Congressional candidates spar over education (NJ 5th district)

Bergen Record ^ | 8-14-02 | SHANNON D. HARRINGTON

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The two candidates vying to succeed retiring Congresswoman Marge S. Roukema questioned each others' commitment to public education Tuesday.

Democrat Anne Sumers said her opponent, Republican Assemblyman Scott Garrett of Sussex County, has harmed public schools with his voting record, and Garrett accused Sumers of hypocrisy because she has not voted in her local school elections for more than a decade.

At a news conference behind Ridgewood High School on Tuesday, Sumers surrounded herself with teachers and local school board officials and vowed to fight for more federal money for teacher training and school construction.

"My drive for public education will never wane," said Sumers, of Upper Saddle River, who is an ophthalmologist.

At the same time, she called Garrett's state legislative record "an attack on public education."

She noted that Garrett last year voted against the state's $8.6 billion school construction financing act and that he has said the federal Department of Education should be reduced or eliminated. Sumers also criticized Garrett's support for government vouchers for parents who send their children to private schools.

"School vouchers undermine public education," Sumers said. "I want to make sure taxpayer money is spent on public schools."

Garrett fired back by questioning Sumers' commitment to public education because she had not voted in an April school board and budget election in her hometown since 1990.

"What has she done for public education for the past 12 years?" Garrett said Tuesday. "I'm not saying she has to have a 100 percent record here, but she should have some record."

Garrett also defended his legislative record on education issues.

"I have been a supporter of public schools through the budgetary process," Garrett said, "making sure the schools have the money to pay the teachers. Secondly, I spent time on the [Assembly] Education Committee, where we dealt with a number of these issues to support public education.

"We have some of the best schools in the country here in northern New Jersey, and I think we have to do all we can to maintain and improve on them," Garrett said.

Garrett said he voted against the school construction financing act because most of the money was earmarked for urban schools at the expense of suburban taxpayers.

"That act shortchanges Bergen County," he said.

As for his dislike of the federal Education Department, Garrett said he opposes federal intrusion on local school decisions.

Although Garrett has supported initiatives for private school vouchers, the assemblyman said he is now more inclined to push for income tax credits to offset private school tuition.

"It's an idea that would at least potentially provide for some choice," Garrett said, "but not at the detriment of public schools."

Sumers called the tax credit idea a voucher initiative in disguise.

"A tax credit is exactly the same thing as a voucher," Sumers said. "I see Scott repeatedly trying to funnel public money into private schools. I absolutely would not support it."

When asked about her failure to vote in the past 13 local school elections, Sumers said it was a civic obligation she had neglected. But she weighed that against Garrett's recent voting record, noting that the assemblyman has missed four legislative sessions since the June 4 primary as well as votes on more than 100 bills.

Garrett missed some of those votes because he was on vacation in Florida immediately after the election. A campaign spokesman said he missed another day because he was in Washington meeting with President Bush and other White House officials about the upcoming campaign.

"He's not showing up for his job," said Sumers campaign manager Jeffrey Garcia, "and he's asking where she was on election days? He's got chutzpah."

Sumers and Garrett are vying for Roukema's seat in the 5th Congressional District, which covers the northern ends of Bergen and Passaic counties, most of Sussex County, and all of Warren County.

Both candidates send their children to private schools: Sumers to a school in Manhattan, and Garrett to a Christian school in Sussex County.

Shannon D. Harrington's e-mail address is harrington@northjersey.com