New Jersey – Corzine Backers Angling for The Orthodox Vote

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    New Jersey – The Democrats’ outreach to Jews in the New Jersey gubernatorial race came into focus this week as the National Jewish Democratic Council began a special focus on Bergen County and its large Orthodox population.

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    “We are really focusing hard on northern New Jersey, especially Bergen County,” said Linda Berg, NJDC’s political director. “I really can’t give you a sense of how much we are spending. Our members are busy raising money. We have an ad campaign, and we will be doing direct mail, but we don’t like to disclose numbers,” she said.

    With an estimated 100,000 Jews — 15,000 of them in the Orthodox community — Bergen has a higher concentration of Jewish voters than any other county in the state.

    “We feel there are a lot of Jews there, and we want to make sure we don’t have a fallout of the Democratic vote in a place where there is a big concentration of voters,” Berg said.

    She is dispatching organizers “who are going to events where Jewish voters gather” and “doing phone-banking on issues to get out the Jewish vote.”

    “We are targeting Orthodox voters,” Berg said. “We have a few Orthodox rabbis who work with us very closely. We have people in New Jersey who know how to talk to the Orthodox vote.”

    Robert Yudin, who chairs the Bergen County Republican Organization, said the Democrats “should be worried about the Jewish vote. There is a very big uneasiness about the direction the Democratic Party is going, relative to the Middle East,” he told NJ Jewish News. “When you couple it with the absolute corruption going on in Bergen County, there is an uneasiness, and you are going to see a larger percentage of Jews voting Republican than in past years.”

    Yudin said he believes the Orthodox community “is overwhelmingly going to vote Republican” because “they are furious with Obama over Israel. As far as the rest of the Jewish community, most of them will probably vote Democratic, but I suspect we’re going to see more of the Jewish community voting Republican than have in past years.”

    Unlike Corzine or independent candidate Christopher Daggett, Republican candidate Chris Christie supports vouchers and tax credits for families who send their children to parochial schools, an issue that resonates with many Orthodox voters.
    Supporting special ed

    In its outreach to the Orthodox, Corzine’s Jewish supporters are stressing special education funding.

    The governor has been a huge proponent of providing aid for students in need of special education, said Summit attorney Jill LaZare, who has been hired by NJDC to coordinate Jewish outreach in north Jersey. And, she added, “special education is of supreme importance to the Orthodox community,” she said.

    Batya Jacob, who serves as associate director of the Orthodox Union’s NJ Association of Jewish Day Schools, agreed. “We have many, many students who need additional help and services they are not getting in a regular classroom,” she told NJJN.

    Jacob, who is a member of the Non-Public School Advisory Committee of the State Department of Education, said Orthodox families are looking to Trenton for assistance.

    “Is the governor cutting special ed for nonpublic schools? Not completely. But he is not necessarily supporting it,” she said. “I don’t want to sound partisan or totally anti-Corzine. I think some things he is doing are good. But in Trenton, it seems like the nonpublic school budget is being reduced and cut, and it doesn’t seem like there are a lot of differences between whether they are cutting the nonpublic or regular ed.”

    “I don’t think that’s actually true,” said the governor as he left a meeting with breast cancer survivors Oct. 16 at LaZare’s Summit home. “We put more money into special ed than anyone,” he said.

    In a separate interview, LaZare turned to another issue of prime importance to many Jewish voters.

    “Corzine has been a huge friend to Israel,” she said. “He has been a huge leader. He has worked to partner with Israel in bringing businesses into New Jersey and divest in any foreign companies with ties to Iran. These are specifically attributable to this governor.”

    Both the Democrats and the Republicans are staking much on the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, the only statehouses up for grabs in this off election year.

    Both LaZare and Berg said they are “cautiously optimistic” that Corzine will win a narrow victory. But an unknown factor is the popularity of Daggett, a right-leaning third-party candidate who is siphoning off votes from the Republicans.

    “Daggett helps Corzine,” acknowledged Yudin. “Most people who are supporting Daggett are soft [in their support]. Christie is their second choice. Christie still might lose; it is going to be very close.

    “But I think the Daggett people are going to say to themselves, ‘All I’m doing is getting Corzine reelected and I don’t want that.’ I think you are going to see Christie win a tight election.”


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    29 Comments
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    shimon
    shimon
    14 years ago

    vote for corzine the other guy is an nra corrupt republican

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Corzine already has all the Lakewood vote locked up with the endorsements he has from all the chashuve rabbonim; he only needs some additional votes from the MO in northern NJ.

