Beck: Senate seat won by door-to-door campaigning Budget, ethics reform at top of to-do list BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer Jennifer Beck RED BANK - From her constituents' doors to the Statehouse door, Republican Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck defeated her opponent in a contentious race to win a seat in the state Senate through grassroots campaigning. The District 12 legislator will finish serving her first twoyear term in the state Assembly and take the seat currently held by one-term Democratic incumbent Sen. Ellen Karcher, whom she beat 24,166 votes to 19,648 votes in the state Senate race. "I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work. There is no question New Jersey is in a bad spot right now, and I look forward to being part of the solution," said Beck, who was a Red Bank councilwoman for six years before becoming a state assemblywoman. Before she can knock on the door of the state Senate, Beck will be finishing out her term as state assemblywoman through the end of the year. Beck, who received about 55 percent of the total 43,907 votes cast, said she owes her substantial win over Karcher to her door-to-door effort and talking to the 12,000 voters she met during the campaign about their concerns. "I think at the end of the day, it was our door-to-door effort, going out and meeting people and presenting our point of view and our vision made all the difference," said Beck. Beck's running mates for state Assembly, Republicans Declan O'Scanlon of Little Silver and Caroline Casagrande of Colts Neck, also won their seats by a narrow margin, beating out Democratic incumbent Michael Panter and newcomer Amy Mallet. After being outspent by her Democratic opponent nearly six to one, Beck said she believed it was the way that money was being spent that turned off voters. "Frankly, I think people were disgusted by it. That so much money was wasted in nasty negative advertising and mail. It made people very wary because [Karcher] wasn't talking about her record and that instead she was doing a lot of personal attacks," said Beck. The underdog in the race, Beck said she wants to jump right in and tackle spending and budget issues and work on ethics reform. She said of her plans, "It is clear people are looking for relief from taxation, so addressing New Jersey's fiscal crisis is top on my list, getting the state budget under control, and then absolutely passing some meaningful ethics reform." She added, "I certainly would like to think that I am part of getting New Jersey out of its current fiscal crisis. I think these next four years are going to determine the future of our state for the next decade. If we don't rein in state spending and get New Jersey's economy back on its feet [we're headed] for some difficult times, so I would like to be part of resolving that issue for our state and for its citizens." Beck also sounded off about her experience as a woman running for public office during a recordbreaking year for women being elected to office in the state of New Jersey. "I think it's a great day for New Jersey to have so many women involved in public service. We'll have a total of 34 women serving in the state Legislature and I'll do everything in my power to make sure that we get more," she said. "I certainly hope that men and women alike are not turned off by the negativity of the campaign, because I think that there is no greater way to give back to your community than public service." According to Lori Anne Oliwa, one of the founders of the Monmouth County Regional Women's Political Caucus (MCR-WPC), New Jersey now ranks 15th in the nation in terms of the percentage of women serving in the state Legislature, and 14 new women will take the oath as state legislators in 2008. She said that in previous years, New Jersey was ranked 43rd in the nation. Of her quick rise through the political ranks, Beck said she was just ready to take the next step and chalks up her readiness to her experiences as a local politician and her zeal for public service. "On a very personal level, I genuinely love public service. I enjoy people and I think the fact that I have a personal passion for this has been helpful along the way," said Beck. "I think maybe I'm an idealist, but there is something about the fact that as a state legislator you can effect change on a large scale. Hopefully, you're doing good things and helping people and moving the ball forward to make people's lives better, and that, for me, is very inspiring, that really drives me," she added. Beck also said she was humbled by the outpouring of support she received in the wake of her election win. "My legislative office has received more than 600 phone calls and emails, and my personal e-mail account was more than 300. I'm really deeply moved by that. It is an enormous honor, and I won't let people down."