E2 — On site from Christie victory partyE4 — Daggett considers flaws in two-party systemE5 — Wards result to be determinedE7 — Students react to electionE8 — Columnists weigh in on the issuesE10 — Report from Corzine’s concession speech

What’s Inside:

TRENTON THUNDERChris Christie clinches race against Democrat Jon S. Corzine to become

first Republican governor in 12 years

JEFF LAZARO

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MN O V E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9 U NIVERSIT YE2

JEFF LAZARO

JEFF LAZARO

JEFF LAZARO

Supporters of Republican CandidateChris Christie cheer at his electionheadquarters last night at theHilton hotel in Parsippany.

Christie addresses the crowd asthe governor-elect of New Jersey,defeating incumbent Gov. Jon S.Corzine 49 to 45 percent. Corzinecalled Christie to congratulate himon his win, ensuring a smoothtransition into office.

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M N O V E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9U NIVERSIT Y E3

BY CAGRI OZUTURKASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

PARSIPPANY — For the firsttime in 12 years, there is an ele-phant in the room.

Republican challenger ChrisChristie was declared winner ofthe New Jersey gubernatorialrace by a 4 percent margin,according to reported electionresults.

“Hey New Jersey, we did it,”Christie said at the New JerseyRepublicans’ election party at theHilton Parsippany.

As the state’s precincts report-ed their returns when the pollsclosed last night, Christie, a fed-eral prosecutor, never fell behind.

“The governor [has] called meto congratulate me on winning,”Christie said. “His call was gra-cious, and he pledged a smoothtransition for me.”

He thanked the two formerRepublican Governors ChristieTodd Whitman and Tom Keanwho supported him and his family.

“This election is not about me,not about you, it’s about every-thing we love about the state ofNew Jersey,” Christie said.“We’ve already had a great NewJersey life, but what we want tomake sure is that everyone inNew Jersey and our children havea great New Jersey life.”

He said the same people that

say he will not be able to lowertaxes are the same people thatsay he cannot free New Jerseyfrom corruption.

“Tomorrow we begin to takeback New Jersey,” Christie said.“Tomorrow we have a great dealof work fixing the state of NewJersey. [Lt. governor-elect KimGuadagno] and I are up to thetask. … There are no easyanswers to the problems we face.”

Christie said he wouldapproach problems in a biparti-san manner by accepting ideasfrom both parties.

“Everything said about therace before today still remainstrue,” said Associate Director ofthe Eagleton Institute of PoliticsJohn Weingart. “The economywas an important factor and madethe last four years very difficult tobe governor. The Republicanschose a very articulate candidatewith a great record as U.S. attor-ney, and Gov. Corzine had neverreally connected with voters.”

Ron Holden, president of theRutgers University CollegeRepublicans, said Christie wouldgo to Trenton to do a service forthe state.

“We can finally bring every-thing we’ve been fighting for tothe state of New Jersey and undothe things that … Corzine didand everything [President]Barack Obama does,” said

Holden, a School of Arts andSciences senior.

Alex Cohen, a ChristieCoalition organizer for theUniversity, said every week theCollege Republicans made morethan 1,000 phone calls to peopleacross the state.

“We started ‘Get Out the Vote’in Rutgers University lastWednesday,” said Cohen, a Schoolof Arts and Sciences junior. “Wewere in Woodbridge, SouthPlainfield [and] New Brunswickknocking on doors [and] makingphone calls. Rutgers had six toseven people per effort, but we hadbetween 75 to 100 across the state.”

He said endorsements wouldnot have been a deciding factor inthis race.

“The state of New Jersey hasspoken. They’ve responded to allthe troubles of the state of NewJersey such as corruption andhigh property taxes,” Cohen said.“This wasn’t Republicans thatwon this race, this was a biparti-san effort. Barack Obama came,[Vice President] Joe Biden came,[former President] Bill Clintoncame, but no one can save[Corzine] from himself.”

Holden said the CollegeRepublicans are looking for moremembers at the University andmore visibility.

“The Republican effortsreflect at Rutgers — we’ve had

higher turnouts [and] we’ve had aspike in membership,” he said.“We got fired up last semester.There seems to be a new con-scious sentiment in everythingthat’s going on. There’s moregoing on in events. There issomething winnable.”

He said the CollegeRepublicans would be more visi-ble in the University.

“We will be legitimatized inRutgers and reflect that we have apositive message,” Holden said.“We have a legitimate, good mes-sage and [are] not crazy as someDemocrats or Corzine wouldhave you believe, and I think thatis a motivating factor for people tojoin us.”

During the campaign, Corzineoutspent Christie by double, accord-ing to the New Jersey Election LawEnforcement Commission. Christiespent $11.7 million while Corzinespent $23.6 million.

The important part of the cam-paign was building on the founda-tion in the streets, said JayWebber, New Jersey RepublicanParty chairman.

“Out on the streets, they’rejust building on the tremendoussuccess that we’ve built upthroughout the campaign,” hesaid. “Rutgers students, especial-ly in New Brunswick, have beenworking for months, and theywere one of the most energetic

call centers, and some our mostsuccessful volunteer nights cameout from Rutgers.”

