ZIMMER CHALLENGES LAUTENBERG TO GO BACK TO THE FUTURE ON DEBATES

ZIMMER CHALLENGES LAUTENBERG TO GO BACK TO THE FUTURE ON DEBATES

2008 Lautenberg Should Listen to 1982 Lautenberg, Republican Senate Candidate Says

Zimmer Says Voters Deserve To Hear Different Views on Taxes, Spending and Change

TRENTON - Fresh off Tuesday's Republican primary victory, U.S. Senate candidate Dick Zimmer challenged Frank Lautenberg to a series of debates and called on the incumbent to follow the precedent established during the 2006 U.S. Senate race and allow voters to see the candidates face-to-face discussing the issues that are on the minds of New Jerseyans starting this month.

“Twenty-six years ago, Frank Lautenberg said candidates have an 'obligation to let the citizens of this state make their own decision' through more debates,” Zimmer said. “I agree and I ask Frank to join me in immediately accepting a debate framework for June like the one used in 2006 by Senator Bob Menendez and Tom Kean.”

In a Trenton press conference, Zimmer outlined the serious challenges facing our country – rising energy costs, a softening economy and escalating taxes among them. “Frank Lautenberg has had two-and-a-half decades to tackle these problems, and now he’s asking for another six-year term,” Zimmer said. “The voters deserve to hear our views, and see what each of us has to offer, consider our ideas and determine who is best-suited to find the solutions for a better New Jersey. It will be a spirited debate between the ‘Lautenberg’ and the ‘Un-Lautenberg’. Frank believes it is OK to vote for $250 million ‘bridges to nowhere’ in Alaska in exchange for a few hundred grand for blueberry research here at home.”

In 2006, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and State Senator Tom Kean participated in two late-June debates and additional debates later in the campaign season.

“The Menendez-Kean June debates served voters of New Jersey well,” said Zimmer for Senate campaign manager Mark Duffy. “That’s why we have already reached out to news outlets to express our desire to debate early and often. In fact, we have already accepted an offer to participate in a June 13th debate sponsored by the Association of Counties with several journalists on the panel.”

Frank Lautenberg has earned a reputation for ducking and dodging campaign debate invitations. His Democrat primary opponent Rob Andrews was critical of Lautenberg's refusal to debate.

Take a look back 26 years to 1982 to see how Lautenberg viewed debates back then:

FACT: In 1982, Lautenberg said candidates have an “obligation to let the citizens of this state make their own decision” through more debates. (Star-Ledger, 10/17/82). LAUTENBERG: “[Millicent Fenwick] has the obligation to let the citizens of this state make their own decision” (Star-Ledger, 10/17/82).

FACT: In 1982, Lautenberg felt that “a select series of public, fact-to-face debates is a critical opportunity to evaluate candidates.” (United Press International, 6/28/1982)

(OVER)

FACT: In 1982, Lautenberg challenged Fenwick to debate “morning, noon and night in all 21 counties of New Jersey until Election Day.” (Associated Press, 10/15/1982)

FACT: In 1982, Lautenberg pledged his support for “barnstorming across the state in a series of debates[.]” (Associated Press, 10/15/1982). LAUTENBERG: “We only have one public debate and two television appearances scheduled for the rest of the campaign. My opponent says I am lucky that she granted even those debates, but it is the voters who are hurt in the end. Her unwillingness to join me in face-to-face encounters throughout the state deprives the voters of the chance to hear the issues and decide who can best fight for New Jersey. We need debates to go beyond images and let voters know where we stand[.]” (Lautenberg Press Release, 10/14/1982)

“Change is in the air. It’s what the voters of New Jersey want and what our country needs,” Zimmer concluded. “Voters cannot expect Frank Lautenberg – a man who was first elected 26 years ago – to be the agent for change this state and this nation deserve.”

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