Bennett,

Karcher
square off
Two well-known local
politicians running

“There’s been this question of whether I’m a hand-picked candidate, but I was in a real pri­mary. I was picked by the voters.” — Ellen Karcher Marlboro council president

for N.J. Senate seat

BY LARRY RAMER

Staff Writer

Republican state Senate Co-President John O. Bennett and his challenger, Marlboro Township Council President Ellen Karcher, a Democrat, are battling to define each other in the minds of voters.

“I think (Karcher) will end up becom­ing a tool for the McGreevey philosophy of sending moneys from our area ... since her campaign is being financed by the McGreevey ma­chine.” — John O. Bennett Senate co-president

Bennett wants people to think "McGreevey’s friend and follower" when they see the name "Ellen Karcher," while Karcher would like the word "unethical" to pop into voters’ heads when they see the name "John Bennett."

The winner of the Nov. 4 election will represent the 12th Legislative District, which includes Freehold Township, Freehold Borough, Marlboro, Manalapan and Colts Neck, in the state Senate for a four-year term.

Karcher and Bennett met separately with the News Transcript to discuss the election.

"I think (Karcher) will end up becoming a tool for the (Gov. James) McGreevey philosophy of sending moneys from our area and putting them in cities like Camden and Newark, since her campaign is being financed by the McGreevey machine and the (Democratic) state committee," Bennett said.

Bennett sharply criticized McGreevey for cutting funds for property tax relief. He said he has fought strenuously against these policies.

Recent published reports have indicated that Karcher’s campaign has received hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign contributions from committees connected to the Democratic Party.

Bennett’s campaign manager Conor Fennessy said Democrats are attempting to defeat Bennett because of his criticism of McGreevey’s policies and his status as the state’s highest ranking elected Republican.

Asked about her so-called ties to McGreevey, Karcher responded, "There’s been this question of whether I’m a hand-picked candidate, but I was in a real primary. I was picked by the voters. I wasn’t picked by one person in particular."

As for questions about the source of her campaign contributions, Karcher said, "I’ve enjoyed contributions from all over. I wouldn’t say there’s any large group (providing campaign contributions) that indicates allegiance to x, y or z."

Karcher was asked whether, at the governor’s prodding, she could support a state budget that would contain an additional $1 billion in aid for Camden while keeping state aid to suburban school districts stable. The candidate declined to answer the question directly, saying it oversimplified matters.

"I think [the question] was put in simplistic terms. That’s not enough information," Karcher replied. "I will be elected to represent the interests of the people of the 12th District and I will have to answer to the people of the district and my own conscience."

Meanwhile, ethical questions surrounding Bennett have been well-documented in recent months. Bennett has admitted to double-billing Marlboro for $8,130 when he was the town’s municipal attorney. He said he has refunded the money to the town.

Karcher also said Bennett overcharged Marlboro when he took on a project to recodify its municipal ordinances. Bennett charged Marlboro more than $100,000 for the recodification project, which was not completed after seven years.

Now, Karcher said, the town has found a firm that will complete the recodification project in one year for about $25,000. She has called on Bennett to pay the town the difference between the two fees.

In various advertisements, Karcher has noted that the FBI is investigating Bennett’s activities as Marlboro’s township attorney.

In general, Karcher contended, Bennett has been more interested in helping himself than in solving the state’s problems.

"All of the time he’s been in office, Bennett has been using his office to make sure he has jobs. He hasn’t used his office to address the problems" in the state," said Karcher.

Bennett said the firm Marlboro has hired to undertake the recodification project will not be performing the same work he was hired to perform. He said his project involved recreating ordinance forms, while the new firm hired by Marlboro will just use existing forms to update ordinances. According to Bennett, he was close to finishing the project when the Township Council decided to move in a different direction.

Asked why people should vote for him when he is under investigation by the FBI, Bennett responded by saying that his law firm, not he, is being investigated by the FBI. He noted that the FBI is conducting several investigations of people connected with the McGreevey administration.