He said they have been verysatisfied of the efforts of theScarlet Knight Republicans.

The Republicans won a land-slide victory in the Virginia’s gov-ernor race early in the night, butWebber said it was not relevant tothe outcome in New Jersey.

“Jerseyans are making theirminds up according to the issuesimportant to them,” he said.

In analyzing the Christie win,Weingart said Christie wouldhave a huge set of challengesover the next four years.

“New Jersey finances are still inserious trouble, and all candidates,including Christie, were prettyvague about how they wouldaddress that,” Weingart said.

Democrats have a sizablemajority in both houses of the leg-islator in New Jersey, and it wouldbe interesting to see how Christiewould work with Democrats inthe legislature, he said.

“More will be made nationallythan warranted. It seems to methat New Jersey voters werethinking [more] about specificcandidates than about partylabels or national issues,”Weingart said. “There were sofew races this year that nationalparties and press are likely tooveranalyze today’s outcome.”

Governor-elect Chris Christie says he and Lt. Governor-elect Kim Guadagno will not waste any time addressing New Jersey’s issues in a bipartisan mannerduring his victory speech last night in Parsippany. Christie won the election by a 4 percent margin, taking 49 percent of the state’s voters.

JEFF LAZARO JEFF LAZARO

Christie wins heated election in Garden State

JEFF LAZARO

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MN O V E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9 U NIVERSIT YE4

Daggett considers gubernatorial run success despite resultsBY GREG FLYNN

CORRESPONDENT

BASKING RIDGE — As anail-biter of an election chatteredinto last night, one thing wasclear: Christopher J. Daggett hadbecome one of the most success-ful Independent candidates inrecent New Jersey history.

At the Dolce Hotel in BaskingRidge, the town he calls home,Daggett addressed the gatheredmedia and supporters.

“We don’t know who won thiselection, but it’s not us,” saidDaggett, who garnered 5.5 per-cent of the vote, according toelection results.

He said his supporters shouldunite behind whomever wins theelection due to the significantissues facing the state.

Daggett said the race gaveconclusive proof that the two-partsystem is broken.

“Government is not the prob-lem,” Daggett said. “Our two-party system is what the problemis. Government needs independ-ent thinking people — people notaligned with political parties orbeholden to special interest.”

Daggett said New Jersey citi-zens should be ashamed by thetone of the campaign andshould work day and night tostop such behavior.

New Jersey learnedRepublicans and Democrats will

DAN BRACAGLIA/ MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

Top right and left: Independent candidate Chris Daggett gives his concession speech last night after Governor-elect Chris Christie won the race for governor.Although he recognized his chance to win as a long shot, Daggett viewed his campaign as an accomplishment. Bottom right: Daggett hugs his daughter Alexandra.

DAN BRACAGLIA/ MULTIMEDIA EDITOR DAN BRACAGLIA/ MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

do anything to win an electionthroughout the course of the cam-paign, Daggett said.

He expressed disgust with thecorrosive nature of the campaign.

“If you look at tonight — lowvoter turnout — people weredisgusted with the charges, alle-gations and negative campaign-ing,” Daggett said. “We’re alllosers tonight.”

Nonsense about trafficrecords, robocalls and whetherhe was a Democratic plant leadsto disinterest in politics, he said.

“Pointless politics and cam-paigns that have no substance arenot what democracy is all about inthe books that I read, everythingI’ve learned as a kid and an adult,”Daggett said. “There was no con-spiracy between me and [Gov.]Jon [S.] Corzine.”

Daggett said those who cam-paigned for him stood tall for thebelief that there was nothing wrongwith voting for the right person.

He campaigned on promisesto lower property taxes whileincreasing sales taxes, cut thesize and cost of government at alllevels, protect the state’s environ-ment, fund open space preserva-tion and develop an offshore windindustry.

Citizens need to find a way toend negative campaigning, he said.

Daggett lauded the efforts ofhis campaign during his speech,thanking The Star-Ledger and the

New Jersey Sierra Club for theirunexpected endorsements.

“Collectively it was the mousethat roared,” Daggett said. “Ithink New Jersey ought be thank-ful for them.”

During the summer, Daggett’sshowing in the polls jumped. Hisperformance in the gubernatorialrace built upon the momentum.The support dropped off for theelection but those gathered inBasking Ridge believed he stillhad an impact.

New Jersey Sierra ClubPolitical Chair Richard Isaac saidDaggett’s campaign made thetwo major party candidatessweat it out in the final months.His substantial issues-basedcampaign exposed how vaguethe other two candidates’ promis-es are, Isaac said.

“Chris Daggett has a verystrong record of real accomplish-ments,” Isaac said.

Independent LieutenantGovernor Candidate FrankEsposito said Daggett was theone candidate who addressedissues, including slashing proper-ty taxes and restoring support tohigher education.

“This race has really heavilybeen between the two major partiesa mudslinging contest,” saidEsposito, a University alumnus.“They’ve not focused on any issues.”

He dismissed the notion that avote for Daggett was wasted.

