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Tumult masks N.J. gubernatorial race
Originally appeared in the Star Ledger on 10/16/01
Usually at this time of year, Lucy Colontino would know a
lot more about the people running for governor. But when a
pollster called recently and asked her opinion, she didn't
know enough about the race to have one.
With the war in Afghanistan and bioterrorism scares
dominating the headlines and newscasts, Colontino hasn't
had much time to think about Democrat Jim McGreevey or
Republican Bret Schundler, the state's major party
candidates.
"I vote every year, but I'm really not paying attention to this
race. I really haven't made up my mind," Colontino said
over lunch the other day at the East Brunswick Senior
Citizen Center.
She's not alone.
When Mary Terranova is not working at the East
Brunswick Fish Market, she's watching the war coverage
on CNN.
"I don't think anyone is paying attention to the race. I know
I'm not," Terranova, 41, said.
Over the last 10 years, East Brunswick's voters have
mirrored New Jersey's voters, siding with the winner in
each of the last nine statewide races. In percentage terms,
the results in this Central Jersey township of 47,000 people
have come within a few points of the statewide margin in
those contests.
But if interviews with about 30 likely voters here over the
last few days are any indication, the race for governor has
not quite registered, though the election is just three
weeks away. Folks here have other things on their mind
than who should be the state's next governor. None of
those interviewed watched the first debate last
Wednesday, and most said they don't expect to decide
until the last minute.
"To be honest with you, I don't know anything about either
one," said Kathy Zielinski, 56, as she sold flowers and
produce from her family's Cranbury Road farm. "I better get
on the stick and find out about them."
Monika McDermott, the associate director of the
Star-Ledger/Eagleton Rutgers Poll, said New Jersey's
crucial independent voters are well-known for deciding late.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the ensuing war in
Afghanistan are likely to make that especially true this
year.
"There is a substantial portion of the electorate that doesn't
tune in until a week before (Election Day), and given
everything that's happened this year, I would expect that to
happen more than usual," McDermott said. "There's just
too much going on."
In East Brunswick, where 11,000 of the township's 29,000
registered voters are affiliated with a party, voters have
reflected New Jersey's tendency to swing. The mayor and
township council are both Democratic, and voters sided
overwhelming with former Vice President Al Gore, who won
New Jersey by 16 points last year. But voters here also
backed former Republican Gov. Christie Whitman in 1997
and 1993, while supporting winning Democrats for the U.S.
Senate in intervening years.
Residents here are more likely to be professionals than
blue collar workers. Immigrants, most recently from Asia,
are influencing one of the township's most profound
demographic changes since the construction of the New
Jersey Turnpike in 1952 brought a surge of new residents --
many of them Jewish-- from Jersey City, Manhattan and
Brooklyn. Since then, the township's farms have given way
to subdivisions, strip malls, townhouses and condos.
One result is a largely moderate, independent-minded
electorate.
"We represent the middle of New Jersey, literally and
figuratively," said Mayor Bill Neary, a local Dairy Queen
owner who also heads the East Brunswick Democratic
Party.
Rod Kulp, the local Republican chairman, agreed.
"They're independent thinkers here, and they vote for a
variety of reasons, God knows what they may be," he said.
"Sometimes, when we poll after a vote, we get every
reason in the world -- 'My uncle hates the other guy,' 'I
never saw the mailings,' 'It's the taxes.'"
Indeed, interviews with East Brunswick residents revealed
a wide range of opinions. But most said they were
undecided, or expressed tepid support for one candidate or
the other.
Aldona Mazur, 73, is a registered Republican but said she
was leaning toward McGreevey, the mayor of nearby
Woodbridge.
"To me, Schundler seems to be more businesslike, and
McGreevey is more warm, personable," Mazur said over
lunch at Sandy's Luncheonette.
Anna Jannuzzelli, a senior citizen, said she was a
Democrat but found Schundler's outspokenness refreshing.
"The thing I like about him is he has a big mouth,"
Jannuzzelli said. "But I really haven't decided."
Tom Lyons, a retired sales executive, described himself as
a diehard Republican, so he'd probably go for Schundler.
"I'm not sure it's a great choice, but I dislike the Democrat
more than I like the Republican," he said. "And Schundler
sounds like a more down to earth guy. But, then again,
politicians who aren't in office usually do."
Nursing a beer at Sally's Place, Jack Schobert, 52, spoke
over the din of five televisions tuned into CNN's war
coverage. He said he was disillusioned with Republicans in
Trenton because the taxes on the bar he owns in New
Brunswick have risen. McGreevey ducked into his pub
during a Hungarian festival recently, and Schobert said he
looked and acted too much like a salesman.
"I plan on voting, but I'm not sure who yet," Schobert said.
"Actually, I don't even know what their issues are. I guess
I'm going to have to pay more attention."
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