Taxes, COVID, Ida Take Center Stage At NJ Lt. Gov Debate

NEW JERSEY — Tuesday’s debate between Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver and Republican challenger Diane Allen was not as heated as last week’s debate between their running mates in the 2021 New Jersey gubernatorial election.

But both candidates for the state’s second-highest seat still hit all the major issues, and showed clear contrasts and some similarities on the subjects that matter to New Jersey voters this election cycle (you can watch the full stream of Tuesday's debate here).

Here’s four key takeaways from Tuesday’s gubernatorial debate at Rider University in Lawrenceville:

1. Murphy Administration Responses To COVID, Ida Storm

Much of the debate focused on the Murphy Administration’s responses to several issues, including the coronavirus pandemic, Tropical Storm Ida and the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women.

Allen went so far as to say she thinks Murphy “just doesn’t want to have to deal with certain situations,” saying he didn’t do anything about the allegations of abuse at the Edna Mahan women’s prison until bipartisan outcry from members of the state legislature.

When asked if it takes the governor “too long to fire someone in his administration,” Oliver responded, “people are innocent until proven guilty,” and the governor conducts external investigations and explores the facts before making a firm decision.

“Why was it that when Ida came through, no one picked up the phone and called NJ TRANSIT and said, ‘look, it’s coming,’” Allen said. “Why didn’t we declare an emergency to say don’t let the trains go where we know it’s going to flood? Nobody did it, and what happened? A train got stuck in Bound Brook.”

“In the prior administration, we had a governor who didn’t pick up the phone and make a phone call about hundreds of trains that had been placed in a place that we knew would flood,” Oliver said. “As a result of that, we had hundreds of trains that were taken off the grid. I suppose that governor should have made a phone call too because that got us further behind the 8-ball.”

Allen said the Murphy Administration should’ve done more to make sure students didn’t fall behind in a remote learning environment, and that they didn’t act quickly enough.

“Every student in New Jersey was provided access to a tablet or a laptop,” Oliver said. “Free Wi-Fi hotspots were provided where there was no Internet access.”

On the issue of the MVC, Oliver said offices had to be shut down when employees were infected with the coronavirus to prevent them from becoming “super spreader” centers, but Allen said a system should’ve been in place so they could work from home.

Allen was also critical of the Murphy Administration’s decision to put coronavirus patients in nursing homes despite being told “people would die.”

2. Taxes

During last week’s, Gov. Phil Murphy pledged that he would not raise taxes for the next four years. But Allen said he’s not to be believed after a $250 million unemployment tax on businesses on Friday.

“Every time we turn around, we see a new tax on business, and we see businesses leaving the state,” Allen said. “We aren’t going to have more revenue if we don’t have more businesses and more jobs. It’s a big concern, and it’s something that Jack Ciattarelli and I hope to address.”

“Building an innovative economy for the future of New Jersey will lead us to expand our revenue base,” Oliver said. “We have already seen $500 million spent from the film industry from filming in New Jersey. We have not explored our assets in the state, and I think that Governor Murphy and I have focused in on initiatives that make certain we create more revenue.”

3. The New Jersey Reproductive Freedom Act

Oliver repeated Murphy’s stance that this year’s election is about continuing to move New Jersey forward, including protecting a woman’s right to choose at a time when it is under assault across the country.

“There is no turning back as it relates to Roe vs. Wade,” Oliver said. “Women have come a long way understanding their bodies, how their bodies work and what their choices in life are.”

Allen said New Jersey doesn’t want a law that makes abortions legal in the last trimester of a pregnancy, but it also doesn’t want the Texas law that makes abortions illegal before a woman knows she’s pregnant.

“I think a woman has a right to choose, but I think there’s a point where we have to look at it from the standpoint of does it go all the way up to the end or is it something we need to think about,” Allen said.

4. Gun Violence

Allen said that although New Jersey has the strictest gun laws in the country, they do nothing to crack down on illegal guns specifically. She said they need to defend the Second Amendment, and make sure residents have the chance to protect themselves.

Oliver said New Jersey residents don’t want a conceal-carry law. She criticized Allen for opposition to expanded criminal background checks and magazine limits. At a time when gun violence is out of control, you shouldn’t be able to just bring a gun into a Starbucks, she said.

Who Are These Two, Anyway?

The debate opened with moderator David Wildstein of the New Jersey Globe, which sponsored the debate, saying many people don’t know the candidates and questioned if the office of lieutenant governor needs to exist.

Both candidates said it needs to exist because there have been situations in the past in which the governor has left office early and the State Senate President had to assume the role of Acting Governor and do both jobs simultaneously.

As for who they are, Allen called herself a social moderate and a fiscal conservative, while Oliver said she’s socially progressive and fiscally responsible.

Prior to serving as the second-ever lieutenant governor, Essex County resident Oliver spent 20 years in the state Legislature, notably taking the role of speaker of the state Assembly. She currently also runs the state Department of Community Affairs.

Allen is running with Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican candidate for governor and a former state Assemblyman. The Burlington County resident started her career as a television news anchor in Philadelphia and first served on the Moorestown Board of Education at 21 years old, but transitioned to politics full-time in 1995 after running for state Assembly, then state Senate in 1997. She came out of retirement earlier this year to pull her support for Ciattarelli.

Tuesday’s debate was the only debate between the two in this election cycle. Murphy and Ciattarelli debated last week, and will debate again for the final time on Oct. 12 in Glassboro. That debate will air on PBS.

The general election is Nov. 2, although mail-in ballots are already being filed and early in-person voting will begin Oct. 23. Here's what you need to know to cast your vote: 2021 General Election Voting Deadlines, Timeline In New Jersey