(WEST ORANGE, OCTOBER 29)- Schundler for Governor campaign manager Bill Pascoe issued the following statement in response to the deluge of ugly ads being run on TV and radio by Jim McGreevey:

“Desperate candidates do desperate things, and as the polls show the gap continuing to narrow, Jim McGreevey is going ugly late. At yesterday’s debate during Gabe Pressman’s ‘News Forum,’ Jim McGreevey said he hoped to run a ‘civil, decent, and thoughtful campaign,’ and ‘engage in a civil dialogue on the issues of importance to the voters of New Jersey.’ What a crock! Jim McGreevey running a ‘civil, decent’ campaign is about as likely as Jim McGreevey not raising taxes. Take a look at the type of commercials this tax-hiking, special-interest-catering-to, party-boss-answering pol is running on the airways:

“Jim McGreevey is running a radio ad that falsely claims that Bret Schundler doesn’t have a plan to cut property taxes for seniors by fifty percent, and that Bret is engaging telemarketing fraud. The Star-Ledger has labeled these ads ‘misleading.’

“Jim McGreevey is also running radio and TV ads claiming that Bret Schundler ‘made a deal with the gun lobby’ to liberalize New Jersey’s gun laws, even though the New York Times reported that Bret REFUSED to make any such commitment to the NRA. McGreevey cites Gabe Pressman’s ‘News Forum’ as his source for this bogus claim, even though the transcript of Bret’s appearance on the show contains no such evidence.

“Now, to add insult to injury, Jim McGreevey is running a new radio ad that claims Bret Schundler unethically lowered the assessment on his own home while mayor of Jersey City. This myth was debunked during the June Republican primary. Bret and Lynn Schundler bought their home in Jersey City for less than its assessed value. According to State law, Bret and Lynn were legally entitled to receive a decrease in their assessment. And by the way, the Hudson County Board of Taxation made this assessment reduction, not the City of Jersey City.

“So where is the ‘civil dialogue on the issues’ that Jim McGreevey claims he wants to have with the voters of New Jersey? Don’t hold your breath. Since he doesn’t have any governing agenda of his own - other than a massive tax hike to pay for the 62 new government programs he has proposed - Jim McGreevey can’t give New Jersey voters a single positive reason to vote for him.

“In the last eight days of this campaign, New Jersey voters will continue to reject Jim McGreevey’s ugly attack ads and they will continue to reject his tax-raising record. On November 6, New Jersey voters will embrace Bret Schundler’s call to cut taxes to strengthen our economy, reform our schools, and put power back into the hands of the people.”