Posted on Sun, Nov. 1, 2009
General elections Tuesday come as many Americans want to vent their frustration with a recession that has them juggling bills and high taxes. Incumbents had better watch out. But voters shouldn't be so shortsighted that they don't thoroughly evaluate everything said, and not said, by candidates.
That said, here's a review of The Inquirer's recommendations after analyzing the candidates.
New Jersey
As Gov. Corzine nears the end of four tumultuous years in office, polls show he's in a very close race. But the opposition is split between Republican Christopher J. Christie and independent Chris Daggett, and neither has made a convincing case that he would do a better job in Trenton.
Over the better part of a year of campaigning, Christie has given the public astonishingly few reasons to vote for him. Instead, he has dodged fundamental policy questions. Daggett at least has a detailed plan to reduce property taxes by expanding the sales tax. But his other ideas are few.
Even if he had sturdier opponents, JON CORZINE would deserve a second term. He has taken stern steps to push school and municipal consolidation, while capping property taxes. He has pushed for the nation's strongest campaign-finance laws, closed the book on dual officeholding, and ended an unsustainable system of heavily subsidizing some poor school districts at the expense of others almost as poor.
These are the sort of once-unlikely changes that New Jerseyans hoped for in first electing Corzine. They should serve as his model in a second term.
In the Senate's Sixth District, voters should return Democrat JAMES BEACH to the seat he was appointed to fill when John Adler was elected to Congress last year. All voters should say YES to a bond issue allowing more land to be set aside for open space.
Pennsylvania
The most important decision facing city voters in this off-year election is the race for Philadelphia district attorney. Incumbent Lynne Abraham isn't on the ballot, having chosen to retire from the post she's held since 1991.
The Inquirer endorses SETH WILLIAMS. He faced his strongest challengers in the Democratic primary. Williams served 10 years in Abraham's office, gaining management experience. One of his best ideas is to establish teams of prosecutors familiar with specific neighborhoods, to encourage witnesses to come forward and coordinate with police earlier when arrests are made. Republican Michael Untermeyer was an assistant DA for four years but doesn't have Williams' grasp of what it will take to fight crime.
In the race for Philadelphia controller, first-term incumbent Democrat Alan Butkovitz has done a credible job. But this position screams for a watchdog who is not as entrenched in the ruling political establishment as Butkovitz, who is a party ward leader.
City voters would be better served by electing Republican AL SCHMIDT. He has the credentials, having spent five years at the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office in Washington. Schmidt isn't apolitical. He spent one year as executive director of the city's Republican Party. But he ignored party leaders who told him not to run for controller.
In the judicial elections, the better candidate for state Supreme Court is Allegheny County's JOAN ORIE MELVIN, whom the state bar gave its highest rating for a "solid record of performance" on the bench over a 24-year period. Recommended for Superior Court are JUDITH F. OLSON and ROBERT J. COLVILLE of Allegheny County, and Philadelphia's ANNE E. LAZARUS and TERESA SARMINA. Best picks for Commonwealth Court are LINDA JUDSON of Pittsburgh and Harrisburg's KEVIN BROBSON.
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