Star-Ledger Endorses Doug Forrester For Governor

The Star-Ledger has endorsed Doug Forrester for Governor of New Jersey concluding - “Doug Forrester is the shock therapy the state needs.”

Obscenely high property taxes -- highest per capita in the nation -- are only a symptom of the chronic illnesses that infect New Jersey: an antiquated tax structure, runaway spending and a culture of corruption.

Forrester is the candidate who has the best chance of stanching the self-inflicted wounds that undermine the state's abilities to meet its obligations and to operate with the trust of its citizens.

We have arranged the key points in the Star-Ledger’s endorsement by major issue and candidate. The entire Star-Ledger endorsement may be read here.

Corruption

Corzine:
He hasn't convinced us he can stand up to the entrenched bosses of his party or to the powerful public employee unions.

Put simply, Corzine appears to suffer from the same disease of wanting to please everyone that contributed to the downward spiral of James E. McGreevey's administration.

Forrester:
Forrester is the candidate who has the best chance of stanching the self-inflicted wounds that undermine the state's abilities to meet its obligations and to operate with the trust of its citizens.

Property Taxes

Corzine:
Corzine would increase property tax rebates, not decrease property taxes themselves. He says he would support a constitutional convention to do that but wouldn't want it to deal with spending. Good luck accomplishing anything with that rule.

Forrester:
Forrester is promising to reduce taxes but is unrealistic about how he'll pay for the shortfall. Promising to find waste in state government when its biggest costs are mandated personnel expenses is silly. He recognizes, however, that relying most heavily on the property tax is wrong.

State Spending

Corzine:
Corzine has talked of even more bond debt to pay for school construction, the transportation trust fund, stem cell research and environmental programs. And he has called for programs to expand Abbott-type assistance for education and to offer more equitable health care. We're not arguing against these ideas, but we've yet to hear how they'll be financed.

Forrester:
Forrester has offered a more focused and programmatic approach to state government. It is one that begins with a consistent budget policy rooted in a realistic assessment of revenue available. In plain language, it's time to end the let's-make-a-deal-for-political-allies thinking that happens too often in New Jersey before the means to pay for the schemes are nailed down.

Leadership/Qualifications

Corzine:
Corzine faced no primary opposition because he made considerable contributions early and often to his Democratic cohorts, including the powerbrokers, to such an extent that no other voices could be heard over the din of the cash register.

But neither his time at Goldman Sachs in Manhattan nor his tenure in Washington strikes us as solid preparation to be governor of New Jersey. In the Senate, he supported worthwhile causes such as ending the genocide in Darfur and pushing for securer ports. But he voted against the well-qualified John Roberts for chief justice, apparently out of party loyalty alone.

Forrester:
Forrester, a former director of the state pension fund and a former mayor, has a better grasp of how New Jersey government, and particularly its budget process, work.
Further, we're more impressed with Forrester's internal GOP party experience -- winning a tough primary by testing his views against competing and less moderate Republican philosophies.

Endorsing Forrester

So our choice for governor is Doug Forrester. We believe that the time has come for a distinct difference in how government operates in Trenton and that he is the person to jump-start that process.