"Belleville Stompers!" Clap, clap, stomp, stomp. Applause greeted the three dozen adolescent girls of the Belleville Stompers spirit ensemble as they chanted, clapped hands and stomped their feet in unison in front of the reviewing stand at the Nutley-Belleville Columbus Day Parade. Roland Straten’s introduction, however, drew a collective shrug. Straten had marched behind bagpipers, Boy Scouts, cheerleaders and church...
"Belleville Stompers!" Clap, clap, stomp, stomp.
Applause greeted the three dozen adolescent girls of the Belleville Stompers spirit ensemble as they chanted, clapped hands and stomped their feet in unison in front of the reviewing stand at the Nutley-Belleville Columbus Day Parade.
Roland Straten’s introduction, however, drew a collective shrug.
Straten had marched behind bagpipers, Boy Scouts, cheerleaders and church groups in his bid to represent the Stompers and others in New Jersey’s 8th Congressional District, which includes 21 towns in Passaic and Essex counties.
To do so, he’ll have unseat the longtime Democratic incumbent, Rep. Bill Pascrell, on Nov. 2.
Straten, a 69-year-old community activist and retired businessman from Montclair, shook hands and introduced himself, while an SUV pulled a billboard summing up his platform: "Straten: Less Government = More Jobs."
"The equation is so simple and so straightforward," he said later. "People understand it and people get it."
But whether it will get Straten elected is an open question. The contest is a rematch of the 2008 race, when Pascrell, a former assemblyman and Paterson mayor, trounced Straten by a 71-29 percent margin. This year, the Republican repeat-challenger is hoping a different set of circumstances will improve his performance.
"There’s no comparison," Straten said of the two races.
For one thing, Pascrell and fellow Democrats will not have Barack Obama’s coattails to ride, as they did in ‘08. By contrast, Democratic incumbents are vying in these midterm elections as the party in power during tough economic times. There is also the anti-incumbent zeal of the tea party movement, which has tended to support — without formally endorsing — Republicans. Straten has the support of the North Jersey tea party group.
"I believe there’s a grass-roots movement right now to unseat government as it stands," said Andrew Carchia, 44, of Nutley, a registered Republican and North Jersey tea party group member, who sat on the grass watching the parade with his 5-year-old son, Andrew. "I’m for a major change in November. A major change. So I’m voting Republican all the way."
Even so, New Jersey’s 8th District has not been identified as vulnerable by the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee in its push to win back the House. Likewise, Democrats have not singled out the district as needing special support.
Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district, 134,245 to 58,523, according to the latest figures from the state Division of Elections. But Republicans are counting on the district’s 174,904 unaffiliated voters to poll heavily for Straten, who also has the support of one of the state’s leading conservatives, Bret Schundler, the former state education commissioner and a one-time Republican gubernatorial nominee.
Pascrell, 73, who lives in Paterson, said he is committed to creating new manufacturing jobs, in part through trade reform to boost exports. He differs from many fellow Democrats in his support for a temporarily extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, at least for individuals earning up to $400,000 and couples earning up to $500,000, twice the income levels proposed by President Obama as a cutoff. He would also extend the capital gains tax cut.
Pascrell said his experience in office has taught him the value of compromise in the interest of getting things done.
"The enemy of the good is the perfect," he said.
Despite having been elected seven times, Pascrell said he is taking the tea party and Straten seriously, and campaigning harder than ever.
"I’m everywhere," Pascrell said in a telephone interview during a week full of appearances at senior centers, firehouses and local endorsement events. "Believe me, I’m working just as hard. I take nothing for granted."
CONGRESS - 8TH DISTRICT
One 2-year term
Bill Pascrell Jr.BILL PASCRELL JR.
Party: Democrat
Age: 73
Hometown: Paterson
Occupation: Member of Congress
Family: Married, 3 children
Political experience: Elected to the House of Representatives in 1996, and re-elected six times since then. former mayor of Paterson; former state assemblyman
Top 3 issues:
• Senior citizens: opposes privatization of Social Security
• Jobs and the economy: supports increased minimum wage; opposes expansion of alternative minimum tax; supports trade reform to encourage exports
• Energy and the environment: encouraging renewable energy sources and energy efficiency through government incentives.
Roland StratenROLAND STRATEN
Party: Republican
Age: 69
Hometown: Montclair
Occupation: Retired as head of Associated Fire Protection in Paterson, a fire safety firm.
Family: Married, 3 children
Political experience: Never elected to public office; ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2008; commissioner, New Jersey Fire Commission; chairman, Paterson Redevelopment Corporation.
Top 3 issues:
• Jobs and the economy: Supports extension of 2001 tax cuts to encourage private-sector growth
• Health care: Supports repeal of health care reform law
• National security: supports liberalized rules of engagement for troops; opposes civilian trials for enemy combatants