Massive turnout at Greenbriar debate

By Max Pizarro | November 1st, 2007 - 8:18am
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In arguably the most bitter senate campaign of the general election season, district 12 competitors Democratic Sen. Ellen Karcher and Republican Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck Wednesday evening made their closing arguments before a spill-over audience in Marlboro’s age-restricted Greenbriar Community.

Karcher said she lit a fire in her first term in office in Trenton, while over the past two years, Beck has kvetched and complained. Karcher contrasted herself as a big picture public servant against Beck, whom she portrayed as a private-interest opportunist whose past work has cost taxpayers millions.

"My opponent has been a Trenton insider her whole career," said Karcher. "And she was smack dab in the middle of a lobbying scandal that cost taxpayers $50 million. She has not made clear what her conflicts of interest are, and she has failed to produce results."
Beck said Karcher has tried to stand for reform but can’t because she’s beholden to a party that is entrenched in the wrong position on key issues, including taxes and ethics. She also chastised the senator for hypocritically failing to report income from her Marlboro estate on senate financial disclosure forms - a violation of New Jersey’s ethics law.

The assemblywoman objected to the senator’s charge that she has been on the sidelines, and said she has gritted her way to the forefront of combating what she sees as bloated state budgets and weak-kneed ethics reforms that grandfather double-dippers.

"I am the co-sponsor of 20 bills that were passed into law," said Beck. "Five of my bills were adopted by the majority party. My opponent has supported 33 new taxes, and very little money is coming back to the district’s schools. I don’t believe Mrs. Karcher has been an effective leader."

While acknowledging that the state budget remains structurally deficient, Karcher said tax rebates this year of between $1,200 and $2,000 helped people in the district. Beck said no, the rebate program was an election year gimmick that did not nothing to contribute to the state’s longer term fiscal health.

The women agreed on some issues, including phasing out at least half a dozen Abbott schools, state funding for stem cell research, and opposing the federal deputizing of local law enforcement to crack down on undocumented workers.

Karcher complained about the Beck campaign dispatching a helicopter to fly over her Marlboro estate when it filmed an ad highlighting what Beck sees as Karcher’s questionable use of the state’s farmland assessment program to save thousands of dollars in taxes. The senator also charged that Beck’s people had been on her property.

Beck reminded the crowd that she is being outspent 5-1 in this campaign, and has endured a $1.5 million advertising barrage. She said she has made her case for change to the editorial boards of the Asbury Park Press and the Star-Ledger, papers that both endorsed her. Karcher, meanwhile, has received endorsements from the New Jersey Environmental Federation, the Sierra Club, New Jersey Education Association, and the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, among others.

Karcher = Codey Stooge

Karcher = Same old tired Democrat Leadership = more spending, no money for suburban schools, fake ethics refrom, a Senate where they a bunch get indicted for stealing, maybe another 40 taxes int he next few years, and a State where people can't afford to live, and where even the bills Ellen says she wants get bottled up in committees with crooks on them.

Karcher = Codey Stooge

Karcher = Same old tired Democrat Leadership = more spending, no money for suburban schools, fake ethics refrom, a Senate where they a bunch get indicted for stealing, maybe another 40 taxes int he next few years, and a State where people can't afford to live, and where even the bills Ellen says she wants get bottled up in committees with crooks on them.

Keep it up.

New Jersey LOVES Dick Codey. The more you associate Ellen with him the more you help her.

"They should rule who are able to rule best."

NorthernWilderness...

"People don't read this site. Insiders do. And whatever anyone else thinks about Codey, he has failed as legislative leader and his Paterson / Blue Cross Blue Shield brokerage deals should be investigated every bit as closely as other senators' deals. His brokerage deal there and his power over both contractual parties to it stink. He personally ushered through tax increases, unconstitutional debt, rotten ethics bills, gross spending increases, pork galore, and he lets corrupt politicians sit on legislative committees that give them power over the constituencies they steal from. The more people learn about him, his popularity will sink and rightly so. So... no... I won't stop.

ImWithStupid

You criticize Karcher for not getting enough bills through a Codey-led Senate, but what do you think Beck will accomplish in the same environment? Absolutely nada, and the people of the 12th will be worse off for it.

ShoreDem

Didn't you know that Imwithstupid is either Casagrande or O'Scanlon? He/She/It always accuses anyone that posts their support for Senator Karcher as working for the campaign, when in reality, and since they don't have any money to spend, He/She/It just posts and posts and posts ridiculous rantings about how good Beck is and how evil Ellen Karcher is. Kind of sad, really.

 And you are right with the fact that Beck hasn't done one thing in Trenton for the year and half she's been there. She will do even less as a Senator since she has no ideas to speak of.

Senator Karcher has done more than anyone with regards to ethics reform, and I think that that will resonate with the voters.

The Video is a Snippet of One Side's Verbiage...

.....where's the balance? It was a genuine pleasure to see a packed house last night. There were folks waiting in line for 40 minutes to get in to this debate!!! The first debate for the mayors race was SRO and the people who couldn't get in (fire regulations) actually got to hear the action thanks to a gentleman with a speaker cellphone "broadcasting" to an eager audience! Quite a scene! I'll be back here later to add something a bit more to the discussion... From Frederick Douglass

If there is no struggle there is no progress......Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

Wrong Mr. Lights

New Jersey LOVED anyone other than McGreevery at the time...there is a big difference...if this was true Dick still won't be hiding in the state senate

Nick

The other side is in Pizarro's video blog..

