Race for title of governor runs through Rider

By Amber Cox

Rider’s Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics is set to bring the three major gubernatorial candidates to Rider’s campus within the course of a week.

Independent Chris Daggett, Republican Chris Christie and Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine will be on campus beginning Sept. 15.
Ben Dworkin, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, is expecting this series to help educate students about the candidates.

“In 2009, the road to Trenton leads through Rider University,” Dworkin said. “Having all three major candidates come to campus demonstrates how they each recognize the importance of young people in the political process.”

In a poll conducted by Quinnipiac University of nearly 2,000 voters last month, 37 percent of likely voters would   vote for Corzine, 47 percent for Christie and 9 percent for Daggett.
Corzine has plans to further improve his administration with goals he is currently working on. The economy, creating jobs, education, providing affordable health care, protecting the middle class and improving his partnership with President Obama are all on his agenda.

Christie, the Republican candidate, is a former U.S. attorney for New Jersey. He has large plans to cut taxes, bring back jobs, eliminate wasteful spending, bring residents back into the cities of New Jersey, and further improve education among the young residents, as well as a number of other things.

Daggett, the Independent candidate, is working hard to inform the public of his plans. He focuses largely on education, the environment, ethics and social issues.

The ‘Governing New Jersey’ series will be kicked off on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m., with Daggett. Christie will appear at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16 and Corzine will be present at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22.

“Given this gubernatorial year, we thought it best to invite the three major candidates to present their views,” Dworkin said. “These three events constitute the launching of our ‘Governing New Jersey’ series. We expect this to be an ongoing effort to bring major state political figures to campus over the course of the year.”

Dworkin hopes that the institute’s events will help educate students and the public about the major candidates.

“These events are free and open to the public, and we hope those that claim they don’t know enough will take an opportunity to listen and hear from the three major players,” he said.

Dworkin strongly believes that the next governor of New Jersey will play a major role in how the state functions.

“The next governor of New Jersey will be making decisions that affect everyone at Rider,” he said. “New Jersey is facing significant challenges when it comes to education, transportation and jobs, all of which have an impact on the Rider community.”

The ‘Governing New Jersey’ series is set to continue throughout the year with other major players in New Jersey’s government coming to campus.
“The Rebovich Institute for New Jersey politics is dedicated to helping people understand, appreciate and be involved with state politics,” Dworkin said.