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Schundler plays the tax card to the hilt
Originally appeared in the Star Ledger on 10/24/01
It's not hard to figure out what Bret Schundler is trying to
tell voters as he wraps up his gubernatorial campaign
against Woodbridge Mayor Jim McGreevey.
"Jim McGreevey: The Taxman Cometh" proclaims one of
his online banner ads, which links to a Web site
caricaturing McGreevey as a highway bandit.
"McGreevey = Higher Taxes," screams a brochure arriving
in voters' mailboxes this week that juxtaposes photos of
McGreevey and former Gov. Jim Florio, the bogeyman of
tax-fearing New Jerseyans.
"Jim McGreevey: Raised property taxes 59 percent," says
a television ad running on New York and Philadelphia
network outlets.
With less than two weeks to go and double-digit polling
deficits to overcome, Schundler is using everything at his
disposal -- television, mail, the Web, public appearances --
to equate his Democratic opponent with higher taxes. He
reminds whoever will listen that during the last economic
downturn, McGreevey voted for Florio's infamous $2.8
billion tax increase as a freshman state assemblyman in
1990.
At the same time, Schundler has rolled out one tax-break
proposal after another, portraying himself as the savior of
tax haters everywhere.
"By the end of the election, everyone we reach will know
that a vote for Bret Schundler is a vote for lower taxes and
a vote for Jim McGreevey is a vote for higher taxes and a
weaker economy," said Schundler campaign manager Bill
Pascoe.
The McGreevey campaign calls the tax assaults a
last-ditch effort by a desperate candidate.
"It seems to me as though this is Schundler's last straw to
salvage his campaign," said spokesman Rich McGrath.
The anti-tax mantra has worked for Schundler before -- in
the three mayoral elections he won in Jersey City, and his
come-from-behind victory in last spring's Republican
primary. He counts as his top accomplishment controlling
property taxes in his city.
Never, however, have the stakes been so high.
This time Schundler faces a statewide race against a
better-funded rival. Polls have Schundler trailing McGreevey
by 10 points or more. And most voters are too distracted
by anthrax and the war in Afghanistan to pay much
attention to what the candidates are saying.
"Given the context in which this election is being
conducted, the campaign calls for focus above all else,"
said Rutgers University political science professor Ross
Baker. "The Schundler people, based on polling data and
focus groups, have come to the conclusion that the one
issue they have to stress is taxes. But the exclusion of
political thinking in New Jersey this year has lasted longer
than in any campaign I can remember. So he's got a very
tough job."
While attacking McGreevey, Schundler has proposed an
ambitious agenda of his own: tax credits for private school
expenses, bigger tax cuts for seniors and veterans, new
capital gains breaks for businesses, and the elimination of
the Garden State Parkway tolls. Yesterday he added
another pledge -- not to impose taxes on Internet service
providers. The entire package could cost more than $1
billion, but he says he could afford it by cutting wasteful
spending and taking advantage of new revenue growth.
In recent weeks, with terrorism fears pulling the state into
recession, Schundler has sharpened his rhetoric on these
proposals, saying they're the only way to revive the local
economy.
McGreevey protests that such promises are irresponsible.
He says he plans to make government "live within its
means" to avoid tax increases, but has refused to rule
them out under any circumstances.
For his part, McGreevey has a more cautious plan -- much
of it based on Republican ideas -- that calls for an $11
million expansion of an existing senior-citizen property tax
freeze, a $20 million tax credit for at-home health care
providers and channeling up to $300 million of increased
sales tax revenue into local property-tax relief. At the same
time, he wants to eliminate NJ Saver property-tax rebate
checks for residents who earn $200,000 or more and funnel
the savings into an effort to slash state debt.
Schundler calls the NJ Saver cap proof that McGreevey
wants to raise taxes. McGrath described it as "not so
much a tax increase, but putting a cap on a benefit."
In recent weeks, Schundler and other Republicans have
dragged out the image of Florio, whose unpopular tax hike
led to a Republican takeover of the state Legislature.
The Republican National Committee is mailing brochures
saying "Florio Democrats won't rule out a tax increase."
Yesterday, state Assembly Speaker Jack Collins
(R-Salem) joined in invoking Florio during a press
conference to tout Schundler and Republican candidates
for the state Legislature.
McGreevey's spokesman said the Florio-bashing tactic had
grown stale -- even though U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine
successfully used Florio's tax increases in a primary race
against the former governor last year.
"They may want to run against Jim Florio and run a
campaign that resembles the atmosphere of 10 years ago,
but I think the voters are more concerned with the here and
now and the two names on the ballot this year," McGrath
said.
McGreevey, meanwhile, is sticking to his own game plan,
casting himself as the candidate with the broadest voter
appeal and Schundler as someone on the conservative
fringe. Yesterday he criticized Schundler's relationship with
Joseph Bast, president of the Chicago-based Heartland
Institute, who has advocated "the complete privatization of
schooling" and whose group performed a study supporting
Schundler's plan for school-choice tax credits. McGreevey
called Bast an education adviser for Schundler, but Bast
and Schundler said their interaction was limited to the
Heartland study.
McGreevey plans events all week highlighting education
issues. Yesterday he visited the Warren Middle School in
Somerset County where he taught a class and picked up
the endorsement of New Jersey's Teacher of the Year,
Barbara Lasaracina, a Republican from Warren Township.
Lasaracina said she voted twice for Republican Christie
Whitman but favors McGreevey's approach to public
schools.
Staff writers Ron Marsico and Josh Margolin contributed to
this report.
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