Beck to run for N.J. Senate

RED BANK - State Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth and Mercer), a borough resident, announced Jan. 29 that she will seek the Republican Party's nomination to run for the state Senate in November.

Beck, a former two-term councilwoman in Red Bank, was elected to the Assembly in November 2005 and is presently serving the second year of her two-year term.

In a letter notifying Monmouth County Republican Chairman Adam Puharic of her intent to run for senator, Beck said her experience in Trenton has shown her that the 12th Legislative District needs someone who will lead on the issues of importance to the district's residents.

Beck said she believes that pertinent issues which would have benefited from senatorial leadership have been virtually ignored. The issues she mentioned in her letter include school funding and busing, the disposition of the Marlboro State Psychiatric Hospital property, S-1701, a school budget law, the Fair Haven cell tower proposal and the revamping of the exit 8 interchange on the New Jersey Turnpike.

The assemblywoman noted that other statewide issues that were supported by state Sen. Ellen Karcher (D-Monmouth and Mercer), including raising the sales tax and increasing state spending by 10 percent, were public policies that she and the residents of the 12th District would not have supported.

"No responsible legislator could have voted for the 2006-07 budget. Yet ultimately it passed with a 'yes' vote from the 12th District senator (Karcher)," Beck said in her letter to Puharic.

Beck said that during her time in the Assembly, she has been a "tireless advocate of property tax and ethics reform." She noted that she sponsored more than 40 bills related to property tax reform in her first year in office (2006). Beck said that in March she called upon the speaker of the Assembly to take up these issues, only to be told it would happen later.

The speaker of the Assembly is Joseph Roberts, a Democrat from Camden County.

"Almost a year later, all of New Jersey is still waiting. There is a clear lack of leadership," Beck said.

The assemblywoman mentioned in her letter to Puharic that she has met with Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine as well as the commissioners of transportation, environmental protection and education regarding issues of importance to the district.

Beck said she co-sponsored a bill with Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, chairman of the Democratic State Committee, to prevent the state shutdown that occurred last year from happening again. She has also sponsored legislation requiring sex offenders to register their e-mail addresses with authorities and has helped concerned parents in her district solve school transportation problems.

"I believe that in being a vocal and active supporter of tax and ethics reform, and addressing the needs of my constituents, I have been a leader in the Assembly," Beck told Puharic on Monday. "I am confident that with your support and the support of our county committee, I can bring that leadership to the Senate and be the voice for the 12th District that is so sorely needed in that body. I can promise that while I may be outspent, I will not be outworked. Together, I believe we can win in November and send a real reformer to the Senate from the 12th District."