“We feel that in a democracy,people should make a choice andthe choice should be based onthe best sense of who can do thejob,” Esposito said.“Unfortunately, the two majorparties, feeling threatened by usbecause we were a popular move-ment, began to throw out to thepublic that it’s a throwaway vote.It’s absolute rubbish.”

He said suppor t for anIndependent candidate in NewJersey might indicate a broader trend.

“In New Jersey, an increasingnumber of people are coming tothe realization that the twomajor parties are not addressingthe needs of [the state],”Esposito said.

Thirty-one-year-old SophiaPelton, a Clinton resident, volun-teered for the Daggett campaign.

“I think that Daggett has givenNew Jersey residents a thirdoption and an option with a plan— the only valid plan that’s beenoffered by any of the candidates.”

She said if Daggett could fin-ish the race with 10 percent ofthe vote, it would send out a mes-sage that New Jersey is tired ofpolitics as usual and looking for athird choice.

Clinton resident Ryan Peltonsaid he wasn’t sure if Daggett hadadded substance to the campaign.

“A lot of people are justpar ty-oriented. I don’t think

[Daggett is] going to get a lot ofvotes,” Pelton said. “If it is atleast 5 percent, it should send amessage that there are votersout there who are unhappy witheither choice.”

Libertarian Murray Sabrin, aUniversity alumnus, collected 5percent of the vote in 1997, set-ting the previous high water markfor third-party gubernatorial can-didates in the state.

The last time a donkey or anelephant did not occupy thegovernor’s office was in 1848,when Whig Charles CreightonStratton, a University alumnus,left office. The Republican Partydidn’t exist until 1854, said cam-paign expert David Redlawsk.

Livingston College seniorRobert Cacioppo volunteered forthe campaign and came out toBasking Ridge in support of Daggett.

“Voters need to demand moreout of their politicians than justvote for the least worst,”Cacioppo said. “We call our-selves a beacon of democracyand every election there’s justone more choice than there isunder tyranny. What’s the pointof democracy? To vote for whoyou think is the best candidate— not for who you think is goingto win. [That] shouldn’t matter.”

— Dan Bracaglia contributedto this report

BY ARIEL NAGI ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

After months of court cases,controversial disputes and post-ing “Vote Yes” or “Vote No toWards” signs around the city andUniversity, Empower OurNeighborhoods and Unite NewBrunswick will have to wait anextra day to get the full results ofthe ward-based system question.

Due to a large number ofabsentee and provisional bal-lots that have yet to be count-ed, the winning vote cannot yetbe determined, NewBrunswick City SpokesmanBill Bray said.

As of about 8:45 p.m. lastnight, the “No to Wards” vote isprevailing, with 2,135 “no” votesversus 1,756 “Yes to Wards”votes, Bray said.

“The ‘yes’ vote has been pre-vailing on campus and in one ortwo [election] districts,” hesaid. “But elsewhere, the ‘no’vote is prevailing.”

EON’s question calls for theward-based system of six wardseach with representatives andthree council members voted at-large, while UNB would like thecity’s government to remain as is.

UNB member KyleKirkpatrick said although he ispleased the “no” vote is ahead, heis not going to get his hopes upuntil all of the ballots are official-ly counted.

“I’m on pins and needles here.I do want to remain optimisticright now,” Kirkpatrick said.“Neither side is claiming victoryright now. We really believe thatvoting ‘no’ is the right thing forthe city. We hope that votersexpress that in the poll.”

EON President MarthaGuarnieri said she is upset theresults are not in yet after allthe anticipation the organiza-tion was building up but willremain hopeful.

“We don’t know [who the win-ner is] yet,” said Guarnieri, aRutgers College senior. “But I’mhopeful that all of our energy putinto the early vote operation paysoff and that those ballots arecounted fairly.

“I’m proud that the studentscame out and voted for wards,[but] it wasn’t a fair game today.”

School of Arts and Sciencesjunior Robert Irven said hevoted for a ward-based systembecause it would help the resi-dents of the city have a voice anda person to adequately representthem, especially students wholive off campus.

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Ward question too close to call, results lean toward ‘no’

Top: Empower Our Neighborhoods volunteers Mike Shanahan, left; Avianna Perez, middle; and Kristen Clarke, right, rally support forthe city ward campaign yesterday outside Brower Commons on the College Avenue campus. Below: EON Executive Board MembersMartha Guarnieri, left, and Charlie Kratovil, right, wait for election ballots to be counted yesterday in the city clerk’s office.

BRENDAN MCINERNEY/ SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Democratic incumbents hold onto District 17BY COLLEEN ROACHE

STAFF WRITER

Democratic AssemblymenUpendra J. Chivukula andJoseph V. Egan will continue torepresent District 17, whichincludes the city of NewBrunswick, following a 62.1 per-cent win over Republican candi-dates Salim Nathoo and AnthonyMazzola, according to reportedelection results.

This will be the fifth term officefor both Chivukula and Egan.

Renovations of Route 27, work-ing with state departments toachieve greater energy efficiencyand lowering tuition forUniversity students is among toppriorities when it comes toimproving New Brunswick and

other regions of MiddlesexCounty, Chivukula said.

He said consolidating schooldistricts in order to decreasespending is also an option.