"She (Karcher) is very selective when it comes to [talking about] FBI investigations," Bennett said, noting that Karcher has never discussed the investigations of the McGreevey administration.

The senator added that the law firm of DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick, Cole and Wisler, the town’s current municipal attorney, is on track to collect more money from Marlboro than his firm ever earned from the town. DeCotiis is collecting fees at an annual rate of $600,000, the senator said. Bennett noted that the most his firm ever earned from Marlboro in a year, including litigation, was $300,000. He said the DeCotiis firm has made substantial contributions to Karcher’s campaign.

Karcher confirmed that she has received campaign contributions from DeCotiis. She explained that a portion of the fees received by the law firm went to pay DeCotiis for working to handle some of the litigation that Bennett’s firm had left unresolved. DeCotiis also was compensated for the time it spent studyingthe town’s legal affairs, Karcher added.

In July, Karcher voted to increase the township’s budget for legal representation by $350,000. In August, she voted to increase the cap on the law firm’s fees for negotiating a land purchase by $20,000.

In addition to attacking one another, both candidates cited accomplishments and ideas that they hope will entice voters to pull their respective lever on Election Day.

Karcher said she supports holding a constitutional convention to reform property taxes in New Jersey.

"Both revenues and expenditures should be looked at" in the convention, said Karcher, who added that she would support a proposal by such a convention to lower property taxes while raising sales and/or income taxes. "That’s the beauty of a constitutional convention ... you can be bold in airing different solutions and arrive at a solution that is workable for everyone."

During a meeting with the News Transcript earlier this year, Bennett said he would support a constitutional convention aimed at reforming the property tax system if the legislation calling for such a convention left all options on the table. He said legislation that called for a convention this year only provided an option for more taxes without examining spending. Bennett said that is why he did not support the most recent call for a constitutional convention.

On the issue of continuing residential development, Karcher said that if she is elected to the Senate she would work to give municipalities tools "to fight aggressive developers and promote balanced development." One such tool is a build-out analysis, or a template that outlines how towns should look after all development has been completed, Karcher explained. Towns should also conduct environmental resource inventories and use them to aid in long-term planning, Karcher added.

The Democratic candidate has also developed a five-point ethics reform plan which would, among other things, ban public officeholders from accepting no-bid contracts in the state and any contracts in their districts. Under the plan, people would also be banned from holding more than one public office.

Karcher added that during her two-year tenure as a Marlboro councilwoman, the Township Council has kept the municipal tax rate stable while continuing to provide a high level of services, such as street paving. In addition, the township has purchased open space for the first time during her tenure on the council, the Democrat said.

For his part, Bennett said he has been very successful in obtaining state funds for police departments, school districts and transportation infrastructure in the area.

"Over the years I’ve been able to speak out for the district and, certainly as Senate president and majority leader, I’ve been able to bring significant (state) moneys back to the district. As Senate president I’m certainly in a better posi­tion than any freshman legislator" to ob­tain state funds for the district, the sena­tor said.

For example, Bennett said he had helped direct $4.4 million in state school construction subsidies to Colts Neck when the school district built a new ele­mentary school. Freehold Township re­ceived more than $12.5 million for reha­bilitation and additions to schools there, the senator added. Freehold Borough was granted $2.5 million in state funds for the rehabilitation of the Park Avenue Elementary School and the Freehold Learning Center elementary school, Bennett added.

"If the towns had to pay this money instead of the state, the cost would have to be passed on to residents in property taxes," Bennett said.

The senator added that he had ob­tained $50,000 for the Manalapan Police Department, $300,000 for the Freehold Township Police Department and $100,000 for the Marlboro Police Department over the last three years. These funds were used to buy equipment. The senator said Freehold Borough re­ceived money to pay for additional assets for its police department and to improve its Little League complex.

Bennett added that he had been very active in obtaining state funds to subsi­dize open space purchases by local towns in order to help control residential devel­opment.

Bennett has been a state senator since 1989. Before becoming a senator, he served five two-year terms in the state Assembly.