Scheurer Kept Out of Debate - Not Fair and Not Clean

SCHEURER FILES FOR RESCUE FUNDS
Blasts Greenstein, other candidates for debate participation

(West Windsor) – Jason Scheurer filed for emergency rescue funds late Friday afternoon under the “Fair and Clean” election program in an effort to offset air time that was afforded to four of the Assembly candidates in the 14th District during an aired debate on News 12 New Jersey. Mr. Scheurer was NOT allowed to participate in the debate. According to program director Randal Stanley there was “no room at the table for Mr. Scheurer” even though Mr. Scheurer is the first certified independent to have qualified under the “Fair and Clean” election program.

News 12 deliberately moved ahead despite the protests from the Scheurer campaign and Marilyn Carpinteyro of New Jersey Citizen Action Group. “The burden of responsibility also lands with the candidates that participated in this obviously biased event” said Scheurer. Each had prior knowledge of Mr. Scheurers’ exclusion and all had the opportunity to withdraw from the debate, but didn’t. “The time is always right to do the right thing, but when Linda Greenstein, co-sponsor of the ‘Fair and Clean’ election law had the opportunity to do the right thing she didn’t. It is just another example that when it benefits Linda Greenstein, Linda Greenstein is all for it. Ms. Greenstein has championed herself as for the ‘Fair and Clean’ elections throughout the campaign, but stood idly by when she had an opportunity to ensure the spirit of the ‘Fair and Clean’ election program was just that, Fair,” said Scheurer.

Lou Jasikoff, campaign manager for the Scheurer campaign added, “This was a calculated and malicious attempt by Randal Stanley to marginalize the candidacy of Mr. Scheurer. This is the vilest form of political discrimination and prejudice.”

Linda Greenstein was recently awarded rescue funds. In Greenstein’s application, she wrote, “it identifies them for who they are….a group that comes into the state to disrupt the clean election process”. Scheurer cited this in his own application for funds and wrote, “It is our position that the omission of Jason Scheurer during the televised debate was intentional and designed to marginalize our candidate. The problem in this case is that News12’s actions do not identify them for who they are. The debate as aired has all the appearances of being a legitimate function of informing the public of their choices, while in reality, the public’s choices were limited to the favorites of Mr. Stanley. Nowhere in the debate were the other candidates of the 14th even mentioned. News 12 is acting as a special interest group designed to disrupt the clean election process. It could be argued that it is even worse. When a special interest group attacks a candidate, voters will consider the source accordingly.”

“Unfortunately, voters in the 14th District will assume that since News 12 presented the candidates, they need not question the message. Unlike a special interest group where voters will conclude that an advertisement by a special interest group is biased, the assumption here is that what they see from a news group is fair and unbiased. In this case it is anything but the truth,” Jasikoff concluded.

Next Meeting: October 10th at 7pm

Our next meeting will be on October 10th at 7pm. We look forward to seeing you at the Desert Moon at Nassau Park in Princeton (Map). Please see our meeting page for more information.

We will also be at the Ewing Community Festival on October 6th at The College of New Jersey.