“I think everybody has beentalking about trying to do con-solidation of the school dis-tricts,” Chivukula said. “Wehave to get people to the tableand say, ‘Look, we have to start[addressing] the issue of con-solidation,’ so that we can cutdown some of the administra-tive costs ... [and] bring proper-ty tax relief to the residents ofthe district.”

Higher education is anotherpriority, and the assemblymanintends to make it more attainablefor University students, regard-less of socioeconomic status.

“We have to put some restric-tions on the increase of tuition,”Chivukula said. “The students arealready paying a lot of tuition, andwe have to cap the increases.”

Efforts to get more financialassistance from the state to help stu-dents are important, Chivukula said.

Young voters, like recentRutgers Business School gradu-ate Joseph Abadir, agree with theassemblyman’s stance on tuitionat the University. Though Abadirsupported Republican Governor-elect Chris Christie, he was inagreement with the Democraticassemblyman’s ideas and saidtuition concerns, like attainingloans, were among the issues hefound most important.

“I think that would be a greatthing,” Abadir said, in reference

to Chivukula’s plans for financialassistance. “That’s definitely whatRutgers needs.”

Catrice Lacklard, a School ofManagement and Labor Relationsfirst-year graduate student, admit-ted she did not know much aboutthe candidate but was interestedin his efforts to attain moremoney for college students.

She was less supportive ofwork on Route 27.

“I don’t have a problem withfixing up the roads, but I feel likethe money that we’re spending onthese roads is ridiculous,”Lacklard said. “We should put ittoward something else.”

She said government of fi-cials should put the money andeffort into making sure morestudents can pay for college and

more homeowners can afford toown houses.

Chivukula served as deputyspeaker of the assembly throughouthis last term. In addition, he is chairof the Telecommunications andUtilities Committee as well as amember of the Commerce andEconomic Development Committee.He is the first Indian-American elect-ed to the state general assembly.

Egan, chair of the AssemblyLabor Committee and member ofthe Telecommunications andUtilities Committee, has servedas deputy major leader since lastyear. He has been a member ofthe City of New BrunswickCouncil since 1982.

Egan and Mazzola could notbe reached for comment as ofpress time.

MAYA NACHI/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

“I voted for [wards] because Ilive off campus, so to have some-one to represent us and our prob-lems would be better than justhaving one person from the citycouncil represent us,” Irven said.“[The ward representative’s]main job is to serve us.”

But some students argue award-based system would onlyrepresent University students, notany of the long-term city residents.

The residents who have beenliving in the city for a long timeand plan on staying in the citydeserve to have a say overUniversity students, who comeand go, said Rutgers College sen-ior Sarah Waniak.

“The people who are workingto change [the system to a ward-based one] are probably going toend up leaving and the peoplewho are going to see the conse-quences … are going to be theresidents of New Brunswick, whokind of have contempt for Rutgersstudents who are trying to takecontrol of their city,” Waniak said.

UNB member Ezra Rufino saidthe ward-based system wouldgive priority to the students.

“By dividing the city up, wardsare not going to be working witheach other … or working with thecity as a whole as they should be,”said Rufino, a Rutgers College

senior. “We’re segregating our-selves as students from the rest ofthe New Brunswick community.”

School of Engineering seniorDincer Dinc said he was unsurewhether to vote “yes” or “no” towards, because although heheard a lot about the ward ques-tion, he did not want to base hisdecision off what he read on cam-paign advertisements.

Waniak said having ward rep-resentatives would create morebureaucracy and political crime.

“It would create more ‘I’llscratch your back if you scratchmine’ among our representatives,as opposed to having them allwork together for the greatergood of New Brunswick as awhole,” she said.

Rutgers College seniorMichelle Shen said she respectsthe vision of EON, but creating award-based system is not goingto help members reach theirgoals to have the New Brunswickcommunity represented well.

“We understand their goalsand what they’re trying toachieve, but we don’t think that having their ward system isgoing to achieve that,” Shen said.

Kirkpatrick said it is unfortu-nate for both UNB and EONmembers that they were unableto get the results on time.

“I imagine that it’s sad forboth parties involved,” he said.“You obviously want to know ifyou accomplished what youwanted to accomplish.”

EON began campaigning fora ward-based system about ayear ago to change the at-largesystem in the city to a ward-based system with six wards rep-resentatives and three councilmembers elected at-large, argu-ing the new system would helpstudents and the NewBrunswick community receivebetter representation and moreindividualized attention.

The opposing group, UNB,was formed during the summerand had a petition approved toincrease city government to agreater at-large system, elect-ing seven members to the citycouncil as opposed to the cur-rent five members. Theyargued that wards wouldincrease taxes and crime, andwould segregate the city.

But this petition, approved byNew Brunswick City Clerk DanTorrisi, was brought before JudgeJames Hurley and overturned inSeptember, arguing the petitionwas improperly approved.

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MN O V E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9 ELECTIONE6

County by county: Blue state turns red

45% CORZINE

49% CHRISTIE

5.5% DAGGETT

DATA COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK TIMES WEB SITE

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M N O V E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9ELECTION E7

Students dissatisfied with candidates, remain indecisiveBY HEATHER BROOKHART

METRO EDITOR

After a tight race betweengubernatorial candidates Jon S.Corzine and Chris Christie,students on campus wereequally split between the two.Many did not vote because ofdissatisfaction with the candi-dates or were not informedenough to make a decision.

