‘Big Money’ Rules NJ Governor Debates, Third-Party Candidates Say

NEWARK, NJ — It almost reads like the setup to a political joke at first: What happens when a Libertarian and a Green Party member agree? But the stakes involved in Tuesday night’s gubernatorial debate in New Jersey are anything but a laughing matter, according to Gregg Mele and Madelyn Hoffman.

The first gubernatorial debate between Gov. Phil Murphy and former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli will take place on Tuesday night at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark. And when it does, there will only be two political parties represented: Democrats and Republicans.

The problem, according to Hoffman and Mele? There are five candidates who made the ballot. Read More: NJ Governor Debate: When, How To Watch Murphy, Ciattarelli Face Off

Under state law, gubernatorial candidates that receive public financing for their campaigns must participate in two ELEC-sanctioned debates. Their lieutenant governor running mates must take part in a third ELEC-approved debate.

Hoffman, who is running with the Green Party of New Jersey, and Mele, the New Jersey Libertarian Party nominee, are also running alongside Joanne Kuniansky of the Socialist Workers Party. However, the three were excluded from the gubernatorial debates in 2021 because they didn’t meet the fundraising threshold of $490,000.

Mele and Hoffman have both released statements about being left out of the debate, alleging that money – or the lack of it – is perpetuating a political duopoly in New Jersey.

• See related article: NJ Governor Debate Coming To NJPAC In Newark
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• See related article: NJ Governor Candidates: Why You Should Elect Me (In 500 Words)

GREGG MELE: ‘HOW MUCH MONEY HAVE YOU COLLECTED?’

Here’s what Mele’s campaign team had to say about the debates last week:

“In a few days New Jersey will hold its ‘Gubernatorial Debate.’ Every four years, big money is the driving factor as to who may appear on the debate stage. The base line to appear in the debates is a political balance sheet of $490,000. These numbers are easy to achieve for candidates who support wealthy special interest groups - NJ unions, large corporations, politically-oriented non-profits seeking special favors or pet-project support in return. Candidates fighting corruption in politics and groups like New Directions who rely entirely on regular citizen’s contributions and hard-working volunteers for campaign support are purposely silenced by special interest backed candidates and media guided by its self-serving agenda.

“Polls show that the American public wants money out of politics, but year in and year out candidates not accepting or pandering to the corruption of big money donors are ignored and not invited to major debates. Last gubernatorial election season, the New Jersey Libertarian Party candidate and his campaign communications director directly asked one of the top pollsters why the Libertarian candidate was not included in polls or interviews. The answer was ‘How much money have you collected?’ In fact, this is a common question asked when party members speak with members of the press.

“How does a candidate, who does not participate in special-interest candidate sponsorship reach the electorate? The way Gregg Mele has been doing it. Gregg just completed his second 21-county tour, visiting groups across the state and has been given a voice by the limited media outlets not bribed by political favor money. Big Money has ruined the political landscape of this country and specifically New Jersey. It’s time to end the elitist, money-driven criteria for appearing on the debate stage and for election. All candidates who will be appearing on the New Jersey election ballot must be included on the debate stage. Gregg Mele will be on the ballot; he will receive a significant number of votes and will continue to fight against the special-interest money that is dictating the direction of New Jersey policy. Let’s work together to keep special interest money out of politics and get politicians back to working in the best interests of the great state of New Jersey and all her residents.”

MADELYN HOFFMAN: ‘BEST DEMOCRACY MONEY CAN BUY’

Hoffman has also been a vocal critic of the status quo for New Jersey’s gubernatorial debates, slamming them as “the best democracy that money can buy.”

“My first attempt to run for this political office was in 1997,” the Green Party candidate recently recalled. “It was difficult enough to qualify for participation in the debates then – it was necessary to raise $210,000 to qualify for the debates and to be considered a 'serious' candidate. Here in 2021, that threshold has been raised to $490,000, almost half a million dollars.”

• See related article: NJ Gov. Candidate Says $490K Debate Fundraising Quota Is A 'Travesty'

“The political establishment in New Jersey is doing everything in its power to limit the voices that are heard,” Hoffman continued. “Requiring that participants in the gubernatorial debates raise nearly half a million dollars creates the 'best democracy money can buy' … The Hoffman for Governor campaign firmly believes that if we met the requirements to be on the ballot by submitting at least 800 valid signatures of registered voters, then we should automatically be allowed in the debates for the position we seek.”

She added:

“It is not for the State Elections Commission or the media to determine who should participate in the debates and certainly, the amount of money raised should not be the deciding factor. This country is in dire need of a diversity of voices and opinions, instead of an ever-narrowing selection of voices and points of view. All ballot-qualified candidates should be invited to participate.”

The Sept. 28 debate will take place at 7 p.m. at the NJ Performing Arts Center in Newark. It will be sponsored by NJ Performing Arts Center along with partners WABC-TV‚ WPVI-TV‚ 6-ABC Philadelphia‚ Twitter‚ Univision‚ WBGO-FM‚ NJ Advance Media (www.nj.com)‚ and Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics and Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University. The debate will be broadcast live via its television and radio affiliates. Once the live broadcast ends‚ it will immediately be posted on abc7ny.com and 6abc.com. It also will be available on NJ Advance Media and Rutgers University websites as well as Twitter.

Murphy and Ciattarelli will face off again at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 12 at Rowan University in Glassboro for their second and final debate.

The debate will be sponsored by Public Media NJ‚ Inc. (NJ PBS)‚ NJ Spotlight News‚ Rowan Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship at Rowan University‚ New York Public Radio‚ WNYC & The Gothamist. It will be broadcast live via television and radio‚ and live-streamed on njspotlight.com‚ Youtube‚ WYNC website‚ and Rowan University website.

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