- Says NJ Voters Deserve to See Their U.S. Senate Candidates Debate the Issues -

Lawrenceville, NJ - U.S. Senate candidate Dick Zimmer today announced that Randy Mastro, former Deputy Mayor to New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, will serve as Special Counsel for the Zimmer for Senate campaign, tasked with facilitating debates between Zimmer and Senator Frank Lautenberg.

“I am delighted that Randy Mastro has volunteered to help bring about debates between Senator Lautenberg and me,” said Zimmer. “Given Senator Lautenberg’s intense aversion to debates, I have enlisted Randy to reach out to the media and to the Lautenberg campaign to make sure that the public has the opportunity to see Senator Lautenberg and me side-by-side as we address the issues of concern to the voters.”

A former federal prosecutor, Mastro served in the administration of former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, first as the Mayor's Chief of Staff and then as Deputy Mayor for Operations. Currently, he is a litigation partner with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in its New York office and Co-Chair of the firm's Litigation and Crisis Management Groups.

Mastro, a New Jersey native and former law clerk for NJ Supreme Court Justice Alan Handler, is a registered Democrat. He is representing the Zimmer campaign on a pro bono basis.

“It is an honor and a privilege to ensure that New Jersey voters will have several opportunities to see Dick Zimmer and Frank Lautenberg in televised debates,” said Mastro. “New Jersey voters deserve to get unscripted anwers from both candidates before deciding who should serve them in the U.S. Senate. Dick Zimmer stands ready to have that much needed public debate, and we aim to see to it that that debate happens in the public interest."

Zimmer debated frequently with his opponents in this year’s Senate primary. The day after he won the Senate nomination, he challenged Lautenberg to a series of debates beginning in June. Lautenberg participated in a single televised debate against his primary opponents, one that took place the Friday evening before primary day and was not televised on any New York or Philadelphia TV stations. Thus far, Senator Lautenberg has declined to participate in any debates or joint candidate forums with Zimmer.

Zimmer has released details for the first of a series of summer town hall meetings across New Jersey. Zimmer extended an invitation to Sen. Lautenberg to join him at each of these town hall meetings in order to give New Jerseyans the opportunity to hear their respective views on the issues.

“Twenty-six years ago, Frank Lautenberg said candidates have an 'obligation to let the citizens of this state make their own decision’ through debates and challenged his opponent to debate ‘morning, noon and night’ in all 21 counties,” Zimmer said. “This is one area where Senator Lautenberg and I are in complete agreement.”

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