PRINCETON PACKET EDITORIAL
Voters in the 14th legislative district, which includes West Windsor and Plainsboro, need to keep two things in mind when they walk into the voting booths on Nov. 6: their property-tax bills and the state’s reputation as an ethical cesspool.
Reforming the state’s tax and budget process and cleaning up government are the most important issues facing the state, and the candidates most willing to think outside the box on these issues and make tough decisions are the ones who deserve support. That’s why we are endorsing Bill Baroni for state Senate and Linda Greenstein and Adam Bushman for state Assembly.
Baroni for state Senate
Endorsing Bill Baroni was an easy decision.
The Republican, who has served in the state Assembly for four years, has proven himself to be an independent force for reform in state government who is willing to buck his party and work across the aisle if it will mean making things better for residents of the 14th District and the rest of the state.
Mr. Baroni has been a leader in the fight against corruption, pushing for a statewide ban on pay-to-play while reaching across the aisle to help ensure that the state’s clean elections experiment would continue this year.
He also is honest about the difficulties that tax reform will entail. He acknowledges that the state must move away from local taxation to a broader-based tax if it is to address concerns about property taxes without hamstringing local schools.
We do not agree with Mr. Baroni on everything but his knowledge of the issues, his commitment to the district and his independent streak cannot be questioned.
Greenstein, Bushman for Assembly
Linda Greenstein deserves another two years in the Assembly.
The Plainsboro Democrat, who was first elected in 1999, has been a leader on election reform, writing the state’s first clean elections law for the 2005 election and then co-authoring a revised version in use this year.
She also acknowledges that the 20 percent credit passed earlier this year was nothing more than a stop-gap measure and wants to see greater reform, saying that it maybe time to turn the tax-reform process over to a citizens’ convention.
Our chief criticism of Ms. Greenstein is that she too often defers to the leadership and she can be too cautious on legislation that might be seen as controversial. But she has been an effective legislator and voters should have no reservations about sending her back to Trenton.
Mr. Bushman, a Jamesburg Republican, wins our endorsement because he understands that the state’s tax crisis is not just about cutting some spending, but about creating more efficient government at all levels and finding new ways to raise and distribute money. Like Mr. Baroni, he believes we need a broad-based tax to fund education, and is calling for increased state aid that would follow students so that all schools, regardless of geography, get the funding they need. He will make a fine addition to the Assembly.
