Final Faceoff – Democrat
By Jonathon Padron
Jon Corzine is the right choice for New Jersey students for the next four years. When it comes to issues of education, health care and the economy, Corzine has made the right choices to set us up for great successes in the future. When Corzine came into office, the national economy was trembling along. When it took a nose dive, Corzine was the first governor in the nation to pass a state recovery plan. Corzine has also been the only governor in over a quarter century to shrink the size of our budget while still increasing funding to public education.
Since 2006, he has increased the Tuition Assistance Grant program by nearly $800 million for college students, and our public schools continue to have the highest graduation rate in America.
When it comes to jobs, it’s true that New Jersey has held closely to the national average in unemployment at over 9 percent. But Corzine has made the right decisions — investing in our long-term economic growth — taking us to the forefront of the impending green job revolution and enacting programs such as InvestNJ, which is projected to create 16,000 jobs in this state.
As for ethics and government corruption, under the Corzine administration, we have seen over 300 public officials stand trial for public corruption and ethics charges with 199 convictions currently standing.
Unlike Chris Christie, Corzine believes that health care is a right, not a privilege. Corzine has fought to make health care accessible to all citizens by expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan and funding prenatal care for mothers. Corzine has also been a strong advocate and supporter of President Obama in creating a national health plan.
On Nov. 3, New Jerseyans will have a choice between three candidates with clear and distinct messages. The last four years have not been the easiest, but Corzine has the big picture in mind for New Jersey. No solution worth trying will turn our state around overnight, and there isn’t any magic wand one can use to slash government jobs and destroy necessary insurance mandates to fix all our problems. New Jersey needs to stay the course and in four years, all of us students will have jobs to go along with our diplomas.
