New Jersey's Democrats
by Jennifer Figueroa

New Jersey Demoratic Party Agenda            New Jersey, the nation's ninth most populous state, is very similar in political makeup to New York.  Although the governor, Christine Todd Whitman, is a Republican, New Jersey's senators Frank Lautenburg and Bob Toricelli, are both Democrats.  Nevertheless, the majority in the two houses of state legislature known as the senate and the general assembly is Republican.  The leading industries of this state, admitted to the Union in 1787, are service industries, manufacturing, and wholesale trade.  New Jersey pharmaceutical companies also lead the nation in sophisticated research.   Much of what used to be known as oil tank farms, vegetable fields, and swampland are now tourist attractions such as Great Adventure,some of the largest gambling casinos in the world, and sports complexes like the Continental Airlines Arena, formerly known as  the Meadowlands.               In the last twenty years, the population of New Jersey has changed.  There is a rapidly growing Latino population, Puerto Rican being the largest.  By the year 2025, it is projected that the Latino population in New Jersey will surpass that of the black population by about 100,000.  Therefore, the minority vote in New Jersey is many times crucial to swaying the vote from one direction to the other.              There are however, party agendas, or party principles which each political party adheres to.  In order to arrive at these party principles, New Jersey Democrats referred to the founder of the Democratic Party, Thomas Jefferson, and realized that the party principles of the nineteenth century have resurfaced throughout its long history.  Some issues of the Democratic Party in New Jersey deal with the economy, taxation, education, the environment, public safety, and a revival of family values.              In terms of economic growth, the Democratic Party stands for the encouragement of a healthy business climate in New Jersey.  They stand to support programs which will support programs and legislation which will enhance the quality of life and oppose schemes which will deprive New Jersians a decent standard of living.  The government should be responsible to create the most responsible work force by improving the school system and providing the adequate job training opportunities.  The Demorats in New Jersey also feel that it is their responsibility to give the constituency on public assistance more of an incentive to work, than to remain on welfare.  They also feel that it is the government's responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace, and to play an active role in job creation.             New Jersey Democrats also believe that it is their role to cast a critical eye over government expenditures.   Under the Democratic Administration in New Jersey, the state work force has been cut down adequately to eliminate unnecessary spending.  Democratic mayors in New Jersey have also adhered to this role by saving taxpayers more money by running a more efficient government.  Administrative expenses should be cut by eliminating unnecessary jobs and costs.  The Democrats criticize the previous Republican Administration for penalizing schools for the cost of buying library books.            As of 1996 statistics, New Jersey middle class residents pay a much higher share of thieir income in taxes than the upper class.  A family earning $35,000 pays 11.3% of their income in state taxes while a family earning $250,000 pays only 8.3%.  The Democrats are heeding the message from their constituency.  They believe that the tax burden should be lower and that the first tax which should be cut is the unfair property taxes New Jersey residents have pay.  Their goal is to freeze property taxes overall and reduce the reliance on property taxes to fund public education.            New Jersey Democrats, heeding the message of their founding father Thomas Jefferson, strongly believe that the generation has the right to financially burden the next.  Therefore, today's youth should not have to be burdened with debt, or borrowing in excess. NJ Democrats are opposed to Republican borrow-and-spend techniques.  They  are in favor of a balanced budget, but to do this, they need the consent of the Republicans as well.  Governor Whitman has piled up $4 billion of new taxes on the next generation of taxpayers by spending money that belonged to long term trust funds.  They urge Governor Whitman's Administration to allow the nonpartisan Office of Legislative services recommend an appropriate schedule of contributions to the state pension fund and permissible withdrawls from other trust funds.            Thomas Jefferson has been credited to be the founder of the public school system in the United States.  Today, however, Republicans have been more hostile towards public education.  Washington Republicans want to cut school lunch programs and tuition grants, and Trenton Republicans have gone so far as to financially penalize top-preforming schools.  The Republicans must be proved wrong.  Investments into the public schools is not a one-way system, it is reciprocal.  For every tax dollar invested in education, there is a child in New Jersey receiving a quality education.  Once that child grows up, he or she will be an active member of the workforce, one which has been adequately prepared and educated.   Teachers should develop more stringent peer reviews to ensure that tenure serves the purpose of protectiong teachers from political pressure. New Jersey teachers should be screened on a regular basis to rate their performance.  The state cannot afford to have teachers who are burned-out or incompetent.            Today, the Democrats continue to support investments in infrastructure, which Republicans often want to repeal.  Democrats support job training, efficient transportation, and public funding of the arts.  Republicans, on the other hand, oppose all of these basic necessary investments.  Republicans see job training as an additional unnecessary expense in the budget. They see funding for public transportation as a burden and have gone so far as to slash funding for Amtrak and other mass transit, therefore being unfair to the New Jersians who go to work everyday in New York City or Philadelphia.  Republicans have also made it more difficult to own a car in New Jersey with such high insurance rates.  Republicans have also gone so far as to slash funding for the arts and to censor the arts.  If left up to the Republicans, New Jersey would be a dull, uneducated state with residents that do not have means to go anywhere.            New Jersey Democrats are strong believers in protecting the environment.  They are the leaders in protecting the air the water, the land, and our open air spaces.  They are proud of their efforts to stop ocean dumping and end beach closings.   New Jersey beaches are among the best maintained in the northeast, and their boardwalks are tourist attractions  for all ages.  Democrats in New Jersey have stood firm in the fight to get assault weapons of the streets and have passed a Crime Bill to put 100,000 new cops on the streets and adopt efficient crime prevention methods.  Trenton Democrats have passed some of  the toughest gun control laws in the nation, toughening penalties for carjacking and auto theft, and building 10,000 new prison spaces.            Today, there is a need for moral renewal in the state and in the nation.  There is a need to restore the bond of family, the spirit of the community, and the virtue of public service.  New Jersey Democrats support Bill Bradley in his statement that parental responsibility is for both men and women, not just women.  Unwed parents should not be allowed to go without supporting their children.  By garnishing the father's check for 15% of his wages for 18 years, many young men may think twice before acting.  Fatherhood is a lifelong commitment which takes time and money.  The schools are also responsible for educating the youth on the difficulties of single parenthood.  Democrats also promote community service.  They call for more dialogue, more constituent participation, more neighborliness, and more civic-mindedness.  They have also noticed a decline in participation in the last few elections.  The Democrats call for a bipartisan conference to propose reform for the real reform of campaign finance and lobbying.  Democrats feel money should matter less in campaigns than it does.  They are in favor of free airtime for candidates to get their message across, and for the discouragement of negative advertisements and character assassination.  The Democratic party believes in legislating morality in its own house, not in private conduct of individuals.  Therefore, they support the freedom of choice with respect to reproductive decisions.            The Democrats in New Jersey feel strongly about being a government for the people.  Therefore, they encourage everyone to devote some of their time to public service.  They want to be able to serve the constituence in the ways they deem necessary.  "We pledge to redouble our efforts to listen to New Jerseyans and to serve them well."