BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer
Voters in the Fourth Congressional District, which includes Howell, Jackson, Plumsted and Lakewood, will be asked to choose between an earnest young Democratic idealist eager to show what she can do and a seasoned and respected Republican Congressman who voters have seen fit to return to office for more than 20 years.
Democrat Amy Vasquez is challenging Republican Congressman Chris Smith, who is seeking his 13th two-year term.
Vasquez, 35, is hoping her youth will be judged by voters proportionate to the determination and dedication she has already demonstrated as a former special education teacher and later as a children’s advocate attorney representing children’s rights in family court.
Vasquez said her Democratic Party bona fides were established starting back in school when she worked in the campaign of California Sen. Barbara Boxer, going on later to take an active role in the presidential campaign of Al Gore, as well as Rush Holt’s Congressional campaign.
Smith, who serves as chairman of the Veteran Affairs Committee, said he has authored hundreds of bills that have helped military veterans by providing hundreds of millions of dollars for everything from health care to business loans for veterans looking to start a business.
Smith said he is equally proud of legislation he sponsored that is known as the Violence Against Women Act, which provided $3.2 million for providing shelter and services to abused women and their children.
He said he has achieved the level of success he has by working in a bipartisan manner.
“I believe in building coalitions. That’s how you get things done,” he said.
Smith said he believes his strength in working with constituents is due to the fact that he is strong on overseeing the implementation of any legislation he authors.
“If you make a law, you want to know it’s working out right,” he said.
Vasquez, who is pro-choice on the abortion issue, said Smith, who is chairman of the Pro-Life Caucus, an anti-abortion faction, “does not reflect the majority of voters who don’t want to see a women’s right to choose taken away.”
“He has become a career politician and because of that is really failing New Jersey,” Vasquez said.
Vasquez said Smith failed to secure the proper federal homeland security grant money necessary to keep New Jersey safe in the event of a terrorist attack.
According to Vasquez, New Jersey is 29th on the federal funding scale.
Smith said Vasquez is erroneous in her statement regarding the homeland security funding because it is based on a per capita allowance and not on what he said is the more accurate formula of “threat assessment.”
According to Smith, New Jersey actually ranks eighth in the nation for federal homeland security funds received according to the determination of threat assessment.
In judging his own record, Smith said, “I believe I have been a successful lawmaker who has enacted laws with depth.”