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 Terror Tops Rivals' Agendas in New Jersey
Originally appeared in the New York Times on November 2, 2001
WEST ORANGE, N.J., Nov. 1 — "If you get elected, what is the very first thing you are going to do?"
The question fluttered in the air above James E. McGreevey's head this afternoon like one of the brown leaves dropping off of the trees outside police headquarters here, where he had just held a news conference to attack his Republican opponent, Bret D. Schundler, yet again on the issue of gun control.
With five days until New Jersey chooses a new governor and Mr. McGreevey, the Democratic nominee, leading in the polls, the question was hardly surprising. But the candidate blanched, as if he had not quite confronted the reality that within 130 hours he could be the governor-elect.
"Appoint a cabinet," Mr. McGreevey stammered, offering the stark- est pragmatic response to what had been a rhetorical request for him to discuss his top policy proposal. But Mr. McGreevey, regaining his footing, quickly returned to his antiterrorism agenda, which he had been discussing moments earlier.
"Well, again, most importantly is the need to move forward on a counterterrorism strike force," he said. "I want an assistant attorney general charged with the sole responsibility of coordinating between our state police, our local police, county sheriffs, federal agents to ensure that we are properly equipped to respond to terrorism."
While Mr. Schundler in recent days has repeatedly accused special interests, especially trial lawyers, of trying to buy the election for his opponent, complaining that he is being heavily outspent on advertising and that poor fund-raising has hurt his bid, Mr. McGreevey remained solidly in campaign mode today.
In West Orange, Mr. McGreevey stood between two large posters accusing Mr. Schundler of supporting looser gun laws. "Mr. Schundler has stated he would sign legislation to permit individuals to carry concealed weapons," Mr. McGreevey said. "I cannot think of anything more wrong." In the Republican primary, Mr. Schundler said he would sign a bill making it easier for people to get a permit to carry concealed weapons. He now says he will not change New Jersey's gun laws.
Mr. McGreevey, in West Orange and in visits to centers for the elderly in Irvington and South Orange, also continued to stress his support for public education and for a woman's right to choose an abortion. Tonight, he addressed a crowd in Newark.
The abortion issue was also of interest to students at Westfield High School, Mr. Schundler's alma mater, which he visited this morning. He repeated his message of lower taxes and explained his proposals to protect New Jersey from terrorists, but several students questioned his stance opposing abortion.
Mr. Schundler told the students that teaching abstinence should be an integral part of sex education. Some in the crowd groaned. "Children who are not ready to have children should not become sexually active until they want children," Mr. Schundler said.
Mr. Schundler also told the students that they were targets of terrorists. "The terrorists do want to kill as many of you as they possibly can," he said, clearly startling some in the audience. "They want to kill me and my family, too," he added.
Aides to Mr. Schundler suggested that he could still win and pointed to a poll released earlier this week by WABC-TV that showed him trailing Mr. McGreevey by just 9 points, 51 to 42. The poll, of 800 likely voters, was conducted Sunday and Monday and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
At a retirement home in Bridgewater this afternoon, Mr. Schundler promised to lower property taxes, to help reduce the cost of prescription drugs and to fight terrorism.
"We need to be ready and the first thing I'll do as governor will be stock up on vaccines in the event of more biological attacks," he said. "We need to be protected."
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