New Jersey Needs Change

Written by: Ken_Balut on Feb 5, 2009 10:03 AM EST

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America, Balut for Governor

For a host of reasons, Jon Corzine should not be re-elected and I believe most Democrats agree with me on that. That means New Jersey needs a Democrat to challenge the former Wall Street CEO, but unfortunately his money has scared away some of the people who we might expect to make this effort.

Just as Barack Obama told America last year, this election is not about me, it is about you. Somebody has to stop the corruption that is hurting every resident of this state. Somebody has to make our tax system fair, assure every child a quality education and keep our community hospitals open. Somebody has to represent the core values of our Democratic Party, the party of the people.

If Jon Corzine will not use his power to do good for the people of New Jersey, then we must nominate someone who will. I will be running a grassroots campaign, the kind for which real Democrats are best known as opposed to the self-funded propaganda methods used by the incumbent.

I do not believe Mr. Corzine's obscene wealth, nor his flagrant use of that Wall Street money to buy the support of special interests and power brokers, should be a primary topic of discussion in this campaign.

Instead, I take exception to Jon Corzine's arrogance, incompetence and dishonesty.

New Jersey needs a governor who understands the needs and concerns of working, middle-class families. New Jersey needs a governor who can get results for the people. New Jersey needs a governor who can resist corruption when the temptation is one of political expedience.

What New Jersey needs to know is how we turn around the economy for millions of middle-class working people; when we are going to do the right thing by fully funding public education; and who has the courage to stand up against organized crime and power brokers that have intruded on our public resources and robbed our tax dollars.

I am asking my supporters to help me gather the required petition signatures and reach the donation threshhold for public financing.

That means collecting 10,000 donations of $34 or 1,000 contributions of $340 or even 100 gifts of the maximum $3,400.

Regardless of amount, I welcome every contribution and realize that it is a sacrifice in these troubled times but if we qualify for public financing, your donation will be tripled! The state will provide $2 for every $1 donated by a New Jersey resident, organization or business and we will have sufficient funds to get our message across to Democrats who care about New Jersey's future.

If we can let Democrats know they have a choice in this election, then we will no longer need to endure a governor who is out of touch with the average person's needs and either incompetent at leading an honest, effective administration in Trenton or simply unwilling to do so.

It may be difficult to accomplish all this, but if you ask me if we are able to make this happen, you know I am going to say:

 "YES WE CAN!"

I want to thank DFA for making this dialogue possible and for helping me connect with many thousands of New Jersey voters who recognize that the arrogance, incompetence and dishonesty exhibited by the incumbent governor requires corrective action by the people.

No Republican is going to be elected governor in New Jersey. The Garden State has not given any statewide GOP candidate 50 percent in the last 20 years!  Today, there are 600,000 more Democrats in New Jersey than there were in 2007.

Unfortunately, no more prominent Democrat has accepted the responsibility to stand up against the multimillionaire incumbent, who was fired from his Wall Street job for being reckless with other people's money. Jon Corzine is still irresponsible with money, as evidenced by his loss of $25 billion from our state pension funds and attempts to borrow $40 billion as part of his toll road scheme, despite the very real corruption that made the School Construction Corporation such a miserable failure.   

Jon Corzine cannot be trusted because he is irresponsible with money. Those of us who believe in democracy know that people have the power to expel arrogant, incompetent and dishonest people like that from government despite their financial advantages.

No amount of campaign spending is going to make Jon Corzine anythign other than an arrogant, incompetent and dishonest politician. With 10,000 individual contributions of just $34, this campaign can qualify for public financing and show New Jersey Democrats that we do have a choice.   

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Location: NJ