In Case You Missed It:
Wrong Priorities and Shady Dealings in the 1st District

Rep. Rob Andrews ignores $140/barrel oil
to focus on transgender issues;
Camille Andrews and Donald Norcross
refuse to return calls

“Transgender rights hearing earns Andrews praise, pans,” The Courier-Post, June 27, 2008
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080627/NEWS01/806270364

But the hearing drew a rebuke from the Republican candidate in the congressman's district, who questioned Andrews' priorities.

"While the families of the 1st District are struggling to make ends meet, with gas prices reaching $4 a gallon," GOP candidate Dale Glading said, "Rob Andrews has demonstrated once and for all how out of touch he is with the people he has failed to represent."

"We're not making a statement one way or another about transgender rights," Tim Saler, Glading's campaign manager, said. "We're just saying that if you had a list of things that need addressing right now, transgender rights would not be at the top."

…

As for the 1st District congressional race, Andrews said "I have made it clear that I am not seeking re-election."

He will, he said, "support the Democratic candidate with great enthusiasm."

Just who that candidate might be remains a mystery.

Several local Democrats, including Assemblyman John Burzichelli of Paulsboro, have expressed interest. Donald Norcross, a labor leader who co-chairs the Camden County Democratic Party and is the brother of Democratic power broker George Norcross, also has been mentioned as a contender.

Donald Norcross could not be reached for comment Thursday.

…

Meanwhile, Glading, a Barrington resident who heads a prison ministry, continues to campaign as if he knew who he was running against, inviting Camille Andrews to a series of six debates.

She has not responded, but "there will be a chair for her," the candidate says, when he attends the first of them Monday at 7 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Blackwood.

Camille Andrews could not be reached for comment Thursday.

“Andrews takes on job bias,” The Gloucester County Times, June 27, 2008
http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/index.ssf?/base/news-3/121455064013970.xml&coll=8

The hearing touched off criticism from political adversaries, including Dale Glading, a Republican who is running for the 1st Congressional District seat Andrews holds. Glading said in a statement the congressman should be working on economic issues, not trying to "pander to yet another special interest group."

…

Glading argued Andrews does not represent his district's values and does not understand families' economic struggles. Glading is running against the congressman's wife, Camille Andrews, who won the Democratic primary after her husband announced he would not seek re-election.

Rob Andrews’ Wrong Priorities

Congressional candidate Dale Glading
exposes Rob Andrews’ callous attitude
towards New Jersey’s families and their struggles

BARRINGTON – Dale Glading, candidate for U.S. Congress in New Jersey’s 1st District, questioned Rep. Rob Andrews’ ability to represent his district after Andrews held a controversial hearing on transgender issues in Washington this morning.

“While the families of the 1st District are struggling to make ends meet, with gas prices reaching $4 a gallon and the devastating floods in the Midwest causing food prices to skyrocket even further, Rob Andrews has demonstrated once and for all just how out of touch he is with the people he has failed to represent,” Glading said.

“In tough times, we need real leaders who will stand up and fight for the people they represent,” Glading continued. “Rob Andrews decided instead to pander to yet another special interest group rather than take on the difficult challenges New Jersey families are facing in today’s economy.”

Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays – also known as PFLAG – actively promoted Rob Andrews’ Washington hearing this morning. The purpose of the hearing was to “educate lawmakers about the challenges the transgender community faces in the workplace.”

PFLAG defines the transgender community as including “people who identify as transsexual, transgender, crossdressers, genderqueer, bigender, androgynous and others.” (Bringing the Message Home 2008 - PFLAG Lobbying Manual, pg. 10)

“Rob Andrews and the Norcross machine have made it clear to the voters of the 1st District: they do not represent our values, and they do not care about the struggles we face on a daily basis,” Glading added. “I’m not surprised that someone with almost half a million dollars in family income last year, like Rob Andrews, can’t grasp the day-to-day difficulties New Jersey families face – like having to choose between filling up the gas tank and going grocery shopping.”

“I represent the other 98.4 percent of the district that doesn’t make more than $200,000 in a year,” Glading concluded. “I know what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck, and I make this promise to the people of the 1st District: when I’m elected to Congress, I will fight for the issues that are important to you, not special interest groups.”