Kenneth Kaplan

Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Kaplan

Roger Bacon, who received 11,908 votes in his challenge to Gov. Jon Corzine in the June Democratic primary, has endorsed Libertarian Kenneth Kaplan for Governor.

"As a lifelong resident of New Jersey who is frustrated with the entrenched two party system, I see the Libertarian Kaplan/Paff ticket as a sensible choice for the upcoming November 3rd election for governor," said Bacon, who called Corzine a disappointment during his campaign and pushed for a complete audit of state spending.

"I am honored to have this support from Roger Bacon, and I hope other Democrats, similarly dissatisfied with what Corzine has done during his first term, will vote for me this time," Kaplan said.

Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Kaplan

Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Kaplan spoke at a vaccination choice rally at William Paterson University tonight, three hours before the debate between Jon Corzine, Christopher Christie and Christopher Daggett.

The text of Kaplan's remarks:

After Christopher Daggett, who has qualified for matching funds, the independent gubernatorial candidate who has raised the most money is Kinnelon attorney Gary Steele.  Steele, who polled at 12% against the Democratic and Republican nominees in a Faireigh Dickinson University poll, has raised $22,090 and has $14,268 cash on hand, according to reports filed with the new Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.

Jason Cullen has raised $2,547 and has $838 left, and Libertarian Kenneth Kaplan has spent $67 on his bid for Governor -- leaving the bulk of his $215 warchest available to spend during the final weeks of his campaign.

Warren County Clerk Patricia Kolb will change her county's ballot, which for the last three general elections has designated all independent and third-party candidates as "Non-Partisan."

The ballot will now list the "Non-Partisan" candidates as "Nominations by Petition."

"We are going to change it only because you brought it up," said Kolb.  "We never came to a decision whether it's right or wrong."

At least one gubernatorial candidate who belongs to a small political party took issue with the original designation.  Kenneth Kaplan, who is running for governor as a Libertarian, felt that that the old ballot treated his party as if it did not exist.

"If we were just using a three word slogan that didn't indicate a party, that would be one thing. If we were just ‘Be Happy Today,' I could see it being non-partisan, but we are the Libertarian Party," said Kaplan.  "To on one hand say non-partisan and the other to have a party label is just absurd."

PolitickerNJ.com contacted the Secretary of State's office to ask whether the "Non-Partisan" designation was correct.  Spokeswoman Susan Evans said that they would reach out to the Attorney General's office for an opinion. 

But Kolb said that she decided to change the ballot's wording after talking to State Division of Elections Director Bob Giles. 

Click here to view the original Warren County ballot.

Kenneth Kaplan, left, the Libertarian candidate for Governor, and Libertarian LG candidate John Paff, right

Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Kaplan has picked John Paff, an open government advocate from Somerset County, as his running mate.  Kaplan says that if he wins, Paff would head the state Department of Community Affairs.

Paff, the chairman of the New Jersey Libertarian Party's Open Government Advocacy Council, is been a longtime advocate of the state's sunshine laws.  According to published reports, he has pushed for lower fees for copies of government documents, for the public disclosure of court settlements, to obtain copies of online comments made by elected officials, and to incentivize attorneys for public agencies to comply with open records requests.

Kaplan, a  61-year-old Parsippany resident , was the Libertarian candidate for Governor in 1989. He made his first bid for public office in 1975 as a candidate for State Assembly against then-freshman Richard Codey. 

The number of Independent candidates for Governor is now up to six: former state Environmental Protection Commissioner Christopher Daggett, Kinnelon attorney Gary Steele, former Princeton Council candidate Joshua Leinsdorf, Alvin Lindsay Jr. of Sewall, Kostas Petris of Trenton, and Gregory Pason, a frequent candidate of the Socialist Worker Party USA.  Rev. Shannon Wright, an African American minister, was expected to file at 1PM; instead, she will speak to reporters at 4PM.  Libertarian candidate Kenneth Kaplan has not yet filed.

Kostas Petris

The deadline for Independent candidates to file petitions is 4PM tomorrow.  In the race for Governor, so far only former state Environmental Protection Commissioner Christopher Daggett and Trenton resident Kostas Petris have filed nominating petitions.  Two other announced candidates, Libertarian Kenneth Kaplan and Rev. Shannon Wright, an African American minister who began the cycle managing Brian Levine's campaign for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, have not yet filed.

Gov. Jon Corzine has an upside-down 40%-49% approval rating and trails Republican Christopher Christie by four percentage points, 39%-35%, according to a new Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll released this morning.  Corzine has an upside-down favorable rating of 43%-47%.

Corzine leads another Republican, former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, 37%-33%. 

The poll did not include a Republican primary ballot test.

“For a Democratic incumbent in a blue state like New Jersey, Jon Corzine is certainly not in an enviable position.” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “However, the Republican primary campaign has recently taken a nasty turn which may have stalled Chris Christie’s momentum and boosted Steve Lonegan’s profile.”

Ken Kaplan's first bid for public office was in 1975, when he was the Libertarian candidate for State Assembly. He lost to incumbent Richard Codey, who was seeking re-election to his second term.

The New Jersey Libertarian Party has nominated Kenneth Kaplan, who has made numerous bids for public office over the last 34 years, as their candidate for Governor.  The 61-year-old Parsippany resident was the Libertarian candidate for Governor in 1989 and 1993, and made his first bid for public office in 1975 as a candidate for State Assembly against then-freshman Richard Codey.  

Kaplan says his priorities are to phase out the state income tax and reduce the size and cost of government, and wants the state to enact legislation to supersede local zoning ordinances, removing zoning barriers.

“The current system prevents owners of single family homes from converting them to two family homes and the owners of two family homes from converting them to three families,” stated Kaplan. “This solution will solve the affordable housing crisis, not just for people moving into the new units, but also for many of whom might be senior citizens.”