12th Congressional District 2000

JOHN P. DESMOND

NJ Conservative Party

Address:10 Hanover Drive, Manalapan, NJ 07726-3615

Education: BS 1966 New York University; MBA 1972 Fordham University; MS 1976 Fairleigh Dickinson University

Occupation: IP Network Security Consultant working at AT&TSignificant Community Activities in Manalapan:Served on Township Committee to develop a Master Plan for Development; Served on Township Committee to evaluate the purchase of Computer equipment; Football Referee for Township football league; Cub Scout Pack Business Administrator; Cub Scout Den Leader; Little League Baseball Coach; Founder & President of Manalapan-Englishtown Right to Life Committee; Board of Directors of NJ Right to Life Committee; Past Grand Knight of Englishtown Knights of Columbus

Responses: 

1. I support the repeal of the Estate Tax. The Estate Tax penalized farmers and business owners because they have to buy expensive insurance to cover the tax or pay for legal and accounting advice to reduce or avoid the tax. The existing Marriage Penalty Tax Code forced about 51 million two-income families to pay more taxes than if they were single. I feel that this tax was blatantly unfair. The Senate passed Bill S.2839 that cuts income taxes by about $150 billion over 5 years. This Bill ends the "marriage penalty" and I support it. Spending must be brought under control. A constitutional amendment mandating a balanced budget will ensure discipline in congressional spending. 

2. I believe that the taxpayers of the United States should not be required by Congress to pay an inordinate share of the costs of the United Nations. Dues should be paid and were paid under the Appropriations Bill for 2000. I believe that the US should be able to hold back dues as bargaining leverage for other priorities such as restrictive provisions on funding organizations that lobby for more liberal abortion policies abroad. The Mexico City Policy did just that and I support it. The U.S. should also withhold payments:to pressure the U.N. to be "more efficient"; because "the U.N. actually owes the U.S." for voluntary support to peacekeeping operations.

3. I am strongly in favor of legislation that would require full disclosure by all political organizations, which contribute money to political causes or campaigns. House Bill H.R. 4762 was passed and then signed into law on July 1, 2000 by President Clinton. I supported this bill.

It would end secret fund-raising and spending by groups under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code. So-called 527 groups received a large degree of anonymity. This new law requires them to identify themselves to the public, file periodic reports with the IRS that identify contributors and disclose how they spend their money in the political arena.

4. I am a long-time supporter of the Second Amendment, which explicitly states that:"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." However, I also support mandatory trigger locks, promoting the development of "smart gun" technology, mandatory criminal background checks on all gun sales, closing the gun show loophole, and requiring licensing and registration of all handguns.

RUSH HOLT (incumbent)

Democratic Party

Address:P.O. Box 782, Pennington, NJ 08534

Education:Carleton College, BS; New York University, MS, PhD

Occupation:U.S. Representative; Former Assistant Director, Princeton Plasma Physics Lab

Significant Community Activities: Former Chair, Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association Board of Trustees; Trustee, Family and Children's Services of Central New Jersey; Trustee, Planned Parenthood Association of Mercer Area; Co-Founder and Former Co-Chair, School Science Advisor Program; Former Chair, American Physical Society's Forum on Education;

Former Member, Federation of American Scientists Fund Board of Directors

Responses:

1. I was one of the few Democrats in Congress who crossed party lines to support a repeal of the estate tax and the marriage tax penalty. The estate tax can exact a great penalty on small businesses, family farms, and entrepreneurs. In central New Jersey, it has also made it more difficult to

preserve open space. The marriage penalty is unfair and ought to be eliminated. My priorities for funding include shoring up Social Security, modernizing Medicare by adding a voluntary prescription dug benefit, helping communities with the costs of school construction, helping families afford the costs of college, and passing responsible tax cuts.

2. I support the paying of our UN dues in full. I believe that our nation's position of global leadership entails a responsibility to provide strong support to international bodies like the United Nations. The U.N. provides the world with a vital forum for the peaceful negotiation of international conflicts. As a permanent member of the Security Council, the U.S. is in a strong position to accomplish its foreign policy objectives through the U.N. While I support some reform of the U.N., I do not believe that placing conditions on dues is appropriate by any country.

