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Green Party of New Jersey |
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Princeton Packet |
9/11/01 |
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Jennifer Potash, Staff Writer With a Web site and some appearances around the state, Green Party gubernatorial candidate Jerry L. Coleman is seeking to make a name for himself in a crowded field. Born in southern Virginia, Mr. Coleman grew up on a farm which he said afforded him an appreciation of the need for open space and the value farmers play in the economy. Mr. Coleman moved with his parents first to Newark and then to Scotch Plains as a teen-ager. He graduated from Montclair State University with a bachelor's degree in business administration and accounting and in May earned a master's degree in public administration from Rutgers University. Mr. Coleman said he became interested in the Green Party after meeting members during a rally for a man who died in police custody in Essex County. Last year, Mr. Coleman was the party's nominee in the 7th Congressional District. The core of Mr. Coleman's agenda for governor is restructuring the tax system from one based on property values to one based on an individual's income and assets. "That would mean people who have ability to pay more, based on their income and assets, should pay more," said Mr. Coleman, 54, who has served as an accountant and comptroller in the corporate and nonprofit sectors. Mr. Coleman said he is developing a study on how his proposed change in taxation would affect individual municipalities. "My hypothesis is, it would actually lower the amount people are paying to support local government because you would have more people paying the base in the formula," said Mr. Coleman, a former member of the Rahway City Council. "You have more workers in a community than property owners." This plan, he said, would halt suburban sprawl, and municipalities would not have to compete for new ratables to generate revenue. The assets-based system also would free up money to pay for many of his proposed initiatives such as increasing spending for public schools, job training programs and cleaning up environmental problems, he said. Mr. Coleman does not support a proposed $355 million arena for the Nets and Devils professional sports teams in downtown Newark -- with $190 million coming from sales-tax revenue generated locally by the teams, the arena and other economic redevelopment projects and $50 million coming from revenues generated in Essex County and the city of Newark. "The Green Party's philosophy and mine is private industry should build their own facilities without public funding being utilized," he said. To remedy the state's high auto insurance rates and discourage more insurance companies from leaving New Jersey, Mr. Coleman proposes replacing the current "no-fault" system with "fault" insurance coverage. Mr. Coleman opposes the use of consent searches by police officers, the practice of asking drivers to allow searches of their vehicles without probable cause to suspect a crime has been committed. Neither Republican Bret Schundler or Democrat Jim McGreevey support a permanent ban on consent searches. Independent Bill Schluter and Libertarian Mark Edgerton support such a ban. To combat racial profiling in law enforcement, Mr. Coleman proposes a more extensive cultural diversity training program. Officers would take yearly courses instead of just a seminar at the training academy, he said. "If I'm riding down the street in a BMW, they'll assume I'm a drug dealer and that's what law enforcement has said," said Mr. Coleman, who is black. As a councilman in Rahway, Mr. Coleman said he proposed cultural diversity training that helped ease tensions between black residents and the local police department. A registered Democrat, Mr. Coleman said he always acted independent of the party. "I always believed if a good idea was put forth, whether by a Republican, Democrat or independent, then it's worth supporting," he said. And his independence is the reason voters should select him for governor, Mr. Coleman said. "I think the residents of New Jersey should vote for me because I am the person who would best represent the people and not be swayed by the influence of money from major corporations tainting my decision-making process," he said. While he personally opposes abortion, Mr. Coleman supports the right of a woman to choose the medical procedure. He said he would not support taxpayer-funded abortions except in the cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. Mr. Coleman supports additional state funding for family planning services and more comprehensive sex-education programs in the schools. |
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