SOUTH BRUNSWICK: Independent runs for governor

By Davy James, The Packet Group
   SOUTH BRUNSWICK — David Brown believes 100 new ideas can change the entire financial landscape of New Jersey. It is on that platform that Mr. Brown recently launched his campaign to become governor of New Jersey.
   ”I didn’t anticipate six weeks ago that I was planning on running,” Mr. Brown said. “I’m an inventor, that’s what I like to do. Invent and come up with new ideas.”
   The 1991 graduate of Richard Stockton College was inducted into the New Jersey Institute of Technology Hall of Fame for one of his inventions in 2001. He is a businessman by trade earning his living publishing yellow-page phone books and renting out his family’s real estate investments. He has two children who attend school in the district and has lived in South Brunswick for the last four years.
   A few months ago he said he came up with an idea for a prepaid E-ZPass card that would function much like a prepaid calling card. Off that idea he realized the key to digging the state out of a financial hole.
   ”If we could come up with 100 new ideas for the state that are cost effective, easy to implement and would generate millions of dollars, then we give ourselves the ability to lower the taxes and make the cost of living go down in this state,” Mr. Brown said. “Once you come up with ideas, then other people start coming up with ideas and you can generate millions.”
   Another of Mr. Brown’s ideas is a paid membership people can buy to use toll-roads from employee-only entrances to rest stops on the N.J. Turnpike. Local residents within a certain radius of the entrances would save money on commuting by cutting down on the mileage they travel, he said.
   Mr. Brown would also like to see Atlantic City compete with Las Vegas by allowing sports betting. He also said that instead of tearing down Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands — which is being razed to build a new home for the New York Giants and Jets — he would like to see the arena converted into a casino.
   ”It’s a unique concept where we would keep the turf on the stadium floor and put a dome on the building or a lower roof to make it into a gambling facility,” Mr. Brown said. “We’d save money by not knocking down the stadium and throwing it away. It’s an exciting and fun project for the state.”
   Mr. Brown said he envisions the complex to be much like the Rogers Center in Toronto, Canada, with a hotel connected to it. He said he’d like to work closely with casino owners in Atlantic City on the plan to come up with a profit-sharing agreement.
   Mr. Brown, who is a registered independent with no previous political background, is hoping to win the Republican nomination because he said that is his best chance of defeating current Gov. Jon Corzine.
   ”Ideas are the main thing I do,” he said. “Coming up with new ideas for the state is really important right now with the way things are going in this economy. Corzine is a respected businessman but his philosophy is much different than mine. His philosophy is to make cuts and lay off workers to save money. My philosophy is to come up with new ideas that generate lots of money and give us the ability to lower everyone’s property taxes.”
   Mr. Brown said he anticipates lowering property taxes by 25 percent over four years if he is elected. He said the country is suffering from a stagnation of new ideas over the last decade. He would also like to make it easier for small businesses to get started and succeed.
   ”If you apply to the Small Business Administration for startup money, they’ll tell you that you need a two-year business history for them to consider loaning you money,” Mr. Brown said. “That’s a problem. We need to have a more direct streamline for small businesses and startup companies.”
   Mr. Brown said the creation of new ideas will hold the key to the state’s financial future.
   ”Some ideas are not my own but if it’s a good idea then I would like to promote it,” he said.
   Mr. Brown has started a hotline and a Web site for people to leave their ideas and to view some money generating ideas that have already been thought of.
   ”New Jersey is a great place to live but people are getting discouraged,” he said. “I have a business philosophy that I’ll be using to improve every individual’s life in this state including my own. I’m new to politics but I’m not new to business. We need to re-evaluate and redirect that philosophy to the political world. I realize I’m climbing Mount Everest here, but I’m trying to explain my ideas to everybody in the state so they can make a decision on who would be best to serve them as governor in the future.”
   Mr. Brown’s idea hotline number is 732-960-1501. His Web site is www.governorbrownbear.com.