Rabbi’s Report from the New Jersey Trenches

Aaron Keyak — November 3, 2009 – 2:50 pm | Democrats | Obama | Republicans Comments (0) Add a comment

Rabbi Benjamin G. Kelsen, an NJDC guest blogger and New Jersey Orthodox Rabbi gives the following report “from the Trenches.”

As we get down to the twilight of Election Day 2009, I wanted to share with you my thoughts on this year’s campaign from front lines in the Garden State. Together with June Fischer, Larry Stempler and Rabbi Craig Miller, I have been working tirelessly to promote the cause of the Jewish constituency in New Jersey. Their efforts have been a source of inspiration to me and should be for all of us as to what it means to be involved “on the ground” and “in the trenches.”

As we are all aware, this year’s election is a most important one for New Jersey, and for the country.

The campaign has been grueling and, at times, quite frustrating. I had the distinct pleasure of hearing President Bill Clinton at Rutgers a week ago. I am always struck by his ability to simply stand before a crowd and pull them in. He spelled out in his usual, masterful style, the problems we are facing here in New Jersey: Many people, out of frustration and fear are experiencing a knee-jerk reaction and argue that change in our government is necessary to reverse the tide. While this fear is understandable and shared by so many, President Clinton reminded us that nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, he pointed out, under Governor Jon Corzine’s leadership, New Jersey was the first state in the nation to pass a comprehensive economic recovery and assistance plan. New Jersey is the first state in the Union to start on the road to recovery from the Republican born recession.

And so, while it is certainly true that property taxes may remain too high in New Jersey, Governor Corzine has made considerable strides in easing the burdens faced by our state’s homeowners. The Governor’s leadership has resulted in the lowest rate of increase in nearly a decade - 3.7 percent. Governor Corzine established major structural reforms to ease the property tax burden in New Jersey. He enacted a 4% cap on local tax levies, increased state spending on education, created incentives for municipalities to share services and consolidate where possible, reformed the pension system and created a new state school funding formula. All of this means that under Governor Corzine there has been more direct Property Tax relief than under any other Governor in our history. Period.  This means that Governor Corzine has put over $7 billion directly into the pockets of New Jerseyans.

We all agree, the Governor and Senator Weinberg included, that much more needs to be done, but we should not lose sight of the incredible accomplishments for such a short period of time, and during an economic crisis no less. 

Last week and again yesterday afternoon, I had the honor to hear from President Barack Obama who “fired up” the crowd by reminding us that we should all be so proud to support a man who is absolutely committed to fighting for New Jersey’s families and New Jersey’s future. 

Obama also engaged the crowd in an open and honest conversation examining the facts. As was pointed out previously, there are too many people who are out of work and too many people who are looking for a job. There are too many hardworking families being squeezed by skyrocketing costs on the one side and shrinking wages on the other. Too many seniors are worried about whether they can stay on retirement and young people are worried about whether they will be able to afford a college education. In essence, people are hurting.

But here is the answer: For the past four years, in New Jersey we have had an honorable man at the helm of this state during one of the most difficult periods in its history. A leader who put the interests of New Jersey’s families ahead of the special interests. A leader who has fought for what matters most to the people of New Jersey. So why is this a tight race?

Both President Clinton and President Obama pointed to Governor Corzine’s record as proof positive that there can be no other logical choice. We currently have a governor who has provided more property tax relief than any governor in all of New Jersey’s history and is the first governor in 60 years to actually reduce the size of government. This is someone who has actually done what republican candidates claim they will do, but have not done so.

At the same time, Governor Corzine expanded early childhood education for more than 5,000 children because pre-K is not “babysitting” as his opponent would have us believe. It is my humble belief that Education is the “Silver Bullet”- it must be the cornerstone of any program for economic stimulus and crime reduction. Under Governor Corzine the Children’s Health Insurance Program expanded by nearly 100,000 children. .Kids who did not previously have heath care now have it. New Jersey is now a leader in clean energy and working families can spend time with a newborn baby or a sick loved one because of paid sick leave that has been signed into law by Governor Corzine.

When it comes to the issues that matter most to folks—job creation and economic growth – the Governor has been a true leader, the first governor in this country to pass a recovery plan to get the economy moving again.

Listening to the opposition you would think that New Jersey was the only state in America that has been swept up in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. As the President pointed out, there seems to be some selective memory here about how we got into this fix. But it is not just Teaneck that’s been going through tough times. It is not only New Jersey that’s been going through tough times. Americans in every part of this country have been going through tough times.

I know there are those who may be cynical about politics. I know that there are members of our own community that are skeptical about whether their elected leaders can or will do anything about the problems they face, such as skyrocketing tuition costs. But here is the thing: New Jersey now has a governor who is refusing to go along with business as usual. While he may not always tell us what we want to hear, he tells us what we need to hear. He tells the truth about the challenges we face and he is making every effort to meet them.

Having had the opportunity to speak with him at length, I can attest to the fact that Governor Jon Corzine is a serious man who is serious about solving the problems of New Jersey. We are at one of those rare moments in history where we have the opportunity to change our country for the better. It will not be easy. But together we can do it. We can make the impossible possible; the difficult, easy. But only if we work together.

This is the lesson that I have learned from the last several months.

Comments

There are no comments for this entry