“There’s been this question of whether I’m a hand-picked candidate, but I was in a real pri­mary. I was picked by the voters.” — Ellen Karcher Marlboro council president

for N.J. Senate seat

BY LARRY RAMER

Staff Writer

Republican state Senate Co-President John O. Bennett and his challenger, Marlboro Township Council President Ellen Karcher, a Democrat, are battling to define each other in the minds of voters.

“I think (Karcher) will end up becom­ing a tool for the McGreevey philosophy of sending moneys from our area ... since her campaign is being financed by the McGreevey ma­chine.” — John O. Bennett Senate co-president

Bennett wants people to think "McGreevey’s friend and follower" when they see the name "Ellen Karcher," while Karcher would like the word "unethical" to pop into voters’ heads when they see the name "John Bennett."

The winner of the Nov. 4 election will represent the 12th Legislative District, which includes Freehold Township, Freehold Borough, Marlboro, Manalapan and Colts Neck, in the state Senate for a four-year term.

Karcher and Bennett met separately with the News Transcript to discuss the election.

"I think (Karcher) will end up becoming a tool for the (Gov. James) McGreevey philosophy of sending moneys from our area and putting them in cities like Camden and Newark, since her campaign is being financed by the McGreevey machine and the (Democratic) state committee," Bennett said.

Bennett sharply criticized McGreevey for cutting funds for property tax relief. He said he has fought strenuously against these policies.

Recent published reports have indicated that Karcher’s campaign has received hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign contributions from committees connected to the Democratic Party.

Bennett’s campaign manager Conor Fennessy said Democrats are attempting to defeat Bennett because of his criticism of McGreevey’s policies and his status as the state’s highest ranking elected Republican.

Asked about her so-called ties to McGreevey, Karcher responded, "There’s been this question of whether I’m a hand-picked candidate, but I was in a real primary. I was picked by the voters. I wasn’t picked by one person in particular."

As for questions about the source of her campaign contributions, Karcher said, "I’ve enjoyed contributions from all over. I wouldn’t say there’s any large group (providing campaign contributions) that indicates allegiance to x, y or z."

Karcher was asked whether, at the governor’s prodding, she could support a state budget that would contain an addi­tional $1 billion in aid for Camden while keeping state aid to suburban school dis­tricts stable. The candidate declined to answer the question directly, saying it oversimplified matters.

"I think [the question] was put in sim­plistic terms. That’s not enough informa­tion," Karcher replied. "I will be elected to represent the interests of the people of the 12th District and I will have to an­swer to the people of the district and my own conscience."

Meanwhile, ethical questions sur­rounding Bennett have been well-docu­mented in recent months. Bennett has admitted to double-billing Marlboro for $8,130 when he was the town’s municipal attorney. He said he has refunded the money to the town.

Karcher also said Bennett over­charged Marlboro when he took on a project to recodify its municipal ordi­nances. Bennett charged Marlboro more than $100,000 for the recodification pro­ject, which was not completed after seven years.

Now, Karcher said, the town has found a firm that will complete the recod­ification project in one year for about $25,000. She has called on Bennett to pay the town the difference between the two fees.

In various advertisements, Karcher has noted that the FBI is investigating Bennett’s activities as Marlboro’s town­ship attorney.

In general, Karcher contended, Bennett has been more interested in helping himself than in solving the state’s problems.

"All of the time he’s been in office, Bennett has been using his office to make sure he has jobs. He hasn’t used his office to address the problems" in the state," said Karcher.

Bennett said the firm Marlboro has hired to undertake the recodification pro­ject will not be performing the same work he was hired to perform. He said his pro­ject involved recreating ordinance forms, while the new firm hired by Marlboro will just use existing forms to update ordi­nances. According to Bennett, he was close to finishing the project when the Township Council decided to move in a different direction.

Asked why people should vote for him when he is under investigation by the FBI, Bennett responded by saying that his law firm, not he, is being investigated by the FBI. He noted that the FBI is con­ducting several investigations of people connected with the McGreevey administration.

"She (Karcher) is very selective when it comes to [talking about] FBI investiga­tions," Bennett said, noting that Karcher has never discussed the investigations of the McGreevey administration.

The senator added that the law firm of DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick, Cole and Wisler, the town’s current municipal attorney, is on track to collect more money from Marlboro than his firm ever earned from the town. DeCotiis is collecting fees at an annual rate of $600,000, the senator said. Bennett noted that the most his firm ever earned from Marlboro in a year, including litigation, was $300,000. He said the DeCotiis firm has made substantial con­tributions to Karcher’s campaign.

Karcher confirmed that she has re­ceived campaign contributions from DeCotiis. She explained that a portion of the fees received by the law firm went to pay DeCotiis for working to handle some of the litigation that Bennett’s firm had left unresolved. DeCotiis also was com­pensated for the time it spent studying.