Montclair Times Interviews Coleman

Green Party of New Jersey
Updated May 09, 2008
Green Machine:
Jerry Coleman Bids For Governor Post

Montclair Times June 22, 200 Page 1
By Steven DeVries of The Montclair Times

One of the higher profile precursor philosophers for the Green Party may have been Jim Henson's googily-eyed sock-Muppet, Kermit the Frog.

Despite his rise to kiddie-culture stardom in the '70s and '80s on shows like "Sesame Street" and "The Muppet Show," the famous frog could never hide the fact that he was a tree-hugger at heart. He always seemed most at home in the swamp, strumming a guitar and singing about "The Rainbow Connection" or in the company of fellow tuneful outdoorsmen like John Denver. The truest evidence of Mr. the Frog's personal grapple with showing his true colors was professed in the title to his ballad, "It's Not Easy Being Green."

It's a song probably often spun on the stereos of present-day Green Party members, though not like some well-worn folk/blues classic -- more as an anthem of the underdog. Despite carrying the accusation by many Democrats that the third party's candidate Ralph Nader robbed Al Gore of the presidency by siphoning votes away, the eco-centered party continues its efforts to win political offices for its members.

Enter The Coleman

Jerry Coleman feels that Green is just the color for the New Jersey governor's chair. The Lawrenceville accountant, activist and Montclair State University alumnus was elected by The Green Party of New Jersey to run as its candidate for governor. He was one of the party's top vote earners in the 2000 race for Congress, earning more votes than even Joseph Fortunato, the Montclair attorney and state party chairman.

"Basically the will of the party was 'we have to have someone pick up the ball now who is a proven vote-getter and a proven organizer and someone who will help someone build this thing,'" said Fortunato, now Coleman's campaign manager. "It's a perfect fit for what we're trying to do, which is develop a base -- not only in the white middle class, but among people of color, among labor and among independents throughout the state."

Coleman's platform, as laid out on the Internet and in his campaign fliers, is noble but communicated quite generally. Bulleted promises include, "to reduce taxes," and "to provide affordable medical care for all individuals," but read like pledges that everyone receive 40 acres and a mule -- sure it sounds great, but how do you pull it off? In a few words, sharp executive skills and power.

"A governor in the state of New Jersey has to be a good administrator. It's like the CEO of a corporation. Some state governors don't have the kind of power held by the governor of New Jersey; it's a tremendously powerful position," said Coleman, who is sure he has the skill and experience to wield such jurisdiction.

Twice elected to the City Council in Rahway and even serving as its president in 1994, Coleman explained, he's already faced, albeit on a smaller scale, having to negotiate legislation with members of the Democratic and Republican parties. On the local level, he found most of the other councilmen to be in favor of providing adequate services to their constituents. However, Coleman said that if, as governor, he finds members of the New Jersey Legislature who bend to what he called "big business," and reject policies in favor of the people, he's going to make sure the people find out.

"I'm going to put it up there and say either you support it, or your constituents are going to know that you're not in favor of it," said Coleman.

Balking Big Business

Ever since the days of "Big Brother," putting the word "big" in front of another word has been a way of creating a vast, anonymous enemy network, against which to rally the people. The national and state agencies created to spend the millions of dollars awarded in suits against tobacco companies have coined the term, "Big Tobacco," to create a nemesis who they claim is still trying to underhandedly trick the people into smoking.

"Big business" is a term used by everyone from union sympathizers to the anti-globalization movement to conjure an image akin to the one in Oliver Stone's film, "Nixon," where Larry Hagman and a room full of other oil tycoons fund the winning candidate for president then try to tailor his agenda to their own interests.

It's an image the Green Party wants to stay as far away from as possible. Coleman said that his campaign only accepts contributions from individuals and fundraisers and not from companies who might return later looking for a favor. In the long run, the Green Party cannot afford corporate support, explained Coleman.

"You've heard and you've read about companies that dump waste illegally, these people have no conscience. We just want them to run a clean business, we want to be sure that if you pollute, you've got to pay the loot," said Coleman. He said he wants to run a policy of responsible industry, and if he were to accept funding from businesses looking to buy legislation, that goal would be impossible.

Big deal, some might say, environmental responsibility makes its way onto the platform of anyone looking to get elected, be they Green, Democratic or Republican, though the promises vary depending on the party. But remember, said Coleman, environmentalism has always been a foundation stone for the Green Party while the two "big money" parties are only recently starting to realize the issue's potential for garnishing campaigns.

