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Amid bickering, 3d District candidates decry bickering

Republican Tom MacArthur and Democrat Aimee Belgard traded a series of barbs during their second and final debate Thursday, all the while saying they believe partisanship and bickering are the cause of Congress' failures.

Tom MacArthur, left, and Aimee Belgard in New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District race.
Tom MacArthur, left, and Aimee Belgard in New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District race.Read more

Republican Tom MacArthur and Democrat Aimee Belgard traded a series of barbs during their second and final debate Thursday, all the while saying they believe partisanship and bickering are the cause of Congress' failures.

At a spirited debate hosted by the Burlington County Regional Chamber of Commerce in Mount Laurel, the two candidates vying for a competitive South Jersey seat in the House both began by saying how they were qualified to work for harmony in a governing body marred by discord.

Belgard, a Burlington County freeholder and a trial lawyer from Edgewater Park, said she was "one of those people who believe in taking life experiences" and using them to help others. After her mother and father died of cancer at a young age, she said, she became active in the American Cancer Society, which led her to "step up" and run for office in her hometown. Then she ran for freeholder and, she said, reached across the aisle to work with Republicans to pass a lean budget and save farmland.

MacArthur, a retired insurance executive who lives in Toms River and who served as mayor of Randolph in Morris County, said he grew up in a home where his father was a conservative Protestant and his stepmother was a liberal Catholic. "I learned to have respect for other people's views," he said. Building his insurance business into a national corporation also required working with different people to get the job done, he said.

The debate, at the Laurel Creek Country Club before about 50 business people, focused on questions from the audience that were presented to each candidate by a moderator. The candidates discussed their views on the nation's business climate, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, the Affordable Care Act, their priorities if elected, the amount of money New Jersey receives from the federal government, and international issues, but also took time to attack each other's character.

Their remarks reflected the nasty TV attack ads and campaign literature disseminated by both camps in recent weeks and the millions of dollars the two sides have spent. Belgard and MacArthur are competing for a Third District seat held by Jon Runyan, a former Eagles player, who decided against seeking another term, saying he was frustrated by the rancor in Congress. The district includes much of Burlington County and part of Ocean County.

A heckler interrupted the debate, saying he was an Iraq war veteran who had waited more than two years to get an insurance claim honored. "You will privatize insurance?" he shouted after some discussion about the Affordable Care Act. He was hastily escorted from the room, but returned briefly and loudly asked why it was taking so long for Hurricane Sandy victims to get assistance.

The moderator asked for police to be called, and he was removed.

Several weeks ago, a poll of likely voters found the race was a dead heat. Political observers viewed the contest as the most competitive in the region. But last week, a Monmouth University telephone survey of 423 likely voters found MacArthur had gained the support of 51 percent, while Belgard had 41 percent. Six percent said they were undecided. The margin of error was 4.8 percentage points.

As he did in the first debate, earlier this month, MacArthur launched the opening salvo Thursday. After each candidate pledged to work hard to keep the joint base open and to help small businesses survive with tax credits, MacArthur said that "reducing taxes on small businesses" was not in accord with Belgard's record when she served on the Edgewater Park Township Committee. He said she "installed a tax there on small businesses" if any hired more than 25 people.

Belgard shot back that he was distorting the truth, that the fee was part of a permitting process that was called for under the state construction code. Then she countered by saying that "every single year as mayor of Randolph, [MacArthur] raised taxes."

After MacArthur said that the Obama administration should have taken a firmer stance against Russia when Ukraine was threatened, Belgard said that she was surprised at his remarks because he has "direct holdings" in a Russian energy company that had "turned off the gas supply" to Ukraine and that the United States has sanctioned. She said his investments would present a conflict of interest if he were elected.

MacArthur did not respond, but later said Belgard had "trouble telling the truth."

Both said they would be a voice for the middle class and for veterans. Belgard said that she would let women's voices be heard and accused MacArthur of refusing to support a federal minimum-wage law and a law that would guarantee equal pay for women.

"Those on minimum wage make only about $15,000 a year," she said, while women earn 78 cents on the dollar compared with their male counterparts. Yet MacArthur has spent about $4 million "to win a seat in Congress," she said.

When it was his turn, MacArthur said: "That's a very interesting choice of words . . . that this seat is a prize to be bought." He said he was seeking office to "serve the people in this district." He also said that "millions were spent on Aimee's behalf . . . trying to take my business career, a great success story, and trying to turn it into something else, and that's shameful."

MacArthur was referring to the money spent by the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to paint MacArthur as a wealthy businessman whose company, York Risk Services Group, was sued by people who were denied insurance money after several disasters. He has said that the denials were only a tiny fraction of the claims the company handled and that the vast majority were paid out.