Christie led Corzine by 49 to44 percent at 11:28 p.m. lastnight, with 98 percent of thevote counted.

Rutgers College senior EitanLevine was surprised to hearChristie was elected governorbecause he thought it would bea landslide victory for Corzine.

“For me, I was indifferent, Ididn’t vote … but it was a sur-prise nonetheless because Iknow what the public wasexpecting,” he said.

But School of Arts andSciences junior BrandonBroderick said he was not as sur-prised by Christie’s win eventhough Democrats usually win inNew Jersey.

“People were getting tired ofCorzine’s high taxes; he wasgoing to do the whole tollboothtax, they kind of were gettingtired of him … so it makessense,” he said.

Many students were tornbetween the candidates.

“The way Corzine’s beenrunning things, it doesn’t seemgood. But after seeingChristie’s plans, I’m not quitesure I support any [candidate],”said School of Ar ts andSciences first-year studentAllen Kung. “I supportCorzine’s suggested plans, butI’m not sure he’s going to gothrough with them.”

School of Arts and Sciencessophomore Danika Chari wasone of many who could notchoose between Corzine and Christie.

“I didn’t really notice anyhuge improvements since[Corzine] was in office. I’m notsaying I’m going toward one orthe other, but maybe Chris

Christie would be able to bring adifferent type of feel to NewJersey,” she said.

Many students likened choos-ing between Corzine and Christieto deciding between the lesser oftwo evils, and Rutgers BusinessSchool first-year student Carey Jisaid he leaned slightly moretoward Corzine.

“I really don’t like both ofthem, but if you really had toforce me to choose, I would prob-ably say Corzine,” he said.

Ernest Mario School ofPharmacy first-year student RichBurrell said he thought both can-didates were about the same, andhe did not vote.

“They might change smallthings here or there, but they’llboth lead the state on about thesame path,” Burrell said.

He said he thinks Corzinehas a façade of being for thehardworking, ever yday man,yet he made his money atGoldman Sachs.

“I think he is in bed with theteacher’s unions too much andhe influences that a lot,”Burrell said.

He said his mother is ateacher and has told him thatCorzine tries to influenceteacher’s unions, saying that ifthey vote for him he will ensurehealth benefits.

“I don’t like that heavy-handedpropaganda,” he said.

On the other hand, Burrellsaid he is bothered by the factthat as attorney general,Christie failed to attack corpo-rate crime as much as heshould have.

“I think that it’s not good tohave a person in office who spenteight years not trying to huntdown people who are taking in[bribes] … while being an attor-ney for New Jersey, I don’t likethat at all,” he said.

Burrell said he would like tosee a leader who will put theright kind of rules and regula-tions in place.

“I don’t think that eitherparty really has the nerve toactually [take on] these kinds ofroles and implement those rules

so I’m not a fan of either ofthem,” he said.

Other students said theyvoted for Christie because theywould like to see change in thestate’s government.

School of Engineering seniorSean Oshea said he voted forChristie and all of theRepublican line.

“I would just like to see ashake-up in the government ofNew Jersey,” he said. “TheVirginia election and the NewJersey election are scheduled forthe U.S. to kind of show the pres-ident what the country wants.”

Oshea said he would like tosee the state change directionand wants fiscal conservatism.

Douglass College seniorJennifer Perez said she also votedfor Christie.

“I’m really disappointed inthe job that Corzine did,” Perezsaid. “He did a really horriblejob [and he] dropped the ball ona lot of things.”

She said college students arereally feeling the brunt ofCorzine’s budget cuts.

“Having him come back intopower or be re-elected is goingto just keep the same problemsthat we have going on here,”Perez said.

Exit polls conducted yester-day revealed the majority ofCorzine voters ranged betweenages 18 to 29, while Christie vot-ers were 65 years and older,according to NJ.com. Voters 30to 44 and 45 to 64 years old weresplit between both candidates.

Leading up to the election,many wondered what impactIndependent Chris Daggettwould have.

Rutgers Business School jun-ior Bobby Brocco said he doesnot like Corzine or Christie, andthinks Daggett was the only can-didate who could really bringchange to the state.

Perez said she would not minda Daggett win, but it is a long shotfor an Independent candidate towin in New Jersey.

“I feel like voting for himwould be kind of a wasted vote,”she said.

ALEXA BURGESS

“I don’t think [Chris] Christie would do a better job than [Jon S.] Corzine would, and Corzine hasn’t done the best job, but he’s the better candidate.”

School of Arts and Sciences first-year student

School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Ameer Wright casts his vote for the 2009 electionat the Busch Campus Center, one of the seven polling places for University students.

ALBERT LAM

ZEV FEINBERG

“I voted for Corzine; he’s the only one who has a real standing on legalization [of medical marijuana]. That’s one of the only real differences. Otherwise, I don’t know enough about the other candidates.”

