Thomas Kean

Finally, it looks like legislation will soon be approved allowing New Jersey drug users to exchange dirty needles for clean ones. Bill S494, sponsored by Senator Nia Gill (D-Essex), has been a long time coming. It doesn't go as far as it should, but it is better than nothing. Instead of a statewide clean needle exchange program, which is preferable, the legislation, passed this week by the Senate Health Committee (Senator Tom Kean Jr. voted against it) calls for a pilot program in six municipalities.

Two of the communities expected to take advantage of the bill (once it is passed into law) will be Atlantic City and Camden. In both communities, the spread of HIV from needle sharing among infected drub users has been a huge health problem. The lack of a state law allowing clean needle exchange has only made the problem worse in urban centers that have served as a haven for the spread of HIV/AIDS since the mid 1980s. For years, opponents of needle exchange have argued that such a program would increase drug use or crime. Well, the fact is, that couldn't be further from the truth.

What is true is that clean needle exchange programs reduce the transmission of the HIV virus, hepatitis and other diseases acquired through needle sharing. The reason we know this is that 49 out of 50 states currently allow for some form of a needle exchange program. That's right, New Jersey, is the ONLY state in the nation without such a program�this despite the fact that our state has one of the country's highest AIDS/HIV rates stemming from needle sharing. The problem has been particularly bad for women and their children, infected with the virus in the womb. To say that New Jersey not having a needle exchange program is a disgrace is an understatement. It's insane.

The legislature has allowed a few ill-informed, pigheaded legislators to block this much-needed public health program. Chief among them has been Senator Ron Rice (D-Essex) who sits on the Health Committee. Rice has continually argued that needle exchange will make the drug problem worse and has proposed a bill to provide $100 million for drug treatment and HIV/AIDS related programs. That part of Rice's legislative agenda is positive, which is why it is a great thing that the current needle exchange legislation to allow the pilot program in six municipalities also calls for $10 million for drug rehab.

Simply put, S494 is a compromise between the needle exchange philosophy and the drug treatment approach. It never should have been an either-or proposition, but somehow Rice and those who supported his point of view have struck enough fear into their colleagues to stymie any effort to move forward. State Senators have been convinced that any effort to pass a needle exchange program would make them vulnerable to being characterized as "soft on drugs" in future elections. That's crazy. What happened to all those legislators in 49 other states who supported needle-exchange programs? Nothing.

So, our legislators have been spooked by a political phantom for nearly a decade and now have finally done something. As I said, in many ways it is way too little. However, it isn't too late, particularly for those ill drug addicts who are currently sticking dirty needles into their arms and transmitting this deadly disease, not just to themselves, but to their babies. Let's only hope that the pilot initiative is passed in the next few weeks and the Corzine Administration, lead by Health and Senior Services Commissioner Dr. Fred Jacbos, leads the effort to make the needle exchange program statewide as soon as possible. Lives are at stake and they have been for too long. There is no excuse not to act. I'd like to congratulate the Senate for finally moving, but that would be like patting an employee on the back for doing the absolute bare minimum their job requires. Then again, this needle exchange legislation is better than the status quo.

By Steve Adubato, Ph.D.

All eyes in the nation are on the New Jersey race for the United States Senate between incumbent Democrat Bob Menendez and his Republican opponent Tom Kean Jr. Sure, what happens to Joe Lieberman in Connecticut is important, but what happens in New Jersey could decide the balance of power in the nation's most prestigious club, otherwise known as the U.S. Senate.

Amazingly, on paper this looks like a virtual dead heat. New Jersey is supposed to be a very "blue state" where we consistently elect Democrats to statewide office. The last Republican to win statewide was Christie Whitman. The last Republican to win a U.S. Senate seat was Clifford Case back in 1972. However, if the polls are right, Tom Kean Jr. may actually hold a slight lead over Bob Menendez.

But polls can be deceiving and people often make their choice late in the game. But we still must ask why Menendez isn't blowing Kean out at this early stage. The biggest reason is the name Tom Kean. Let's face it, it is a great name. People love Tom Kean -- senior, that is -- our former governor and head of the 9/11 Commission. Tom Kean Sr. was and is a class act that both Democrats and Republicans like and respect. I know better than most because in 1985 as a member of the state legislature in a so-called marginal swing district, I lost my seat because Tom Kean Sr., a Republican leading the ticket, blew out his Democratic opponent 70 to 30 percent. I lost by two percent. Thanks, governor.

And over two decades later the Tom Kean name is still golden, only enhanced by his leadership as head of the commission examining what happened on and after 9/11. My point is that a lot of people think Tom Kean Jr. is Tom Kean Sr. Others who know he is the son figure he's got to be pretty good since the father was so great. Still others are just comfortable with the name and figure how wrong can you go with a Tom Kean?

But there is another name that is impacting this race and that name is Menendez. Not a lot of people want to talk about it, but I am convinced that there is something going on here. It is something respondents will never tell pollsters, but nonetheless it is there. New Jersey has never elected anyone with a Hispanic surname before. Bob Menendez is Cuban American. It shouldn't matter, but with some maybe it does even a little bit. Could there are some who just aren't comfortable with electing a U.S. Senator named Menendez? It's not "PC" to say it, but are you convinced that I'm wrong?

