Free Republic

Republicans in New Jersey face an unambiguous choice in next Tuesday's gubernatorial primary between a Republican moderate and a candidate with strident and untested views. Bob Franks is clearly the better qualified of the two. Mr. Franks has shown himself to be a pragmatist with the experience and temperament to carry the party's banner admirably in the November election. What was expected to be an easy victory for Mr. Franks has turned into a bitter, close race with name-calling that threatens to discourage voters from showing up. That would be a big mistake, especially for moderate Republicans. Mr. Franks, a...

Bret D. Schundler, the crusading conservative mayor of Jersey City, soundly defeated former Representative Bob Franks in the Republican primary for governor today, setting up a sharply drawn November contest with James E. McGreevey, the Democrat. Mr. Schundler, an ardent opponent of abortion and a supporter of the rights of gun owners, who promised to lower taxes, cut government spending and take down the tollbooths on the Garden State Parkway, united both fiscal and social conservatives behind his campaign. His wide margin of victory, despite a Republican establishment united behind his opponent, gave the party's conservative wing the upper hand...

Gov. Chris Christie fires N.J. schools chief Bret Schundler Published: Friday, August 27, 2010, 11:23 AM Updated: Friday, August 27, 2010, 11:36 AM Josh Margolin/Statehouse Bureau Josh Margolin/Statehouse Bureau TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie fired state education commissioner Bret Schundler this morning after Schundler refused to resign in the wake of the controversy over the state's loss of up to $400 million in federal school funding, two officials briefed on the situation said. Christie's chief of staff, Richard Bagger, ordered Schundler to turn in his resignation Thursday night after federal officials released a video that appeared to contradict the commissioner's...

The Christie administration is worried that school district chiefs will try to skirt a new salary cap by extending their old contracts. Education Commissioner Bret Schundler told county superintendents to start imposing the cap on new contracts now rather than waiting until the new rules are formally in place. Last week the governor announced that to curb "exorbitant" wages and save taxpayers’ money, no district superintendents should make more than his own $175,000 salary, unless they work in the biggest cities or earn bonuses. Christie said the cap would take effect for superintendents when their individual contracts expired, and the...

Teacher retirements could jump seven-fold, with as many as 30,000 veteran educators exiting before the next school year if the Christie administration alters benefits and pension rules, the NJEA said Thursday. The state teachers union warned of chaos in the classroom and “irreparable damage to every school system in the state” following news that the administration is working out the details of a plan to change the rules for those who receive medical benefits and pensions through the state. School employees and retirees make up the largest group in the system, and Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said it was hoped...

TRENTON — The man once described by teachers’ union leaders as “the antithesis of everything we hold sacred about public education” was chosen to serve as state education commissioner by Governor-elect Christopher J. Christie on Wednesday. The nomination of Bret D. Schundler to the post underscored the governor’s determination to press ahead with his push for school vouchers, more charter schools and merit pay for teachers. It was the first selection by Mr. Christie to suggest even the possibility of a confirmation battle with Democrats, who control both houses of the Legislature. Thus far, the governor-elect has chosen nominees heavy...

If you follow new GOP chief Michael Steele around these days, you can bet you’ll hear him bring up New Jersey’s gubernatorial race this year. He wants that blue state red again. From top to bottom, the GOP is talking about New Jersey. Here at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reminded the crowds that the last time New Jersey had a conservative candidate for governor, he won with 70% of the vote (Tom Kean, 1984). That’s 70% — in New Jersey. After that victory it is inexplicable that New Jersey’s Republican intelligentsia determined...

Businessman Michael Yun remembers what Jersey City, New Jersey, was like in the 1980s. "Like the wild, wild West," he said. The "streets weren't safe" and government was "out of control." Public services failed, businesses left, and corruption was rampant. Abandoned by the outdated railroad industry, it was the anemic neighbor of Manhattan, where feral dogs ran wild in the tall grass by the collapsed railway arteries and hypodermic needles, like seeds, littered the ground just west of the Hudson River. But all that changed in 1992 when Republican Bret Schundler did the impossible. After Mayor Gerald McCann was arrested...

Ex-mayor heads firm for pols, vols Monday, February 12, 2007 By COTTON DELO JERSEY JOURNAL Former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler can add campaign strategist to his list of titles. From his office on Second Street, Schundler, 48, helms People Power America (www.peoplepoweramerica.com), a for-profit business that licenses Internet-based software designed to enable political candidates to better organize their volunteers - largely for phonebanking purposes. . . . See:http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerseycity/index.ssf?/base/news-3/117126415264260.xml&coll=3

Supporting embryonic stem cell research is not only morally misguided but fiscally irresponsible, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler told a cheering crowd of 200 anti-abortion activists who gathered on the Statehouse steps yesterday to blast acting Gov. Richard Codey's $380 million research proposal. Schundler accused Codey of using the moral debate over whether stem cells should be extracted from embryos for potentially life-saving research to distract voters from the price tag. "To come up with that money, what are they going to do, of course? They are going to increase your taxes," Schundler told the crowd. "They have a $2...

