Forrester aims to improve New Jersey’s reputation.
By: Emily Craighead
WEST WINDSOR As chairman of the "War of the Worlds" 50th anniversary celebrations, former mayor Doug Forrester sought to free Grovers Mill residents from the country bumpkin stigma the radio broadcast left.
"The story had been told that this was an example of the rural folk being scared of something and everybody laughed at them," Mr. Forrester said. "So when I became chairman of the celebration, one of the things I wanted to do was make sure we set the record straight, that West Windsor had every reason to be proud of this unique piece of Americana."
Now, as the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Mr. Forrester says he plans to spruce up the entire state’s reputation if he is elected.
"I used to travel a lot on business and go to a conference and people would say, ‘Doug where are you from?’ I would say New Jersey and they would say, ‘I really want to move there,’ or some sarcastic sort of response," he said. "I just got tired of it."
During an interview at his campaign headquarters in an Emmons Drive office building Monday, Mr. Forrester stressed making New Jerseyans proud of their state.
He said this will happen only when the state has a "government as good as its people," as he puts it in his campaign slogan.
"Other states don’t have the same balance I think New Jersey can offer. It’s an exciting place to be and I’m sick of it getting short shrift because of the misbehavior," he said.
Asked how he would describe West Windsor’s place in New Jersey, Mr. Forrester said the township, in its struggle to define itself amid rapid development, mirrors New Jersey’s attempts to assert itself in the region.
"One of the interesting parallels is West Windsor has struggled in ways that some other towns haven’t, with regard to the way in which it developed with identities that were separate," he said. "There has been this lack of cohesiveness, because of the historical origins of the town. There’s this tendency to identify with Princeton that is so strong that sometimes militates against a clear identity of what West Windsor is.
"New Jersey has likewise battled those kinds of things," he continued. "There’s this New York or Philadelphia identification that goes way back."
Mr. Forrester ran a successful primary race in which he reportedly spent $9 million of his own money to win the Republican nomination ahead of Bret Schundler and five other candidates. His platform includes a crusade against corruption in state government and cutting property taxes by 30 percent over three years.
Now, he is gearing up for the long road to the general election in November, facing U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee.
"The stress of meeting and greeting was something that characterized the primary," he said. His schedule included talking with commuters at train stations every morning at 5 a.m.
"Now we’re dealing more with organizational issues and kind of retooling a little bit for the general election," he said. "The message will be the same, but we’re going to have to develop lines of communication to different parts of the electorate."
Mr. Forrester’s career in local politics began when he was appointed to the West Windsor Township Committee in 1979 to fill an unexpired term. He was elected to a full term in 1980 and served as mayor in 1981 and 1982.
That experience, he said, taught him what democracy is all about.
"I think that the title of mayor of a town is, in a very real sense, the most important of all political titles," he said. "I think it’s more important than governor or senator, because the mayor is the one who gets the call at 5 a.m. from somebody who’s unhappy about something. Or if you run into them at the local grocery store, they’ll give you an earful about what’s going on with leaf pickup or a new development."
For that reason, and because of a growing cynicism he senses among the public, Mr. Forrester said he believes local politicians today face a weightier task than he did.
"We certainly had our conflicts back then, but there was a greater commitment to the well-being of the town," he said. "We built a sewer system. It was really that time of transition from West Windsor being very rural to being suburban.
"I’m very proud of the people I served with in West Windsor at that time. We didn’t have too much partisan squabbling. I think it’s much harder now to serve."
In 1982, Gov. Thomas Kean appointed Mr. Forrester assistant state treasurer. In 1984, he became pensions director in the state Department of the Treasury.
He founded Benecard Services Inc. in 1990 and still presides over the company, which offers prescription benefit and vision care programs.
On the campaign trail, Mr. Forrester sells himself as a conservative businessman.
"When I talk about conservative businessman, I’m talking principally about making sure that we use best practices of the business community to protect the administration of public money, make sure it’s not wasted, make sure it’s not stolen, make sure it gets to the people who deserve it," he said. "And also to make sure that we are able to manage the interface between businesses and government in a way that encourages business development."
He said New Jersey suffers now because most businesses view the state as hostile to their interests.
Before he went into politics and business, Mr. Forrester contemplated becoming a minister and earned a master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary.
Although he chose not to pursue that career, he said what he learned during that period of his life has shaped the way he deals with people.
"The kinds of values that are born from religious soil are essentially what makes us human beings," Mr. Forrester said. "It’s important to tread softly when we engage others about deeply seated beliefs. We need to have a respect but we can have disagreements.
"I like to have a database from which to speak about these things. Without good information of what theology is about, what philosophy is about, what comparative religion is about, it’s harder to appreciate the diversity of humanity," he continued.
Mr. Forrester will likely need that insight into human nature as the election campaigns heat up through the summer months and into the fall.