(WEST ORANGE, AUGUST 7) - Schundler for Governor campaign manager Bill Pascoe, responding to the release of a new Quinnipiac University poll on the New Jersey governor’s race, today issued the following statement:

“Been there, won that. So the new Quinnipiac University Poll says Bret’s the underdog going into the fall campaign -- tell me something I didn’t already know. A quick history lesson may be in order: Bret started his first race for Mayor of Jersey City at 1.5 percent in the polls, won that race, and never looked back. In this year’s GOP primary, he started off 37 points behind Donnie DiFrancesco, and then started off 26 points behind Bob Franks -- and still won, going away.

“Nobody’s paying attention to politics right now -- but once the summer’s over, and they’ve spent hours stuck on the Parkway in toll traffic, and start worrying about paying their property taxes, and getting their kids back into good schools, you’re going to see these numbers turn.

“Why? Because Democrats, Independents, and Republicans ALL agree that taxes are too high, some schools need to be fixed -- WITHOUT just throwing more money at them -- suburban sprawl needs to be reversed, and we need to get rid of those darn Parkway tolls. And Bret Schundler is the guy who’s going to get the job done.”

“Frankly, if I were Jim McGreevey, I’d be worried. After five years, three months, and thirty days of running for Governor, McGreevey STILL hasn’t yet broken the 50 percent threshold, and more than a third of New Jersey’s registered voters STILL haven’t formed an opinion of him - despite the fact that he just spent $6 million to air television and radio commercials introducing himself yet again to the entire state.

“That probably has something to do with the fact that even after five years, three months, and thirty days of running for Governor, Jim McGreevey has yet to offer a plan to reduce property taxes.

“We, on the other hand, spent the bulk of our advertising dollars in the primary campaign advertising directly to likely Republican primary voters, via direct mail. THAT’S why our numbers among Democrats and Independents are where they are -- we simply haven’t yet reached out to them. Once the fall campaign begins in earnest, and Bret communicates directly with Democrats and Independents, we’re going to see the same type of enthusiastic support among Democrats and Independents he generated over the last eight years in Jersey City. Remember, he won overwhelming margins in a city where a majority of residents are minorities, and Democrats outnumber Republicans by ten-to-one.”