Former Gov. Christie Whitman believes the Republican Party is in deep trouble. The GOP, she says, is now where the Democrats were a dozen years ago in Washington when they lost control of the House for the first time in 40 years. President Bush's popularity is at a low ebb and several GOP leaders have been snared in ethics scandals. "We're at a critical point," she said. "We're starting to see polls that look just like the polls looked to Democrats in '94." From a converted hayloft of the barn on her family estate in Oldwick, Whitman works each day...

Corzine Ready To Lower Tax Boom On N.J. CBS 2 Speaks To Upset Residents, Many Hint At Leaving Image Marcia Kramer Reporting (CBS) BERGENFIELD New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine unveils his belt tightening new budget on Tuesday. But even before the announcement, New Jersey taxpayers were expecting the worst. When Corzine voted for himself to become governor of New Jersey he knew that one day he would have to make some difficult and unpopular budget decisions. That day is Tuesday. And already people are lining up to oppose his expected tax hikes. ”It’s utterly ridiculous we have to have the...

Hudson County Fact:After the Clinton political machine hired private investigators to "destroy" Monica Lewinsky for telling the truth, Bret Schundler ran radio ads and issued a press release calling for President Clinton to resign. Demonstrating the cluelessness of the administration, the President's staff invited Schundler to the White House to receive an award and to meet with Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary. Hudson County, New Jersey is a place of many firsts – including genocide and slavery.Political corruption is a tradition here.First issue in a series by Anthony OlszewskiClick HERE to Read Bret Schundler's Review.

To paraphrase the late conservative intellectual Richard Weaver, election results have consequences. The consequences of the off-year 2001 elections will not be limited to the manner in which the victors govern; they will have a national impact as future pretenders to public office ponder their meaning and plan campaigns accordingly. Republicans are likely to draw all the wrong lessons from November 6 and do so at their peril. To review, the GOP lost the governorship in both Virginia and New Jersey while retaining the mayor's office in New York City (the Houston mayoral race will be decided in a runoff)....

A millionaire businessman won New Jersey's Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday and earned the right to face Democratic Sen. Jon Corzine in November — the state's first race for governor since James McGreevey resigned in a gay-sex scandal. Doug Forrester edged former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler after spending millions of his own fortune to finance a campaign that took aim at the state's highest-in-the-nation property taxes. Corzine easily won the Democratic primary after facing only token opposition. With 94 percent of precincts counted, Forrester had 102,417 votes, or 36 percent, to 88,841 votes, or 31 percent, for Schundler in the...

Governor, NJ GOP Primary 6/6/2005 Forrester 43% Schundler 31% Other 22% Undecided 5% Data Collected 6/03/05 - 6/05/05 Geography State of New Jersey Sample Population 612 Likely Voters Margin of Error 4.0% Client WABC-TV New York WCAU-TV Philadelphia Analysis: In a Republican Primary for Governor of New Jersey today, 12 hours before polls open, Douglas Forrester defeats Bret Schundler 43% to 31%, according to final SurveyUSA tracking poll conducted exclusively for WABC-TV New York and WCAU-TV Philadelphia. 22% would vote for one of the other five candidates in the race. 5% are undecided. Since an identical SurveyUSA poll 12 days...

Bret Schundler erases 9 Forrester points in five days! Go Bret Go!!! Everyone vote for Bret tomorrow!! He WILL stop Corzine! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Bill Pascoe June 6, 2005 (908) 379-2738 Q-Poll: Schundler SURGES!!! New Jersey is not for sale Forrester’s smear campaign backfires; tax-hiking, salary-doubling, ‘drunken-sailor-spending’ liberal’s 11-point “lead” collapses to two points in four days (MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ) – Schundler for Governor communications director Bill Pascoe – reacting to the release of a new poll by Quinnipiac University, showing that in the space of just four days, Bret Schundler has surged as Doug Forrester has collapsed – this...

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Doug Forrester should feel flattered. Here's Forrester's property-tax plan as stated on his Web site: "The 30% in 3 Guaranteed Plan will cut property taxes 10 percent the first year, 20 percent the second year and 30 percent in the third and every year going forward." And here's Corzine's plan, just released on his Web site: "Corzine's plan gives direct rebates to homeowners and renters who need them; rebates are guaranteed to grow at least 10% per year for 4 years." Corzine is a lock to win the Democratic nomination for...

Quinnipiac: DEAD HEAT The race for the GOP nomination for New Jersey Governor is too close to call, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released this morning showing Doug Forrester at 35% and Bret Schundler at 33%. Four days ago, a Quinnipiac poll had Forrester ahead by eleven points, 40%-29%. The second horserace is for third place, with John Murphy, Paul DiGaetano and Steve Lonegan all within 2% of each other. Three out of ten voters (31%) say they could still change their minds, while 69% say their decision is final. “No candidate in this race has generated great...

Schundler for Governor 2001 Campaign News Archive Bret Schundler Media Archives Online Video: Bret Schundler Confronts Forrester with the TRUTH! Forrester: Lying AGAIN to New Jersey Republican Voters “I deny all those things,” says tax-hiking, drunken-sailor-spending, salary-doubling liberal (MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ) – Schundler for Governor communications director Bill Pascoe – responding to Doug Forrester’s audacious denial of his tax-hiking, drunken-sailor-spending record while serving in the one elected office he’s ever held – today issued the following statement: “Last week, Doug Forrester said ‘You can call me mistaken. You can call me misinformed. You can even call me a fool. But...