    Passaic
    Passaic
    14 years ago

    Gary Schaer has been promising Corzine the Orthodox vote, and Corzine believes him.

    Guess what Corzine, Gary can’t deliver!

    chief doofis
    chief doofis
    14 years ago

    The Corzine camp must realize that all they are showing us is their “chazer fissel”. Morally and spiritually, they are diametrically opposed to the platform of Orthodoxy. Many Orthodox Jews are politically conservative. We are not in favor of abortion rights, except in extreme situations. We are not in favor of gay marriage. We are not in favor of many of the Democratic programs that portray a lack of classic morals. We don’t want to pay for programs that stress sex education. Johnny does not have two daddys (or mommys). Judaism teaches that, within reason, people are responsible for their actions. Liberal Democrats, believe that people are victims of society.

    Mr. Corzine’s choice of a Jewish running mate, is meaningless to us. She is a part of that Jewish society, to whom day school education is irrelevant. As a long standing political leader in Bergen County, when has she ever spoken out against the discriminatory Sunday Blue Laws?

    We struggle to pay our tuitions, yet, the bulk of our property taxes (which are higher than virtually any other state’s), go to fund schools which we cannot and will not use! Don’t throw us a bone and tell us that you want to support special education. Get rid of the onerous property taxes, we will be able to educate our special kids, and our ordinary kids.

    The Governor is pro – Israel. Whoopie! Governors do not address the U.N., do not make treaties, provide foreign aid, or embargo countries. Furthermore, he is not distancing himself from a President, whose anti – Israel policies and appointments, remind us of the peanut farmer President.

    Mr. Corzine may have had a Jewish girlfriend ( a glick g’troffin!), but he is no ally of Torah observant Jews in New Jersey

    Northern NJ
    Northern NJ
    14 years ago

    I don’t think Corzine si going to get the Northern NJ vote. Most people are focused on the tuition issue and he is just not in our camp on that. Cristie at least in words, supports tax credits and vouchers. I believe that Cristie will carry the vote amung the orthodox in Northern NJ.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    If you want taxes (and rent) to go up, up and away……….. then go with corzine.
    otherwise go with the Republican.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Corzine has been a big supporter of civil rights and middle east peace efforts, two issues of great concern to frumme yiddin in NJ and elsewhere. He deserves our continued support and tfilot.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Corzine has done nothing to support the orthodx community. To say he is a big supporter of Israel is irrelevant. He had the opportunity to take on the unions and he failed. He had the opportunity to slow the growth of the outrageous pensions doled out to employees and he failed.
    I wish someone could list one (1) accomplishment of his administration.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    I am from Lakewood. I will not vote for Corzine

    New Jersey
    New Jersey
    14 years ago

    Corzine you can talk to the The Orthodox community as much as you like this time we will not vote for you

    Passaic Yid
    Passaic Yid
    14 years ago

    I will NOT vote for Corzine nor will I vote for the almighty gary schaer. Corzine keeps raising taxes like a drunken liberal & schaer is in bed with him. Has Gary done some good, yes! But we cannot handle four more years of out of control spending & unlimited taxation.

    This has to stop and of the people running, Christie is the only one who seems to be home.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    I think that Jews will vote for the Democrat because of the Dwek entrapments that were headed by Republicans.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Corzine took away technology funding ONLY from the Non Public schools . He left it for the public schools . Please let him answer why he discriminated against us anmd then maybe i will vote for him

    Shimon
    Shimon
    14 years ago

    The best strategy to send a message to Obama and his leftist anti-Israel chevra is to defeat Corzine on November 3. His late campaign promises (bribes?) are a desperate attempt to woo voters who want to dismiss and/or forget the failures of his administration. Christie may not be moshiach, but he is New Jersey’s best chance to revitalize a state in dismal shape.

    me
    me
    14 years ago

    Christie is nowhere close to being moshiach, but he’s not as bad as Corzine. Christie would be a bad choice for Governor, it’s just that we have him or Corzine that makes me hold my nose and decide on Christie.
    As for Passaic and Gary, I wonder if there are many people in Passaic who share the opinion of the Passaic folk who posted here. Perhaps it’s time for a change.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Jews make up 5.5 percent of the population of New Jersey, the overwhelming majority of which is not orthodox. While Corzine would like our votes, he needs them about as much as Obama needed them to carry New Jersey.

    Corzine will win, and you will all have to crawl back to the delusion world of talk radio to console yourselves.