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TagsThe politically influential New Jersey Education Association, which represents 200,000 public school teachers and staff, has endorsed 70 of the 160 Democratic and Republican candidates for the Assembly and 1 candidate for the state Senate in the Nov. 3 election.
The union is supporting 45 Democrats and 26 Republicans. Its 125-member selection committee made the endorsements for candidates in 37 of the 40 legislative districts.
"This is a critical election for public education in New Jersey," said NJEA President Joyce Powell. "NJEA is pleased to support candidates from both sides of the aisle who share a common commitment to quality public education."
Last month, the union endorsed Gov. Jon Corzine for re-election, citing his support for the state's public schools in the midst of the current economic crisis. Powell said Corzine and his running mate, Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) are advocates for children and public education.
"Now more than ever, New Jersey must continue to invest in quality public education," Powell said. "In good and bad economic times, public schools are a leading indicator of how well local and state economies perform. In New Jersey, we've made a major investment in our public schools, and that investment has paid off. We lead the nation with the best high school graduation rate and our public schools are among the best in the nation in preparing students for higher education. NJEA is committed to supporting pro-public education legislators who will help maintain our successes."The endorsement committee voted on the recommendations of local interview teams from each legislative district.
Here are the candidates endorsed by the union:
- LD 1 - Nelson Albano (D) and Matthew Milam (D)
- LD 2 - John F. Amodeo (R) and Vincent J. Polistina (R)
- LD 3 - John J. Burzichelli (D) and Celeste M. Riley (D)
- LD 4 - Paul Moriarty (D) and William Collins (D)
- LD 5 9 3 Joe Roberts (D) and Angel Fuentes (D)
- LD 6 - Senate: James Beach (D); Assembly: Louis D. Greenwald (D) and Pamela R. Lampitt (D)
- LD 7 - Herb Conaway (D) and Jack Conners (D)
- LD 8 - Dawn Marie Addiego (R) and Scott Rudder (R)
- LD 9 - Brian E. Rumpf (R) and Robert E. Rue (D)
- LD 10 - David W. Wolfe (R) and Jim Holzapfel (R)
- LD 11 - David P. Rible (R) and Mary Pat Angelini (R)
- LD 12 - No endorsements
- LD 13 - Samuel D. Thompson (R) and Amy H. Handlin (R)
- LD 14 - Linda R. Greenstein (D) and Wayne P. DeAngelo (D)
- LD 15 - Reed Gusciora (D) and Bonnie W atson Coleman (D)
- LD 16 - Peter J. Biondi (R) and Denise M. Coyle (R)
- LD 17 - Joseph V. Egan (D) and Upendra J. Chivukula (D)
- LD 18 - Patrick J. Diegnan, Jr. (D) and Peter J. Barnes (D)
- LD 19 - John S. Wisniewski (D)
- LD 20 - Joseph Cryan (D) and Annette Quijano (D)
- LD 21 - Jon Bramnick (R) and Nancy F. Munoz (R)
- LD 22 - Gerald "Jerry" Green (D) and Linda Stender (D)
- LD 23 - Senate: No endorsement; Assembly: John DiMaio (R)
- LD 24 - No endorsements
- LD 25 - Anthony Bucco (R)
- LD 26 - Alex DeCroce (R)
- LD 27 - John F. McKeon (D) and Mila M. Jasey (D)
- LD 28 - Cleopatra G. Tucker (D) and Ralph R. Caputo (D)
- LD 29 - L. Grace Spencer (D) and Albert Coutinho (D)
- LD 30 - Joseph R. Malone, III (R) and Ronald S. Dancer (R)
- LD 31 - Anthony Chiappone (D) and Charles Mainor (D)
- LD 32 - Joan Quigley (D) and Vincent Prieto (D)
- LD 33 - Ruben J. Ramos, Jr. (D) and Caridad Rodriguez (D)
- LD 34 - Thomas P. Giblin (D) and Sheila Y. Oliver (D)
- LD 35 - Nellie Pou (D) and Elease Evans (D)
- LD 36 - Endorsements to be decided at a later date
- LD 37 - Gordon M. Johnson (D) and Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D)
- LD 38 - Connie Wagner (D) and Joan M. Voss (D)
- LD 39 - Charlotte Vandervalk (R) and Robert Schroeder (R)
- LD 40 - David C. Russo (R) and Scott T. Rumana (R)
— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM