Guadagno, Silva spar in lieutenant governor debate

UNION, N.J. It was a political version of ladies' night Friday as the two candidates for lieutenant governor sparred over New Jersey's economy, who has done more for education, and the direction of the state.

At times feisty and on the defensive, Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, Gov. Christie's second-in-command, staked out why she deserved a second term against her Democratic challenger, Milly Silva, a union executive running with State Sen. Barbara Buono.

The two met at Kean University's Wilkins Theatre for an hour-long debate, their only one of the campaign.

"Twenty-five days from today, you have a tough choice and a very clear choice, " Guadagno said in her opening statement. "You can go back to the days of 2009, when there was out-of-control spending, high taxes, and record unemployment when Barbara Buono was chair of the Budget Committee and working alongside Jon Corzine, or you can go with a leader. Gov. Chris Christie has a proven record. . . . You can vote to continue to move the state of New Jersey in the right direction."

Silva, executive vice president of SEIU 1199 United Healthcare Workers East, which represents 7,000 nursing-home workers in 74 facilities, said it was time to break from Christie and what she called his failed policies, especially when it came to job creation.

"If you care about the future of New Jersey, you'll vote for me," she said. "There are 400,000 New Jersey residents who are out of work, school funding has been cut, and the state is at the bottom of the barrel in job creation. Facts are facts, and one hour of nice words cannot erase four years of utter failure."

Most of the night's questions from moderator Luke Margolis of News 12 New Jersey centered on jobs, who would create more of them, and which woman was more qualified to assume the No. 2 post in state government and could be called upon to take over for the governor if he were to step aside.

Guadagno listed her credentials as a former state and federal prosecutor and the first female sheriff of Monmouth County. She defended her boss throughout the evening, from Christie's handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy to his stance on public education funding and his veto of a gay-marriage bill and preference for the public to decide on same-sex marriage.

In response to a question about the lieutenant governor's role, Guadagno said: "The first thing you have to know, it's not my vision, it's the governor's vision that he wanted his lieutenant governor to be in charge of economic development and as secretary of state. I've visited hundreds of businesses and helped create 143,000 private-sector jobs over the last four years."

Silva, who touted her 11 years as a union executive and said she would "bring business to the table" if elected, offered her own set of numbers when it was her turn. "If her role is to make sure the economy is back on track, and there are 400,000 people out of work and New Jersey is at the bottom of the barrel in job creation, then she has failed," Silva said.

Guadagno said that high taxes discourage job creation and that her job was to lower taxes. Silva, who said she was the first to graduate from college in her family, said she would make sure college seniors had a job in New Jersey after graduation so they would not be forced to leave the state.

The two differed on whether Christie had done enough for women - from hiring enough in state government to funding their health care.

Silva said Christie had cut funding for women's health. "He put his personal ambitions ahead of women's concerns," she said.

Guadagno countered, "What we really need to do for women in the state of New Jersey is create jobs."

The candidates took different approaches on a question regarding lessons from Hurricane Sandy.

"We have to start to understand that climate changes are real," Silva said. "Sandy will not be the last storm we face. We need policies to make sure we preserve the infrastructure of New Jersey and the environment, and that jobs are protected as we prepare for the next storm."

"There was no playbook for Sandy," Guadagno said. "The governor showed you can't talk, you have to act, and that we need to do things, not talk about them. There is no time to come together and chat about the problem. Build those dunes now."

Silva advocated more funding for public education, primarily for urban districts that are falling behind suburban ones.

"You have to just stop throwing money at school districts," Guadagno responded, saying she favored educator evaluations to weed out those who can't teach.

As to whether the minimum wage should be raised - the subject of a ballot question Nov. 5 - the two again had opposing views.

Silva said she favored increasing the wage from $7.25 to $8.25 and tying it to cost-of-living increases. "So many in the last four years under Christie are struggling," she said. "It is wrong that there are 2.1 million people living in poverty."

Guadagno said an increase should be phased in. "The governor conditionally vetoed the minimum-wage raise because he didn't want to put the brakes on our economy," she said. "If we do this overnight, we would do that and lose 31,000 jobs. We should roll it over time so small businesses aren't hurt."

Guadagno took on an issue that has dogged her - change of the state's pension system, since one of her employees while she was sheriff of Monmouth County was accused of double-dipping. "We need to continue to reform pension and eliminate sick-pay payouts and get rid of the double-dippers," she said. "This is something we can work together on."

Silva touted her running mate as having tackled the issue. "It is absolutely important to end pension fraud and abuse, and Barbara Buono took this on in 2006," she said.

Both candidates said they were for stringent gun control but not the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, though Silva said she favored decriminalizing possession of "small amounts" of the drug.

The two were far apart on same-sex marriage.

"I believe marriage equality is a civil rights issue," Silva said. "It is long overdue. The majority of New Jerseyans support it, and it is time for Gov. Christie to get out of the way of history."

Guadagno, as she had done most of the debate, reiterated Christie's position. "If people do support same-sex marriage," she said, "then let them vote on it."

856-779-3928 @SuzParmley