(WEST ORANGE, October 2) - GOP gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler today issued the following statement regarding his meeting with representatives of the New Jersey Bipartisan Coalition for Women’s Appointments:

“I met with the New Jersey Bipartisan Coalition for Women’s Appointments at the Rutgers Institute of Politics this afternoon. I’m proud that my record as Jersey City’s Mayor fits perfectly with the Coalition’s mission to increase the presence of women in prominent roles in New Jersey’s government.

“In my administration in Jersey City, fifty percent of my department directors were women, including my Business Administrator, and the Directors of the Departments of Housing, Economic Development & Commerce, Neighborhood Improvement, Health & Human Services, and Recreation and Cultural Affairs,” Schundler said.

City department directors in Jersey City are comparable to State cabinet posts. In fact, the Business Administrator’s post is the highest-ranking cabinet official in Jersey City’s municipal government, second only to the mayor in its statutory power.

“In addition, our two most prominent independent authorities in Jersey City, the Municipal Utilities Authority and the Incinerator Authority, had boards of commissioners chaired by women whom I was proud to appoint.

“This positive, aggressive record of appointing talented and qualified women was not achieved by quotas. It was achieved by building a strong and diverse coalition of governance in Jersey City. The New Jersey Bipartisan Coalition for Women’s Appointments has already begun the process of building a resume bank for the next governor of New Jersey to review for possible State appointments. I look forward to working with the Coalition to achieve our shared goal of appointing more women to prominent positions in State government.

“As Governor, Tom Kean appointed more women to influential government posts than any New Jersey Governor before him. Governor Christie Whitman then broke Governor Kean’s record. As New Jersey’s next Governor and the father of a nine-year old daughter, I want to continue in their tradition, and I look forward to breaking Governor Whitman’s record,” Schundler said.