The Blind
Justice Column
By Andre "Contraversa"
Traversa
Go Schundler!
September 13, 2001 (WebToday)--I am well aware that tragedy has truck our
great nation, and that darkness hangs over the land, and don't worry, I will
write plenty of columns about this event, and will discuss it from many
different angles. But I feel led right now to resume my original plan and report
some good news. The good news comes in the form of a person, a principled
Christian statesman who has devoted his life to implementing his faith in the
public square, a man who managed to turn a dilapidated, crime-ridden city into a
thriving metropolis. The man's name is Bret Schundler, and he's running for
Governor of New Jersey.
Now why would I, a resident of the Chicago suburbs, care a fig about local New
Jersey politics? Because Bret Schundler is a rising star in the Republican party
and represents a new kind of conservative, one who was able to build a coalition
of blacks, Hispanics and other minorities in a city that is only 6 percent
Republican, and was able to do so without compromising any of his conservative
principles. Schundler, who was re-elected twice as mayor of Jersey City, once in
1993 and again in 1997, garnered 68 percent of the vote in a city that is 25
percent black, 40 percent Hispanic, and 10 percent Asian, even though Jesse
Jackson traveled there to oppose him. He has also not strayed far from his
conservative positions, supporting school vouchers and opposing abortion and gun
control. And he has voted to take those same ideas with him to the state
capitol.
A little about Bret. Growing up as one of nine children, Bret Schundler is a
Harvard graduate and former Democrat who, upon graduation, signed on to Gary
Hart's campaign, but quickly became disillusioned with the Democratic Party and
switched to the GOP. After a successful career on Wall Street, Schundler decided
to enter the political world.
In 1992, Jersey City held a special mayoral election after its then-current
mayor was convicted on federal tax fraud charges. Schundler won that election by
only a few percentage points, but won handily nine months later with 68 percent
of the vote. While mayor, Schundler reduced crime by putting more police on the
street, taking those cops sitting behind desks and transferring them to foot
patrol, while other city clerks filled their jobs. He also managed to reduce
property taxes while at the same time increasing tax collection. He was not able
to implement his school voucher program, but did found Golden Door Charter
School, which demonstrated tremendous academic results.
With this kind of record, I am not at all surprised that Schundler was able to
pull off a landslide victory in the GOP primary governor's race against the
hand-picked establishment candidate, Bob Franks, who also lost to John Corzine
in the 2000 Senate race. This just goes to show that being a moderate Republican
is a lose-lose proposition. Voters prefer a leader who will stand for something,
even if they don't agree with him.
Initially, Schundler was way behind in the polls, but won handily, beating
Franks by a margin of 58-42. My prayer is that we will see a repeat performance,
Schundler is currently trailing 19 points behind his Democratic opponent, Mim
McGreevey. But McGreevey knows Schundler's ability to turn things around at the
last minute, which is why he's putting 1.6 million dollars into the race. he
also knows that Schundler can put together a strong minority coalition,
something few Republicans are able to do.
Okay, so why am I so exited about this guy? As I said earlier, Schundler has
reached out to minorities without compromising any of his conservative
principles. Many Republicans talk about reaching out to minorities, but simply
pander to them. Rather than showing ethnic groups how conservative ideas can
help their people, many Republicans feel they have to become more liberal if
they are going to win over the black and Hispanic population. But this is not at
all the case.
Take school vouchers for example. Here is a great opportunity for a populist
campaign in black and ethnic neighborhoods. While the teacher's unions scream
about money being taken away from the sacred public schools, conservatives can
tell minorities that the teacher's unions don't care about them or their
children, but would rather see them trapped in failing public schools, while the
children of rich white elites can send their kids to private schools and leave
the minorities in the dust. Hispanics especially, with their strong Catholic
values, would love to send their kids to parochial schools, but can't afford
them. Let's make this a civil rights issue. Blacks and other minorities are
being deprived of a good education; we integrated the public schools, let's do
the same with the private ones as well.
I have read Schundler's speeches, he is bright, articulate, and speaks
passionately about his Christian faith. And he even weighed in on yesterday's
World Trade Center bombing. Schundler was in Israel at the time, meeting with
Jewish leaders, which is both ironic and appropriate.
Bret is not only a wise and strategic politician, but a true statesman, as
well. Go Schundler.
Andre Traversa, blind from birth, is a freelance writer
living in the Chicago area. He may be reached at: goandre@xnet.com
Brief Biography of Andre Traversa
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