President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged New Jersey to keep Democrat Jon Corzine as governor, calling him an honorable man who puts the people’s interests first.

“That’s the kind of governor that Jon Corzine has been. That’s the kind of governor that Jon Corzine will continue to be. That’s why New Jersey needs to give Jon Corzine another four years,” Obama told a cheering crowd of more than 3,000 in a gymnasium at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Making his second political trip of the week in support of a Democrat on the Nov. 3 ballot, Obama touted Corzine’s record. The governor, he said, has provided more property tax relief to homeowners than any New Jersey governor and was the first chief executive in 60 years to make government smaller.

He said Corzine also expanded early childhood education and health insurance for children, all during one of the most difficult periods in the state’s history.

Polls show Corzine, the only incumbent governor facing re-election in 13 days, now running about even with Republican Chris Christie, who had enjoyed double-digit leads.

‘One of the best partners I have’
Obama asked that Corzine, “one of the best partners I have in the White House,” not be punished by being booted from office for telling the truth about the challenges ahead.

“I hope what you want is somebody who’s going to be straight with you,” Obama said at the rally, one reminiscent of his own events during last year’s presidential campaign. The crowd chanted “Obama,” “Obama,” “Obama” as the president bounded onto the stage to greet Corzine and Caroline Kennedy. “Ultimately the outcome of this race is not up to Jon. It’s up to you,” Obama said, urging people to vote on Nov. 3.

Introducing Obama, Corzine said he was proud to be the president’s partner in building a better America and in building a better New Jersey. “I ask you to stand strong with me. You do that, I’ll stand strong with you for the next four years,” Corzine said.

Obama, who remains popular among New Jersey Democrats, is in the midst of a blitz of political campaigning to help raise money and rally loyalists as the 2009 off-year election season draws to a close.

Tough races
Democrats face the prospect of losing hard-fought gubernatorial races in Virginia and perhaps New Jersey, two contests that, to a degree, are shaping up as a test of Obama’s political strength. On Friday, the president heads to New England to attend fundraisers for Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who is up for re-election in 2010, and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, who is facing a tough fight for re-election next year.

Next Tuesday, Obama is scheduled to stump in Norfolk, Va., for Democrat Creigh Deeds, who is trailing in the race for Virginia governor. Obama’s appearance Wednesday in support of Corzine was his second for the governor this year. It followed campaign visits to New Jersey this week by Vice President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton.

Governor Corzine’s plan to deal with New Jersey’s record-high property taxes is to stick with his current approach. Republican challenger Chris Christie wants government spending to be cut drastically. And independent Chris Daggett is calling for an altogether new strategy that features the state sales tax.

After getting off to a slow start on the issue this year, the candidates have finally started talking about their plans to address property tax bills that have now grown to an average of $7,045 statewide — and much higher in North Jersey.

Governor Corzine pledges to work his plan of enforcing — and maybe lowering — local government spending caps. The caps haven’t stopped property tax bills from growing but they have cut the rate of growth roughly in half over the last four years.

Republican challenger Chris Christie is promising to drastically cut state spending, while also calling for shared services among local governments and a full restoration of property tax rebate checks.

And Daggett wants to scrap the rebate programs and put more of the state’s tax burden on the sales tax, something he says will reduce property taxes by 25 percent.

While the property tax issue has been at the front of voters’ minds for years, this year’s polls indicate it is now, by far, the biggest issue. And voters say they are also concerned with the economy and the state’s state finances, which are being stressed by an estimated $8 billion structural budget deficit and a $30 billion unfunded pension liability.

The candidates running for governor don’t seem to share the same struggles average New Jersey residents do when it comes to paying their property taxes — the issue voters identify as their top concern. For more details on each plan, please visit

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Here’s who pays how much and how that annual bill stacks up against reported income and assets:

Governor Corzine, D

* Tax bill: $37,460
* Property: Hoboken condo recently purchased for $3.26 million
* Financial status: Investment portfolio estimated at $175 million, reported losses of $2.75 million in 2008

The incumbent Democrat’s plan for addressing property taxes is to largely continue pressing the strategy he’s enacted during his first term.

Corzine established spending caps on local governments and has encouraged consolidation and shared services. He also expanded the “senior freeze” program and invested more than $1 billion in property tax rebates, although he had to trim the Homestead program earlier this year to help close a budget shortfall.

The governor has said he’d like to restore the cuts made this year to the property tax rebate program if possible.

This year’s budget, however, increased spending for school districts, something that helps keep local property taxes in check, Corzine said.

“I have a record and a plan,” he said during the first gubernatorial debate. “We’ve cut the budget this year for the second year in a row, making tough decisions in a tight environment is what being governor is all about.”

Corzine said he could address the looming budget deficit by extending, if necessary, the income tax hikes put in place earlier this year, cutting more planned increases in education aid and postponing full payments into the state pension system.

He said he will also continue to enforce a state hiring freeze started during his first term in office.

Chris Christie, R

* Tax bill: $36,866
* Property: Mendham house assessed at $2.26 million
* Financial status: Reported earning $448,720 in income in 2008, net worth at time estimated at $3.8 million

Christie said he will address high state spending as part of his plan to reduce property taxes. He’s also promising to restore the property tax rebates that Corzine cut this year.

And Christie, a former U.S. attorney, said he will convince local governments to become more efficient through consolidation and sharing of services to address spending at the local level.

“We are the biggest tax-burden state in America and people are suffocating under this tax burden,” Christie said during the debate. “We are going to reduce spending.”

Christie said he can cut spending from state programs and employee costs.

He has identified several programs he believes could be cut or better managed, including employee overtime costs and health insurance programs. He’s also promised to cut two-thirds of all political appointees from the payroll.

Christie would also cut pensions for politicians and end government-funded pensions for part-time employees,

Those moves would address the state’s larger fiscal issues, Christie said, along with income tax cuts he’d like to enact after the economy improves.

Chris Daggett, I

* Tax Bill: $16,394
* Property: Basking Ridge house estimated to be worth $1.16 million.
* Financial status: $1.5 million net worth

Daggett has put forward the most detailed plan on the property tax issue, one that would make more products and services subject to the state sales tax of 7 cents on every dollar spent.

The extra revenue generated by the expansion of the sales tax would be put toward reducing property taxes by 25 percent up to $2,500. He would also give the full $2,500 to seniors who currently qualify for the senior freeze relief program.

The changes to the tax system would also make it “fairer, more balanced and it will make New Jersey more competitive,” Daggett said during the debate. “And it will make New Jersey more affordable.”

Enacting his property tax plan would also bring the state more than halfway toward closing the structural deficit, Daggett said. The sales tax expansion would bring in an additional $3.9 billion in revenue, and cutting the existing property tax rebate programs saves an estimated $1.6 billion, he said.

A spending freeze and employee salary givebacks can generate more savings and help address the unfunded pension liability, said Daggett, a former state Department of Environmental Protection commissioner.

New Jersey average

Tax bill: $7,045 statewide; $9,386, Bergen County; $7,954, Passaic County.

Property: Bergen County average home value, $486,300; Passaic County average home value, $385,500.

Financial status: Median income statewide $70,378, according recent U.S. Census Bureau snapshot.

[Sources: NorthJersey.com]

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