3. On my first day in Congress, I agreed to cosponsor legislation to reform the way our nation funds campaigns. I strongly believe that we need to enact reforms like those contained in the McCain-Feingold reform bill. I also support and have voted for legislation to require full disclosure of so-called 527 ads -- the political attack ads that are becoming a disturbing way of life in politics today. These ads are the latest scheme to get around campaign finance laws and keep citizens in the dark about who is trying to influence elections. People deserve the right to know who is contributing money to elections. Full disclosure helps citizens to make more informed judgments about issues and elections and is a necessary step toward returning to people a sense that they run their government.

4. I strongly support and have voted for gun safety legislation that includes requiring background checks on all firearm purchases at gun shows, banning the importation of large ammunition feeding devices, and requiring trigger locks on all handguns. I have also introduced legislation requiring the licensing and registration of all handguns. I am proud that Handgun Control, Inc. and Ceasefire New Jersey have endorsed me for my strong record on these issues.

CARL J. MAYER

Green Party

Address: 58 Battle Rd., Princeton

Education: Princeton University, BA; University of Chicago Law School, JD; Harvard Law School, LLM

Occupation: Attorney; Author, "Shakedown:The Fleecing of the Garden State"; Founder of the website www.evoiceofthepeople.com

Community Activities: Mercer County Big Brother/Big Sister; Susan Koman Foundation Race For The Cure; Jerusalem Foundation.

Responses:

1. I do not favor repealing the estate tax because only 2% of all estates in the country are now taxed; these families should pay their fair share. My funding priorities are for education, eliminating child poverty, and improving health and safety. I would fund these by ending corporate welfare and slashing the military budget. . Because I don't want to pander or provide simplistic answers to voters, all my positions are detailed in my book Shakedown:The Fleecing of the Garden State, which is available on my web site www.evoiceofthepeople.com or on my campaign website www.CarlMayer.com

2. I favor the US paying backlogged UN dues; a nation should not place conditions on the dues because this is price of international peace and cooperation.

3. I favor legislation requiring full disclosure by all groups that contribute money to political campaigns. There is too much corrupt money in politics. I favor full public funding of campaigns to get this dirty money out of politics. Our campaign takes no corporate PAC money and I have a real record of fighting for reform. 60 Minutes asked me to help them expose corruption in New Jersey politics and because of that show we achieved real reform in New Jersey; more needs to be done. As a former Nader Raider I have fought my entire career for more honest, open and fair elections. The Green Party and my campaign accept no soft money, corporate PAC money or money from the Tobacco, Insurance, Banking and other lobbies that fund the Democratic and Republican candidates. I know I have the most comprehensive record and platform on campaign financing in this race.

4. Yes I support background checks, mandatory trigger locks and banning large ammo clips. We should ban handguns like every other western nation; handguns are used for crime not for sport. I have never owned or used a gun and I have a real record of achieving gun control. As Special Counsel to the New York State Attorney General I worked on litigation against the gun companies. This litigation forced one company - Smith and Wesson - to put trigger locks on all of its guns. The cases against the other gun companies are ongoing. The Green Party takes no money from the NRA, which gives freely to Democrats and Republicans alike. I know I have the most comprehensive record and platform on gun control in this race.

WORTH WINSLOW

Libertarian Party

Address:P.O. Box 1299, Princeton, NJ 08542

Education:2 years college

Significant Community Activities:None

Responses:

1. I am in favor of repeal of the estate tax because I favor reduction in all taxes. Also, taxes were already paid on the money earned in the estate. I favor repeal of the marriage tax because people should not pay more or less taxes because of their marital status. We're all supposed to be treated equally in this country, remember?

2. The American taxpayer, as usual, is being soaked to finance the United Nations. If individual taxpayers want to donate to world causes, there are many charities that can do a much more efficient job, and be more reflective of the donor's wishes (not encouraging abortion, for example). Therefore, I favor a drastic reduction in payments to the U.N.

3. I am opposed to "full disclosure" of all contributors to campaigns. This represents an infringement of free speech, which is guaranteed by the Constitution. Full disclosure also hurts alternative parties since donors might fear reprisals from elected officials from the established parties.

4. I support legislation that promotes gun safety, as long as its real purpose is not to infringe on the right of responsible citizens to protect themselves.

DICK ZIMMER

Republican Party

No response received.