For Coleman and Fortunato, the other parties have taken the long road to the ideals on which the Green Party was formed. "Three years ago, when POP [The People's Organization for Progress] began to organize," said Fortunato, "Jerry was there. And now we have the gubernatorial candidates speaking out against consent searches and racial profiling. But it was two or three years ago, before these issues were being discussed on a statewide level, that we were out there on the picket lines, the meetings and meeting the victims of racial profiling."

"I also have a good sense of what people of the state mean when they say something," said Coleman. "A lot of other politicians say, 'Yeah I understand what you're saying,' but it goes in one ear and out the other and nothing ever happens. I feel I've worked with a lot of grassroots organizations and citizens organizations who really understand what needs to happen in the state and they need someone they can trust can make that happen," said Coleman.

While in Rahway, Coleman co-founded Concerned Citizens for the Environment to protest the construction of an incinerator and he also worked on several local and county boards and committees to improve community conditions. In Union, he said, he railed against local government bureaucracy as co-founder of the Union County Fair Housing Council and founder of the Union County Senior Citizen Corp.

Adios Aetna, Sayonara ESPA

Coleman's vision for New Jersey is unique, at times blending nuances of Republican and Democratic ideals or rejecting them flat out. For instance, his idea for education calls for less government academic control, while at the same time, Coleman feels that a New Jersey state-run health-care system could prove the model of fairness and efficiency for the nation.

"I'm not against insurance agents, but when it comes to some of the basics -- health, education and welfare, those are things we could provide as a government and that's why I say the state of New Jersey could be used as a test state for that kind of a program," said Coleman. He explained that in a state-run health insurance model, people will still pay a premium, but the middle-man insurance agents and their stockholder-centric interests would be removed from the picture.

This would ensure that everyone has health coverage and would end HMO discernment over what treatment people can and can't receive, said Coleman. And of those many agents and claims adjusters, who may find themselves out of work due to an abandonment of their industry, Coleman said they would be needed to work at the new state agency.

As the state moves into the health-care profession, according to Coleman, they need to abandon the business of proficiency testing for school children.

"We have to stop this hysteria about testing these kids in these early grades," said Coleman. "Children in fourth grade are in traumatic situations when faced with the possibility of not going on to the next grade because they didn't pass the standardized test."

New Jersey students today are taught to take tests, he explained, and teachers are often put under terrific pressure to have their students perform well or face potential job discipline. This must change, Coleman suggested.

Instead, the Green Party's vision is for each community to take responsibility and plan for its children's education, while at the same time continuing with funding by federal, state and local sources.

Truth, Justice and the Amphibian Way

Community-based initiatives are a favorite of the Green Party. Coleman said he recently wrote a proposal which won a tenants association in Paterson $15,000 from the local housing authority to build and run a store in their own complex. Such initiatives could be extended to other communities where they could spur entrepreneurial programs amongst the young people, he suggested.

In Santa Monica, Calif., Green Party Mayor Michael Feinstein recently proposed a living wage for the city, said Fortunato, which he felt was a good model of community-based economics and social justice. Coleman, on the other hand, has his own idea for economic and social justice.

"You have people who are really struggling to pay property taxes, working two or three jobs," he said. "I've talked to two families, wage earners now, who have to work two jobs just to do two things: keep their kids in school and keep a roof over their heads. It's ridiculous.

"When we look at the tax base, we want a progressive tax base whereby those who make more are paying more. We should eliminate a lot of these tax shelters in which you find a lot of the loopholes. They, meaning the rich and the wealthy, can hide their assets in a lot of different ways so that it's not looked at as just cash. I also want to look at asset-based taxation, too, so that those who are wealthy can pay their fair share and not put the burden on the working class of the state of New Jersey."

When Nov. 6 finally passes, and if the counted votes make Jerry Coleman the next governor of New Jersey, he seems sure that he'll stick to his true colors -- just like Kermit. And in fact he'll probably avoid the amphibian's early pessimism as expressed in his famous ballad:

"It's not easy being green. It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things. And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water." Leave the sparkles to the "big money" candidates, Coleman's more the optimist, sure of what he represents. He does not begin a sentence, "If I'm elected governor," but rather, "When I'm elected governor."

Coleman's more the type to stick to Mr. Kermit the Frog's finishing lines, "... green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain, or tall like a tree ... I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful and I think it's what I want to be."

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