All agree in 13th District: Ethics reform needed

Published in the Asbury Park Press 10/30/03

By ANDREA ALEXANDER
KEYPORT BUREAU

Rewriting state ethics laws should be the first order of business for the Legislature, freeing lawmakers to tackle other pressing reforms, candidates running to represent the 13th District in the state Senate and Assembly agree.

They disagree, however, in their approach to other issues, including alleviating the property tax burden, re-examining how money is distributed to public schools and addressing medical malpractice costs.

Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr. of Middletown, state Republican Party chairman, is facing a challenge from Democrat William E. Flynn of Old Bridge, Green Party candidate Gregg Orr of Navesink, Middletown, and Mac Dara Lyden, also of Middletown, who is running on the New Jersey Conservative Party ticket.

In the race for the two Assembly seats, incumbents Joseph Azzolina of Middletown and Samuel D. Thompson of Old Bridge are being challenged by Democrats Thomas Perry of Aberdeen and Lenny Inzerillo of Middletown, and Green Party candidates Mike W. Hall of Middletown and Jamie Donnelly of Hazlet.

Most of the candidates agree that nothing can happen until ethics reform is enacted.

The Asbury Park Press and others proposed several ethics reforms following last month's Gannett New Jersey newspaper series, "Profiting from Public Service," an in-depth look at how some legislators have used their offices and connections for private gain.

"We want people in a representative democracy to feel good about their leaders," Kyrillos said. "We need to do everything to inspire trust and confidence."

Flynn said government reform is needed "to bring back credibility to the political process."

"Ethics issues are the most important because every other issue has a special interest group involved," Flynn said. "If you don't have a good ethics code, you may not get objective legislation."

Azzolina has accused the Democrats of being behind the times in their calls for reform. He introduced legislation in May that would ban dual office-holding. He said he plans to sponsor legislation when the Legislature returns that would require bidding for all professional contracts and would ban nepotism.

Azzolina said dual office-holding "keeps power concentrated, and we want to disperse it so we have true government."

His running mate also backs reform.

"Ethics reform is an issue we will have to get right to," Thompson said.

He said all proposed reform is of equal priority, but some aspects may require more extensive review.

"The devil is in the details," Thompson said. "It is going to take some time for review to make sure it's done appropriately."

The candidates also back the establishment of an independent ethics commission and legislation that would prevent lawmakers from voting on bills that would benefit them, their friends or their families. Flynn has been calling for strong penalties that include loss of office for violating any new ethics law.

Perry and Inzerillo would ban pay-to-play, dual office-holding and pension boosting. Although they hold elective office, they both say they would step down if elected to the Assembly. Inzerillo sits on the Middletown Board of Education and Perry is a councilman in Aberdeen.

Orr is calling for reform that would lead to public financing of campaigns.

"It is like greed has taken over every aspect of American life," Orr said. "If someone is not getting a buck off of it, it is not getting done."

Inzerillo said he wants a government that is honest with voters.

"If you find something wrong, say it's wrong. Don't lie to us," he said.

Donnelly could not be reached for comment.

Property tax relief

Once these reform issues are tackled, the candidates want to turn their attention to reducing property taxes.

Kyrillos said local government and school districts need to consolidate services to save money through economies of scale. He is also calling for changes to public school funding, especially the amount of money the state Supreme Court has required to be spent on the Abbott districts, where poverty levels are highest.

Flynn, a former assemblyman, says school-purposes property taxes should be cut in half. The difference could be raised through a surcharge on income taxes, he said. Taxpayers in the top income brackets would pay the most under his plan.

"Ability to pay should be the best funding mechanism," Flynn said, "not that you happen to have a house you bought 20 years ago that went up in value."

Lyden proposes reducing property taxes by expanding the lottery and tapping the casinos for additional money. He supports installing video gambling machines anywhere lottery tickets are sold as a way to raise money for local government.

Orr supports increasing taxes on the wealthy and on major corporations in order to provide tax relief to low- and middle-income families. Hall said he would like to replace property taxes with an increase in the income tax that places the greatest burden on the wealthy.

Thompson said the government needs to stay committed to programs that freeze property taxes for senior citizens on fixed incomes.

"They get a choice," Thompson said. "They either buy their medication or their food. I want to help them so they are not in a position to have to make the choice."

Azzolina supports the creation of a commission of office-holders and the public to tackle property tax reform.

Health care overhaul

Orr is calling for an overhaul of the health care system to provide a basic level of service to all state residents.

"We have the worst and most expensive health care system in the developed world," Orr said. "What we have to have is a public primary health care system that starts at the bottom and provides people with basic care."

Kyrillos is concerned that the funding formula for public schools, which requires about half of all state aid to be spent on the 30 poorest districts, is going to lead to problems for school systems in middle-income communities.

He is calling for more oversight of how tax dollars are spent in schools and wants to consider creating an elective position of state auditor to oversee school spending.

Azzolina also wants to take a look at how tax dollars are distributed to public schools and is concerned that some urban districts are given too much money that leads to "frivolous" spending.

Flynn said he doesn't think it is necessary to reduce the amount of money given to the Abbott districts. If the Legislature redistributes the tax burden it will be possible to continue to fund the state's poorest districts at the levels required by the courts, Flynn said.

His Assembly running mates agree.

Perry suggests using part of the sales tax to offset school costs and believes the property tax burden can be shifted if the state is willing to consider innovative ideas. He and Inzerillo want to find out why funds -- such as lottery money -- that were supposed to offset education costs have not alleviated the property tax burden.

"As a society, we have an obligation to fund the education of our children regardless of where they live," Perry said. "I don't consider Abbott to be a four-letter word. We have to break the cycle and it goes beyond the distribution of funds. . . . We have to look at the infrastructure of those cities."

Flynn and Kyrillos are also divided on how to lower medical malpractice insurance costs.

Kyrillos is concerned that rising costs are going to drive specialists out of business. He backs legislation that would include a limit on awards for pain and suffering, while Flynn is opposed to such limits.

Flynn, instead, is calling for reform of the insurance industry that would prevent companies from making bad investments and then passing the losses along by increasing premiums. Kyrillos said he also would support reforming the industry, but believes limits are a way to start controlling costs. Lyden also opposes caps on awards.

Environmental concerns

The Democrats are raising concerns about rollbacks of federal environmental regulations. Flynn stresses regional planning through groups such as the Bayshore Redevelopment Commission. Perry opposes a push by the federal government toward offshore oil drilling near the New Jersey coast.

Inzerillo wants tighter environmental regulations, increased fines and stepped up monitoring to fight pollution.

Orr is calling for the closing of nuclear power plants, which he said pose a hazard to public health. He would like to expand the use of solar power and supports a massive project to install solar panels on shopping centers and large public buildings.