; Millburn in Essex County; Chatham, Harding, Long Hill and Madison in Morris County; and Warren and Watchung in Somerset County.

"I'm hopeful that it (the trains) can create business opportunity. I think it could be a good thing," Albert said.

"I don't think it's a great burden on the local municipalities. I think it might help alleviate some of the traffic concerns on our highways; and if it does, that will be a great success," he said.

"It's a tough issue," said McIntyre, 37. "I know a lot of people have concerns. What I would do, is what the county freeholders started to do, and make the best of the situation."

Steinberg, along with the Republican and Green Party candidates, all question the need for the freight lines, citing the decline in industry in the county, as well as concerns for traffic safety and the environment.

They all fault the Union County Board of Freeholders for telling residents the board would not approve the project without consent from area communities, and then signing off on the project after saying the board had no authority to stop it.

Steinberg, 51, said there needs to be property tax relief, and that the first priority should be "allowing the deferment of property taxes for seniors." The deferment should be granted, regardless of income, she said.

"There is incredible tension between seniors and school boards," she said. "We have to relieve some of this tension and then we have to go back and solve the problem."

DeCarlo said he and his Green Party running mates are committed to the overall state party platform, which calls for an end to funding education through property taxes in favor of a progressive income tax.

The Greens are also calling for new restrictions on corporate political donations to clean up campaigns, an abolition of the death penalty and universal health coverage.

Specific to the district, DeCarlo said, the state needs to improve the sound barriers along Routes 24 and 78. "If the state and federal government are going to build highways, they need to prevent the noise," he said.

Kean, 35, said that he, along with Munoz, 56, and Bramnick, 50, would continue to push for "Pay to Play" legislation to end the practice of government contractors being expected to contribute to political coffers.

Kean charged Gov. James McGreevey, a Democrat, with continually thwarting the legislation.

"What we need to pass this is Republican control of the Legislature," Kean said. "Over $3 million is being used in this election cycle from contractors. It's not that the businesses are doing things wrong, but there is a lot of pressure being put on them to cooperate."

Kean also faulted McGreevey for blocking nearly $3.25 million earmarked for Cranford for flood control, as well as blocking information about the state's involvement in restarting the rail lines.

The three incumbents are also supporting placing caps on jury awards in medical malpractice suits in order to reduce skyrocketing insurance costs, he said.

Gabriel H. Gluck works in the Union County bureau. He can be reached at (908) 302-1506 or ggluck@starledger.com.