School of Arts and Sciences junior

MIRIAM BORDEN

“Everybody talks about this election being a localelection of national importance, and I feel like thisis really my first chance to actually have my votecounted in a way.”

School of Arts and Sciences first-year student

SIRFARAZ PIRACHA

“[Chris] Daggett … he’s a really strong Independ-ent. He’s definitely going to sway the vote; he’sdefinitely brought up a lot of issues, I think, topeople in New Jersey.”

School of Arts and Sciences junior

ZAINAB ALI

“I’m not voting because I don’t like either one of the candidates.”

School of Arts and Sciences sophomore

JACOB LEPIARZ

“From what I’ve heard, Christie really doesn’thave much of a plan to report, especially as far as the deficit is concerned, whereas Corzinehas outlined more of a plan for the future.”

School of Communication and Information graduate student

JEFF GUARNERI

“Corzine sometimes gets a bit of a bad rap with students but I mean, I’ve seen far worse in terms of politicians. Overall, I don’t disagreewith what he’s done. I think he hasn’t done a really bad job, so my vote’s with him.”

University College senior

ASHLEY MALM

“I voted for Christie. … I’ve always voted Republican, and my dad just informed me on all the issues and I kind of just always go with my family.”

Mason Gross School of the Arts senior

or safer roads. It isthis type ofunequal treatmentthat inspired con-cerned NewBrunswick resi-dents to launch acampaign forchange.

Frankly, theonly way toimprove the predicament city residentscurrently face is through the institution of award system in the city. Students andminorities effectively have almost no voicewhatsoever in the at-large city council, andthis situation will continue indefinitely with-out fundamental change to the city’s sys-tem of governance. Among the most impor-tant points to note inthis debate is the factthat running for citycouncil under the at-large system is tremen-dously expensive,meaning that manywell-meaning and com-munity-oriented resi-dents of the city arefrom the start discour-aged from running foroffice simply because ofa lack of campaign funds. Of course, candi-dates could accept campaign donationsfrom special interests, but this will obvious-ly do nothing to alter the pattern of com-mercial favoritism we have seen in the citygovernment over the past decades. It isplain to see how this situation threatens ourdemocracy: The balance in a given candi-date’s checking account becomes far moreimportant to the electoral process than his

or her actual poli-cies and ability torepresent con-stituents. In a truedemocracy, candi-dates’ ideas andlevel of dedication,rather than theirfinances and con-nections, shoulddetermine whether

or not they are elected. By allowing each ofNew Brunswick’s six wards to elect its ownrepresentative to the city council alongwith three at-large members, the cost ofrunning for office will be greatly reduced,as candidates will have to reach out to onlya few thousand voters in their own neigh-borhoods, rather than all 20,000 registered

to vote in the city.Beyond all this, a wardsystem will also makecity council members farmore accountable totheir constituents, a keyfeature of any healthydemocracy.

It is a historical factthat at-large systemshave been used to dis-enfranchise voters andeliminate or lessen the

discussion of local residents’ concerns.According to Empower OurNeighborhoods’ press kit, “NewBrunswick has several unique character-istics that make it different from mostother mid-sized N.J. cities. It has anastounding number of its residents rent-ing, as well as large foreign-born popula-tions, crippling poverty and an extraordi-narily young median age [of 23.6 years].

Renters and young people are less likelyto vote (or at least to vote in NewBrunswick), as are the urban poor andforeign-born population in the city. As aresult, other groups of residents (largelyfrom the af fluent wards of NewBrunswick) sweep their candidates intooffice each election. This effectively dis-enfranchises poorer residents, immi-grants and students, who could not possi-bly constitute enough support to electanyone to citywide office aside from thepolitical machine’s candidates.”

Further, EON notes that many otherN.J. cities comparable in size to NewBrunswick, including Wayne, OldBridge, Piscataway, Atlantic City andHoboken, have instituted a ward systemand that cities all across the UnitedStates have been eliminating at-largeseats from their councils in an ef fort tobetter address their residents’ needs.There is no good reason for any NewBrunswick resident not to support thecreation of a ward-based system, unless,of course, he or she is benefiting fromthe status quo. This past year, the city ofNew Brunswick spent more than$100,000 in legal fees in variousattempts to block the ward questionfrom being placed on the ballot, accord-ing to reports. As the majority of coun-cil members and city of ficials live inNew Brunswick’s safest and most af flu-ent neighborhood they see no need forchange. But for the majority of the city’sresidents, change is vital and the cre-ation of a ward-based system is the bestmeans to achieve it.

Josh Baker is a Rutgers College seniormajoring in sociology.

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Wards vital to much needed city change

L et us begin with the observationthat New Brunswick is an incred-ibly diverse community, com-

prised of students, small business own-ers, families, academics and profession-als — in short, people of virtually allcreeds, ethnicities and socioeconomicbackgrounds. As a consequence of thisdiversity, each of the city’s neighbor-hoods faces specific challenges and hasunique needs. Unfortunately, under thecurrent at-large system of representa-tion, to use the term loosely, the needsand concerns of many New Brunswickresidents, primarily students andminorities, have simply not been heardor, worse, have been deliberatelyignored by Mayor Jim Cahill and themembers of the city council.

