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Rob Andrews Raises the Bar on the Issue
of Taxes Congressman Rob Andrews, a Democrat representing New Jersey's First Congressional District, which includes Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties, is an interesting guy. He is smart, articulate and has an independent streak. He is also very good on television and knows how to speak in sound bites that leave a powerful impression. He is also very ambitious. When Andrews lost to Jim McGreevey in the 1997 Democratic primary for governor, he seemed devastated. He went underground politically for a long time. Andrews believed, rightfully so, that he was a better candidate and would have been a much better governor than McGreevey. In retrospect, that seems pretty obvious. But you know what they say about hindsight. Andrews was elected to Congress 17 years ago at the age of 30. My sense is that he is pretty bored making speeches on the floor of the House covered by C-Span, without a lot of people paying attention (including his colleagues). Andrews has little impact on important public policy matters. Sure, he's got a solid Congressional District operation that helps constituents deal with countless problems they encounter with government agencies. But that is not enough for Andrews. Seventeen years of helping people get their social security check that might have gotten lost in the mail can be pretty tiring for a guy who has such big ideas on national and international affairs. So here we are again, eight years after Andrews' loss to McGreevey. The South Jersey Congressman is trying to make a name for himself as a bona fide statewide political figure. He says he wants to run for governor again. Senator Jon Corzine's money or Acting Governor Dick Codey's power of incumbency apparently does not intimidate him. Andrews figures that in a three-way Democratic primary, his solid South Jersey base may be enough for him to squeak in. I'm not so sure about that, but crazier things have happened in New Jersey politics. Yet, as smart as Rob Andrews is about public policy, he has never been particularly good at creating strong relationships with important Democratic Party officials. He has the tendency to buck the Party establishment on key issues and he does it in a very public way. He is a bit of a hawk on military affairs and has implied that his Democratic colleagues are kind of wimpy on these same matters. But it is Rob Andrews' recent speech in Newark as reported in The Star-Ledger that has my attention. In that speech, Andrews talked about the issue of rising property taxes, yet he didn't do it in the same old predictable way that so many of his colleagues do. Most politicians talk about "property tax reform," which means absolutely nothing without specifics. They talk about cutting waste and holding a constitutional convention on the issue. What they don't do is talk straight with voters about what it is really going to take to give us a shot at holding the line on property taxes. Here is what Rob Andrews said in Newark; "We have to tell people things they don't want to hear. We have to start selling the truth." Andrews went on to say the only real way to deal with property taxes as the primary mechanism to fund local public schools is to raise the income tax. Andrews actually said that we need to consider raising state taxes to fund our schools and hopefully cut the property taxes. That's amazing. True, but still amazing. What aspiring statewide candidate would say such a thing that most would consider political suicide? Is Andrews looking to remind people of his one-time mentor, former Governor Jim Florio, who raised income taxes in 1990 and changed the course of NJ politics forever? I'm not sure exactly what Andrews is trying to do, but I like the way he is saying it. He is absolutely right about the property tax issue. Empty rhetoric doesn't help. No one wants to raise the state income tax. But after Christie Whitman pandered to the masses and reduced it way more than it should have been, the option of increasing the income tax has to be on the table. If not, it is another cruel hoax played on voters by making them think they can do something about their local tax bill without dramatically changing the way we fund public schools. What Rob Andrews said in Newark will hopefully begin the first honest conversation this state has had in a long time about property taxes. Whether he runs for governor or not isn't the issue. The issue is that he has done an important public service that we in the media need to recognize. We need to challenge both Democratic and Republican candidates for governor to respond to Andrews' statements. We need to elevate the political discourse in this upcoming election and help voters understand what's real and what's a pipe dream. We also need to treat voters like adults who understand that sometimes tough choices have to be made and none of the options you have are painless. That's a process Rob Andrews has begun. Let's make sure the effort doesn't die here whether his candidacy for governor moves forward or not.
Steve Adubato, Ph.D. is a commentator, lecturer and former state
legislator. Dr. Adubato is also an Emmy Award-winning television
anchor and syndicated columnist.
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