Posted on 06/24/2002 5:47:32 PM PDT by jmc813
If the theme of Anne Sumers' campaign could be summed up in a few words, they might be: "I'm just like Marge."
Marge, of course, is the woman Sumers is trying to succeed in Congress: retiring Rep. Marge S. Roukema, who has represented the 5th District for 22 years.
Roukema is a Republican, and Sumers is a Democrat, but Sumers says that in this case, voters need to look beyond party labels.
"I think Marge is great," said Sumers, an ophthalmologist from Upper Saddle River who clearly is trying to tap into the base of moderate and liberal Republican voters that returned Roukema to Washington every two years since 1980. "She stood up always for what she thought was right. I hope to carry on her traditions."
It's a tactic political strategists say they've seen before. But in this case, it carries a little more credibility. Until a few months ago, Sumers was one of the Republicans who helped reelect Roukema. Now, she's trying to find others who, like her, are willing to cross party lines.
She may be having some success.
A former campaign finance chairman for Roukema, Ridgewood businessman and registered Republican Douglas Dittrick, has defected to the Democrat's camp. He's already placing calls to fellow Republicans, inviting them to fund-raisers for Sumers and introducing the Democrat as his "new candidate."
There is buzz that a significant number of Roukema supporters are contemplating the same move.
And there is even more buzz about what Roukema herself will do if she decides to endorse a candidate in the race. The Ridgewood moderate has never been shy about bucking the GOP, and she has no love for the man her party nominated to fill her seat, conservative state Assemblyman Scott Garrett of Sussex County. Garrett opposed Roukema in her last two Republican primaries.
Roukema said in an interview last week that she hasn't decided which candidate, if any, she will support.
But Sumers has been reaching out to her, she acknowledged.
"On the other hand, Scott Garrett, surprisingly enough, hasn't put any calls in as of yet," she said.
Republican leaders will expect Roukema to overlook her ideological differences with Garrett and endorse him. But Roukema was non-committal.
"Let me see how he's going to develop this campaign," she said, declining to comment further.
Garrett's campaign manager, Jeff Clauss, said Garrett had been vacationing with his family in Florida since winning the nomination June 4 and just returned Tuesday. "She is on his top list of people to start calling," Clauss said. "He definitely wants to talk with her."
As for Sumers, Clauss was hardly impressed with her attempts to target Roukema supporters.
"If [Sumers] wanted to be Marge Roukema, she should have stayed in the Republican Party," Clauss said. "Above all, Marge Roukema is a Republican, and she's a loyal Republican, and Anne Sumers is a Democrat. And she would be supporting the Democratic agenda in Congress."
Clauss said an early poll commissioned by the National Republican Congressional Committee shows no evidence that Sumers has benefited from significant defections.
Among Republicans, Garrett had a 76 percent to 11 percent lead over Sumers, the poll shows. Among Republicans who describe themselves as moderate, the lead is 65 percent to 17 percent.
Sumers' campaign manager, Jeffrey Garcia, had a different take on the poll, saying that 11 percent support among Republicans is a good start for a Democrat who has yet to spend any significant amount of money on her campaign.
But several Bergen Republican leaders interviewed also dismissed Sumers' "I'm Like Marge" strategy and called Dittrick's defection insignificant.
"Never heard of him," said Bergen Republican Chairman James Sheehan. "He certainly hasn't been active in the county party."
Still, there is concern among northern Bergen Republicans that other Roukema supporters will follow Dittrick.
"My feeling is there will be substantial defections from the party in this race by moderates and liberals," said a prominent Bergen Republican who asked not to be identified. "There are a lot of moderate Republicans who are pro-choice and also anti-gun. And Garrett is too far to the right."
In Roukema's hometown of Ridgewood, the talk has been particularly prevalent.
Although the village has significantly more registered Republicans than Democrats, voters in Ridgewood, which has a non-partisan form of government, are known for having an independent streak, said Mayor Jane Reilly, a registered Democrat. That benefits Sumers, she said.
"Anne's a good example of why party labels don't always mean much," she said. "She's always been a moderate, whether a Republican or a Democrat. I think that's what makes her candidacy appealing."
Nonetheless, GOP leaders in the village think a majority of Ridgewood's Republicans will stick with party candidate Garrett.
"I'm hopeful they will remain loyal to the party," said Paul Callan, a former vice mayor and a moderate who ran unsuccessfully last year as a Republican freeholder candidate. "I intend to remain loyal to the party."
What makes the Sumers-Roukema comparisons interesting is the history the two women have together.
For years, Sumers and Roukema have been tenants of the same Ridgewood office building and for a while shared the first floor.
The ophthalmologist - a founder of the New Jersey Children's Museum and an original member of the anti-gun Million Mom March - found an ally in Roukema on issues such as abortion rights, expanded health coverage, and gun control.
Her support turned financial. Sumers and her husband, Elliott, hosted fund-raisers for the congresswoman, and Sumers helped to oversee an ophthalmologists' political committee that gave Roukema $5,000 during the past three terms.
There are some differences, though.
On abortion, for example, Roukema voted to ban late-term or "partial-birth" procedures. Sumers says she would have opposed the ban, saying such procedures are already rare and mostly done when a woman's life is in jeopardy.
Roukema also has supported laws requiring doctors to notify the parents of minors seeking abortions, except in cases in which judges intervene. Sumers opposes such laws, saying they would only discourage teenage girls from getting needed medical help.
But Sumers said those differences were minimal and that the two agree on the basic tenets of the pro-choice movement - unlike Garrett, who is staunchly anti-abortion and endorsed by the New Jersey Right to Life group.
Sumers' loyalty to Roukema and her history as a Republican have disturbed some Democrats in the district. When Democratic leaders backed her at the party's nominating convention, some questioned how loyal she would be to the party and accused leaders of picking her for her ability to raise money.
Sumers has already drawn the line with Democrats on some fiscal issues. A week before Senate Democrats killed a Republican-sponsored repeal of the estate tax, Sumers issued a news release calling for its passage.
She also supported President Bush's 2001 tax cut bill, although a majority of congressional Democrats protested that it was fiscally irresponsible.
Still, Democrats for the most part seem to be giving Sumers a warm reception. If her ties to Roukema and the GOP give the party a shot at winning a seat in a Republican stronghold, the more power to her, they say.
"I think what she's proving to everyone is that she's an independent thinker," said Ridgewood Democrat Matt Rogers, who had considered running for the seat before dropping out and supporting Sumers. "That, to me, is a prime example of why you can't classify her as a traitor and say that she switched parties for her own purpose."
Shannon D. Harrington's e-mail address is harrington@northjersey.com
Interestingly enough, many years ago, I worked for Anne Sumers at a deli she and her husband owned. Nice enough lady from the few times I dealt with her there.
I strongly reccommend visiting www.garrettforcongress.com and learning about Scott's record and stand on the issues. Seems like a "Schundler Republican" which is all too rare in this state these days.
One good thing in his favor is his pro-life and pro-gun stance. His opponent is for partial birth abortion which many are against.
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