When the city’s public schools needmore funding and better facilities, whenmany of its neighborhoods are far moreunsafe than others, when law enforcementresources are being used inefficiently,ineffectively and often unconstitutionallyto criminalize peaceful activities, our leastempowered citizens deserve, at the veryleast, some assurance that their voices arebeing heard, that their concerns matter asmuch as those of their more affluentneighbors. As it stands, the current sys-tem is inherently undemocratic, privileg-ing the concerns of the city’s wealthiestand most powerful interests over all oth-ers. The construction of luxury hotels,deluxe condominiums, overpriced restau-rants and multistory parking decks in thedowntown area, all to the benefit of thecommercial sector, have dominated NewBrunswick’s agenda for years while ordi-nary residents have been lucky to receivethe occasional platitude about job creation

Zeitgeist

JOSH BAKER

“Frankly, the only way toimprove the predicament

city residents currentlyface is through the

institution of a ward system in the city.”

Jon S. Corzineraised taxes by $1.2billion during arecession, Christiehas a vision oflower taxes in NewJersey. He haspromised acrossthe board tax cutsfor all taxpayers; hehas proposed cutting the corporate taxrate, which will bring more jobs to NewJersey. He has also pledged to reinstate theproperty tax rebate, which Corzine stolefrom 1.2 million people.

Despite all the increases in revenue,New Jersey is still facing a projected $6 to8 billion deficit. That isabout one-third of NewJersey’s budget. How can astate overspend by thatmuch? Of course, Corzinewants us to believe that hehas been brave enough tocut spending for our state.While it is true that he hasdone so recently, it was only after he beganspending money at an alarming rate. Ourstate does not have enough money to con-tinue spending money on a reckless rate.Only Christie has the plan and the guts tocut spending.

Christie also has the strongest visionfor the environment among the candidatesrunning for governor. He wants to giveincentives to clean energy producers whowill bring green jobs to New Jersey.Christie supports expanding solar power

farms, and he alsoplans on creatingan agency to con-solidate all renew-able energy manu-facturing efforts.He proposedrestoring theDepartment ofE n v i r o n m e n t a l

Protection to its original mission of clean-ing polluted areas. For all these reasons,Christie won the endorsement of the NewJersey Environmental Federation, thelargest pro-environment group in the state.In the 2009 election for governor, environ-mentalists should have supported Christie,

because he has empha-sized the issue morethan any other candi-date, and he will be the best governor for the environment.

Christie served as theU.S. Attorney for sevenyears before deciding to

run for governor. Do not let Corzine’s liesand distortions fool you: Christie servedadmirably and courageously. He had a per-fect record of 130 convictions and guiltypleas versus no acquittals. Even Corzinesupported Christie as U.S. Attorney. It wasonly after Christie announced his candida-cy that Corzine started portraying him asthe boogeyman. But the reality is thatChristie took on corrupt politicians like for-mer Newark Mayor Sharpe James. He putterrorists behind bars, he fought against

human trafficking and he fought alongsideNewark Mayor Cory Booker against gangviolence. Corzine has done nothing of thesort — and while he has not participatingin corrupt practices himself — he hasenabled corrupt politicians by not fightingthe status quo. Christie has — and will con-tinue to fight — against corruption.

The University overwhelmingly sup-ported Barack Obama for president lastfall. Although I voted for Sen. JohnMcCain, I understood these passions forchange, and I obviously understood theiradmiration for then-Sen. Obama. Christieoffers students, and all of New Jersey, thechance to move past the corrupt politicsand failed policies of the past eight years.I could go on and on about Christie, and Itruly believe he is a good man, a goodleader and that he would be a great gov-ernor. Whether Christie earned yourvote, do not believe the attack ads beingthrown against him by Corzine. Corzine,a desperate politician trying to keep hisgrip on power, has millions to spend onthe election, and he had no record tostand on. His best strategy was to attackand destroy the most formidable oppo-nent. However, no matter how muchmoney he spends, and no matter howmany times he insults Christie’s integrity,he cannot spend his way out of four yearsof failure. Here’s to hoping the next fouryears are better.

Noah Glyn is a School of Arts andSciences sophomore. He is also the vice president of the Rutgers College Republicans.

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A s the vice president of the RutgersCollege Republicans, I admit tofeeling obliged to support

Republican candidates for whom I havelukewarm feelings. Too often voters of allstripes are forced to decide between thebetter of two evils. This often leaves a bit-ter taste in voters’ mouths. Fortunately,New Jersey citizens have a candidate forgovernor whom they can support proudly.I have strongly supported Chris Christiefor governor since the beginning of theprocess. Of course, I was immediatelyattracted to his candidacy because I knewhe could win, but the more I have followedhim, and the more I have heard him speak,the more ardent my belief is that he wouldmake a great governor. I hope all Rutgersstudents who care about the environment,taxes, spending, corruption and job cre-ation voted for Christie-Guadagno.