The fact is that Bob Menendez is one of the most articulate, thoughtful and effective members of Congress. But to some, that may or may not matter, but again, they are not going to tell a pollster who calls them on the phone and asks whom they might be voting for in the upcoming election. I hope I'm wrong, but again, are you sure I'm not?

There is also Iraq. According to the recent PublicMind poll, if Iraq were not an issue, Tom Kean would be leading in this race 47-36 percent over Menendez. That's amazing. But because Iraq is a huge issue for many, Tom Kean's lead is only 43-39 in the same poll. That's a statistical dead heat.

Tom Kean is doing all he can to distance himself from President Bush's unpopular leadership on Iraq. This past week, Kean Jr. called for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to resign after Menendez challenged him to do so. I'm not sure that is going to give Kean enough breathing room on the issue. He won't criticize the president directly and he won't say we need to get out of there by any particular date and Rumsfeld has to go? Pretty fuzzy, huh?

Conversely, a couple of days ago, Bob Menendez called for a withdrawal of most American troops from Iraq within a year. He also called the war effort a "massive failure." Menendez said this of Kean's call for Rumsfeld resignation; "Firing him while still endorsing the same status quo policy (in Iraq) is like throwing the first mate of the Titanic overboard while standing side by side with the captain as he steers straight toward the iceberg." Talk about an analogy that hurts. Tom Kean Jr. is going to have to respond to that. He must be clearer on his Iraq position or his great name won't get it done.

Meanwhile, Kean has been blasting Menendez implying, if not saying, that the Democrat is ethically challenged. Kean held a press conference in Union City in front of a non-profit organization housed in a location that Menendez owned for many years. The problem, says Kean, is that the non-profit organization was paying rent to landlord Menendez when then Congressmen Menendez was helping the non-profit in Washington gain important federal dollars. The implication is that Menendez used his influence as a public official to enhance himself as a landlord. Personally, I think it is weak, but then again, if Tom Kean Jr. can make himself out to be a sort of adult Boy Scout, unlike the prototypical "New Jersey politician", it could hurt Menendez. Who knows?

There are a lot of factors that will come into play over the next several weeks to decide this race. But one thing for sure is that interest in the win goes way beyond New Jersey's borders. This one is going to be a really fascinating if not terribly nasty race. Then again, we are in the Garden State.

Senator Thomas H. Kean (R-Union/Essex/Morris/Somerset) issued the following statement on the nomination of Stuart Rabner to be the next Attorney General of the State of New Jersey:

Stuart Rabner is a nominee who brings a stellar reputation for honesty, probity and non-partisan respect for the law to the post of Attorney General. In light of unfortunate appointments of recent years, the Governor should be applauded for seeking an eminently qualified candidate for Attorney General who will embody the highest standards of ethical conduct.

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I look forward to Mr. Rabner’s confirmation hearing, where I intend to engage him in a dialogue on issues of importance to the people of this State, such as enhancing our homeland security capabilities and restoring principled standards of behavior for State and local government officials.

DeCROCE: ATTACKS ON FORMER GOVERNOR KEAN CONFIRM MENENDEZ A POOR JUDGE OF CHARACTER

MENENDEZ OWES GOV. KEAN APOLOGY
Sen. Lance Says Menendez Resorted To The "Politics Of Personal Destruction," "Gutter Politics" And "Filthy Mudslinging"

SENATE CANDIDATES DEBATE SOCIAL SECURITY

(TRENTON) - The U.S. Senate candidates' responses to the third question in the Hall Institute's virtual debate are now online at www.hallnj.org/virtualdebate.

In addition to Thomas H. Kean and Robert Menendez, three of the third-party candidates running for the U.S. Senate seat also posted responses to the question, which addresses the issue of Social Security.

The question reads:

Monmouth County Republicans say they raised more than $100,000 last night at a gala fundraising event attended by former Governor Thomas Kean. A successful fundaiser, combined with the likely implosion of the Democratic Freeholder ticket last week, is good news for Adam Puharic, who was elected Monmouth GOP Chairman in June.

Republican Hazel Gluck, a lobbyist who served as a State Assemblywoman and in Governor Thomas Kean's cabinet, was named todayby Governor Jon Corzine to the Board of Trustees of the embattled University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. The New Jersey Medical Society is among the clients of Gluck's lobbying firm.

PoliticsNJ.com apologizes for neglecting to report that "A Comedy of Errors" was performed at the Thomas H. Kean Theater in Madison on July 15.

The Acting U.S. Secretary of Transportation began her political career as an operative working on a New Jersey gubernatorial campaign. Maria Cino, who has been running the Department of Transportation since Norman Mineta left a few weeks ago, was the Assistant Research Director for Joseph "Bo" Sullivan, a millionaire businessman who sought the Republican nomination for Governor in 1981. Sullivan, who self-financed his campaign, finished third in a field of eight candidates, losing to Thomas Kean, Sr. Among Cino's responsibilities on the Sullivan campaign was researching Kean's record during his ten years in the State Assembly.

After the '81 primary, returned to Washington as a staffer for the Republican National Committee. She held numerous posts at the RNC and at the National Republican Congressional Committee, as National Political Director George W. Bush's campaign in 2000, and has been Deputy Transportation Secretary since 2005.

Published reports list Cino as being on the short list of permanent candidates for Mineta's post.