You forgot to add the part about the overly outgoing lady who hated the Marlboro Mayor a lot being outside (I think most of the crowd did).

That debate was truly spirited once we got in. And yeah that crowd waiting outside was something else, I was one of em. (I was the guy in the Monmouth University Hoody..ha)

Just in Case Anyone....

Wants to see the whole debate, and not just a few snippetts...

http://www.bluejersey.net/showDiary.do?diaryId=6097

From Frederick Douglass

If there is no struggle there is no progress......Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

ambrosiajr hitting the Thunderbird again

The only correct thing you said is that Ellen Karcher is evil and THAT is what will resonate with the voters. Everything else you babbled on about like someone in the know is wrong -- just like Karcher.

Oh yeah, Shore Dem...

I forgot..ResurectingReagan(now there's a horrible thought), is really Jen Beck.

ESedler: The Lady Made Sense....

As I recall she was outraged at the spending of 1.2 mil for an astroturf covering for the kids ballpark.

That stuff is effing hellacious! There are dozens of things wrong with it here's one site http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/pub/ats/news/2005/synthetic/.

I wonder who's getting the 1.2 mil? What connections/associations do they have with the incumbent or his friends and or relatives?

It's bad enough that the pols can legally rob us blind; this actually hurts our children to boot!

I should have let that upset woman say her bit on camera...

Karcher was impressive; though, frankly, she's not as polished/phony in some ways as Beck. It was great to see Karcher actually interrupt herself when she saw that the fellow asking a question was giving signals that he wasn't pleased. A "real pro" would have stuck to the script.

Beck is not credible; she's got pay to play written all over her.

This shouldn't even be a close race; but it probably will be.....and that's a shame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Frederick Douglass

If there is no struggle there is no progress......Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

Nick

I'm not doubting that the lady wasn't making sense..I just found her outgoing. I don't live in Marlboro but if that crowd was a measure of what will happen then that mayor can say goodnight, and perhaps deservedly so.

We're both prety partisan so debating who won would be pointless. But, I found Karcher prodding the guy and interrupting herself to be Ellen acting like well..Ellen. And while it may have showed the human instinct reaction she really wasnt bein direct with that answer (Then again who is in debates), and it did come off as very unprofessional.

That campaign (on both sides) is incredibly nasty and the least bit professional, which I guess gets people to be active in politics at least.

I dont think one candidate won and nobody who was undecided (if there were any) probably came to a conclusion. That being said I was impressed with Beck's fluidness and how little she looked at her notes. She knows her stuff.

ESedler: Bottom Line is Values....

Karcher ain't St Therese but she sincerely wants to clean up some of the dirt in NJ politics and her own "leadership" undercuts her whenever they can by watering down her initiatives.

Beck is a creature of the pay to play system. Period. You are 100% right. She's a pro. A "tough nut" to crack. The most humanizing moment for her was her recognition of her parents. lol

There's a great movie out called "Michael Clayton"....one of the central characters in that flik reminds me of one of these candidates. And I bet if you see the movie you won't need to ask me which one I'm thinking of.

Then again, my agenda is 100% public financing and totally clean politics in NJ with any level of political criminality receiving seriously draconian prison sentences. I'm actually beyond anything Karcher has advocated on these issues.

From my perspective these legally corrupt pols and those who buy them are the terrorists who "hate our freedoms".....and I suspect that most rank and file REPUBLICANS would even agree with me on principle.

 

 

 

 

From Frederick Douglass

If there is no struggle there is no progress......Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

I don't see Beck as Pay-to-play at all

If Beck had any major ethical lapses and had obvious pay to play type stuff going down it would have been the end of her in this extremely competitive independent minded district.
Fact is her vice president job at that company is private sector, and I guess the argument is that they do public contrasts or lobby, but the fact is Codey and the leadership awarded that controversial lottery contract. I really doubt Beck had much to do with it, considering that she's in the minority party in the Assembly and was basically pushed around by Dems once they knew she was running against Karcher.
To me Karcher hasn't provided direct enough links and as we all saw wasn't exactly ms. perfect herself.

But considering your platform I implore you to search in the past press releases. Jen Beck called for Clean Elections (Aka Public financing in the 12th). Even after the decision to go with the 14th by the state, Beck wanted Karchr to agree, and it never happened.
So when you see the 4.5 million going in to help Karcher from all over the state, maybe you know why Karcher was too chicken to push for Clean Elections in the 12th.

Found it for ya in 3 cases:
http://www.politicsnj.com/beck-introduce-legislation-creating-second-spl...

"Still, the Republican candidates complain that Panter and Karcher, both co-sponsors of the “Clean Elections” legislation, gave only half hearted support to getting the program into their district, knowing full-well that it would benefit their opponents – with Karcher not testifying on behalf of the district at the panel meeting chaired by former Governor Jim Florio, and Panter providing his support in writing.

“I think what was very telling was that neither Panter nor senator Karcher bothered to show up and testify that we should have been a clean elections district,” said Beck."
From: http://www.politicsnj.com/dems-have-fundraising-advantage-12th-10133

http://www.politicsnj.com/hamilton-trumps-red-bank-7411

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