Under Democratic leadership, taxeshave skyrocketed to the point where NewJersey families cannot afford to live andwork here. The average New Jersey fami-ly’s taxes have increased by $10,000 in thepast eight years. It is not just families thatare feeling the heat of the high taxes.Businesses of all sizes are leaving — orjust not coming in the first place — to ourstate because of high corporate and salestaxes. Why would a family live in NewJersey, with the highest tax burden in thenation, when that same family could moveto Pennsylvania and pay less in taxes? Aneven more relevant question for collegestudents is: Will there be any jobs left forcollege grads in a few years? While Gov.

Always Right

NOAH GLYN

“Too often voters ofall stripes are forced

to decide between thebetter of two evils.”

Christie strongest candidate for governor

BY MARY DIDUCHASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

EAST BRUNSWICK — Gov.Jon S. Corzine lost re-election lastnight with about 45 percent ofNew Jersey voters to Republicanchallenger Chris Christie.

Christie, a former federalprosecutor, won with about 49percent of the vote, according toreported election results.

“From the Delaware to theJersey Shore … it has been anincredible, incredible journey,and I am grateful to all NewJersey for that,” Corzine said.

In the state’s democratic elec-tion party at the East BrunswickHilton, he said he called Christieto congratulate him on becomingNew Jersey’s next governor.

“I want you to know that Chriswas gracious in his response, andwe will work hard together tomake sure the transition issmooth and do everything thatwill serve the people of thisstate,” Corzine said.

He said serving as governorand U.S. senator of New Jerseywas an unimaginable joy.

“For citizens of this greatstate, this is a moment wherethere is some little sadness, but Imust tell you, I have never beenmore honored,” Corzine said, asserving as a U.S. senator andgovernor has been a joy henever imagined.

His administration saw toughtimes, but he made a differencein people’s lives, Corzine said.He is proud of them and allthose who worked tirelessly onhis campaign.

Corzine thanked Independentcandidate Chris Daggett for mak-ing the campaign a clear andfocused race.

Lt. Governor Candidate Sen.Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen,expressed her gratitude for thehard work of the party through-out the past year.

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MN O V E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9 ELECTIONE10

Corzine concedes race, congratulates winner

RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Despite spending double the amount of Governor-elect Chris Christie during the campaign, Gov. Jon S. Corzine loses re-election with 44 percent of the vote. Corzine,at his concession speech, thanks Independent candidate Chris Daggett, who loses with 5.5 percent of the vote, for helping to bring focus and clarity to the election.

RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

“There is not one minute ofthis that I would ever trade in,”Weinberg said. “This was themost incredible journey. The peo-ple of New Jersey are wonderful.Our Democratic Party is awe-some, and we have the most awe-some state chair in the world inJoseph Pride.”

The state and nation’s worsteconomic recession since theGreat Depression and the failedpolicies of the Bush administra-tion did not resonate well withNew Jersey voters, said U.S. Sen.Robert Menendez, D-NJ.

“[Corzine] can’t do anythingabout that at all, yet he faces theconsequences of it and there’svoter anger, and understandablyso,” he said. “People have eitherlost their jobs, had somebody intheir family lose their job or areanxious about their companykeeping their job.”

Despite Corzine’s loss,Menendez said the former gover-nor clearly communicated his mes-sage throughout his campaign.

“How many states can you goand say, ‘I cut the budget $5 bil-lion from when I took office andyet raised education funding?’”Menendez said.

The former governor alsowas the first in the nation to cre-ate his own in-state stimuluspackage to get citizens back towork. Corzine lobbied and testi-fied for the national stimuluspackage as well.

“He positioned the state to beready to take advantage of whatwas being proposed inCongress,” Menendez said. “Hepointed us in the right direction.That’s the best you can do.”

But at the end of the day,Menendez said the failed policiesof the Bush administration andthe national crisis were out of thegovernor’s hands.

Rep. Steve Rothman saidCorzine came into office withhuge obstacles, but he should be

considered one of the best in thestate’s history.

“He made a lot of good deci-sions, but ultimately, I thinkthe people of New Jersey werelooking for a new energy,”Rothman said.

While New Jersey is mainly aDemocratic state, Rothman saidthey are willing to give Christie achance to tackle the financial crisis.

Although the Corzine cam-paign brought national

Democratic leaders such asPresident Barack Obama to thestate, this was a local race,Rothman said.

“This had to do with how NewJerseyans are feeling about theproblems we face here, and it wasclear that not all of the Obama sup-porters came out to vote,” he said.

He wished Christie well inoffice on behalf of bothDemocratic and RepublicanCongress members.

School of Arts and Sciencesjunior Art Nevins was a fieldoperator for the Corzine cam-paign, going door-to-door tospread the word.

“I think it will be bad for thestate because the state’s mostlyDemocratic, so it’s a poor deci-sion for the state to supportChristie because it’s contrary towhat [voters] mainly believe in,and they’ll be angry in fouryears,” Nevins said.

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M N O V E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 9ELECTION E11

RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

As state precinctsreturn poll resultsthroughout the night,Gov. Jon S. Corzinetrails Republican challenger ChrisChristie. Corzine delivers his concession speech atthe state Democraticelection party at theHilton hotel in EastBrunswick, wishing the new administrationwell. Lt. Governor Candidate State Sen.Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, thanks campaign workers,supporters and NewJersey residents.

RAMON DOMPOR/ ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR