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South Jersey residents make impact at town meeting
Originally appeared in the Courier Post on 10/19/01
GLASSBORO
Jim Whilldin of Audubon asked the first question. He wanted to know how the candidates can relate to ordinary voters when one is a Wall Street millionaire and the other a career politician.
Schundler responded by relating his family history and common roots, downplaying his success on Wall Street. McGreevey joked about his common origins.
Both tried to persuade Whilldin and the statewide audience that they cared about common residents and middle- class voters.
Whilldin, a Republican, remained skeptical about the answers.
"They made it vanilla ice cream," said the 60-year-old banker. "My question would have been skewed to McGreevey. I think he is Florio made over," he said, referring to the state's former Democratic governor Jim Florio.
The candidates took questions from audiences in Union and West Long Branch. Some, including Terry McKenna of Union, followed Whilldin's feisty beginning.
McKenna asked the candidates to prove him wrong for thinking the candidates are either "fools or liars" for promising no tax increases.
Christina Collins, a 17-year-old senior from Camden High School, asked a question at Rowan.
She wanted to know what the candidates will do to reduce illegal guns in the state. McGreevey used the question to attack Schundler's support of gun owners' rights.
Schundler promised to aggressively enforce existing gun laws. Collins said McGreevey answered her question while Schundler was "very informative."
Camden community activist Frank Fulbrook asked the candidates if they would support the over-the-counter sale of syringes by pharmacies and a pilot needle-exchange program to reduce HIV/AIDS infections caused by sharing needles.
Schundler said he was against a government-sponsored needle-exchange program, but could support pharmacy sales of syringes without prescription.
McGreevey said he is against over-the-counter sales of syringes but supports a hospital-based needle-exchange program.
Fulbrook, 52, a Democrat, liked McGreevey's answer better. "Bret doesn't get it," he said.
Steve DiOrio, of Marlton, asked the candidates if they supported a constitutional convention to revise the state's school-funding formula.
Schundler promised to hold the line on taxes. McGreevey thought a constitutional convention would not deliver immediate tax relief. He promised to freeze taxes for seniors and scale back the state's homestead rebate.
DiOrio, 44, a Republican, said he already knew where the candidates stood on the issues, and that their answers reinforced the differences in the approaches.
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