Linda Stender
U.S. House, NJ
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A GOP-held seat ripe for takeover.New Jersey state Assemblywoman Linda Stender came within one percentage point of unseating incumbent GOP Rep. Mike Ferguson in 2006. She was gearing up for a rematch when Ferguson announced his retirement -- turning this into a top opportunity for Democrats to take over a GOP House seat and increase our majority. Democrats quickly cleared the field for Stender while Republicans duked it out for the June 3 nomination. The winner was conservative state Senator Leonard Lance, who has repeatedly voted to limit reproductive freedom.
A passionate progressive advocate. Stender brings to the table a rich history of public service and achievements. A former mayor and county freeholder, she won a seat in the Assembly in 2001, where she led fights to expand economic development, protect the environment, and make New Jersey a leader in stem cell research. A leader on reproductive rights, Stender led the fight in the Assembly to make emergency contraception available over the counter. And while Stender sponsored legislation requiring pharmacists to fill women’s birth control prescriptions, Lance voted against her bill in the Senate.
Past time for change. It’s been 30 years since New Jersey has sent a pro-choice Democratic woman to Congress, and there is currently not a single woman in the state’s 13-member congressional delegation. Stender is poised to break this lockout, but running here requires buying advertising in the costly New York City media market. She’ll need to raise $3 million to get her message out, overcome the full complement of corporate and right-wing special interests fighting to keep this seat in GOP hands, and move this seat into the Democratic column in 2008.
More About Linda Stender
It’s been 30 years since New Jersey has sent a pro-choice Democratic woman to Congress, and there is currently not a single woman in the state’s 13-member congressional delegation. State Assemblywoman Linda Stender is poised to end this long lockout with her campaign for New Jersey’s seventh congressional district, an open GOP-held seat that is ripe for takeover.
In 2006, Stender came within one percentage point of unseating incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Ferguson, despite being outspent by over $1 million. Stender’s close race in this traditionally Republican seat took the GOP by surprise. She was preparing to face Ferguson in a 2008 rematch when he announced in November 2007 he would not seek re-election. His sudden retirement changed the dynamics of this congressional race. Winning it is critical to solidifying Democratic control of the House in 2008; Republicans will spend heavily to keep that from happening.
One reason Democrats stand a good chance of taking over this seat is that Stender is such a strong candidate. A former mayor of Fanwood, she was a Union County freeholder (New Jersey’s form of county government) for eight years before winning a seat in the Assembly in 2001 (with support from EMILY’s List’s Political Opportunity Program). As a lawmaker, Stender has led fights to expand economic development, preserve open spaces, and safely dispose of solid waste. She spearheaded the effort to establish mandatory reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in New Jersey. She has worked to criminalize human trafficking and to reduce easy access to the ingredients used to make methamphetamine. Stender has led the fights to make emergency contraception available over the counter in New Jersey, to require pharmacists to fill birth control prescriptions, and to make New Jersey a leader in stem cell research. Stender knows how to get things done: she spearheaded 15 bills that were passed and signed into law in her first term, and 16 in her second.
Stender came to public service in the late 1980s as a member of the Fanwood Junior Women’s Club, which successfully scuttled a developer’s plan to demolish a historic building in Fanwood. “We took the borough to court and won, and this landmark is still standing today,” she says. The fight politicized her. “From there I became chairperson of the downtown redevelopment committee, then a member of the planning board, then a candidate for borough council.” A native of this district, she and her husband raised their three children in Fanwood, where they have lived for 30 years.
The Political Situation
The seventh district snakes all the way across the middle section of New Jersey, taking in small towns and countryside as well as New York City suburbs. Its residents run the gamut from working class to extremely wealthy (it includes Somerset County, which has one of the highest per capita income rates in the nation).
The Republican nominee is state Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance, a Bush-type conservative who supports Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy and opposes a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. Lance has repeatedly voted to limit access to abortion and family planning services for women -- he even opposed legislation to require pharmacists to fill prescriptions for contraceptives.
Democrats are excited about Stender’s chances of taking this seat. With Ferguson out of the race, the Cook Political Report moved the seventh district seat from “leans Republican” to “toss-up” in its ratings of competitive congressional races. But as promising an opportunity as this is, Stender has an uphill climb to victory in this Republican-leaning seat. Running here requires buying advertising in the costly New York City media market. Stender will need to raise $3 million to get her message out, overcome the full complement of corporate and right-wing special interests fighting to keep this seat in GOP hands, and become the first Democratic woman to represent New Jersey in 30 years.
The Issues
Stender’s early community activism tapped a deep reservoir of political savvy. She is a master at developing creative solutions to help trim budgets for government and individuals. She’s introduced a bill to create textbook rental programs for higher education, which will help students save thousands on costly textbooks. She passed into law a bill allowing government contractors to share equally in savings yielded when one of them finds a way to cut costs -- a powerful incentive to keep budgets in line. Stender worked to secure low-interest mortgage loans for volunteer firefighters and emergency medical workers, and disability and death benefits for police officers and fire fighters who are killed or injured during military service.
Calling No Child Left Behind “a miserable failure,” Stender would revise the law to give states enough resources to really improve public schools. She will work to restore federal funding for special education and college loan programs, and fight to ensure that public education funds are not diverted by private school vouchers.
As a legislator, Stender co-sponsored bills to increase New Jersey’s minimum wage and provide paid family leave for working families. In Congress, she will fight to raise the minimum wage to a living wage and expand access to affordable day care.
“I support expanding trade agreements as long as they are also fair trade agreements,” Stender says. “All trade policies and treaties signed by the U.S. should include labor and environmental requirements to help level the playing field.” Stender also supports providing tax breaks to companies that keep jobs in the U.S. and says, “Corporations should not be allowed to move their headquarters out of the U.S. to avoid paying taxes.”
The best way to stimulate the economy is to begin eliminating the deficit and paying down the national debt, Stender believes. “Reducing the amount of U.S. debt owned by foreign governments will ensure our economic security,” she says. Making sure Social Security stays solvent should be the nation’s top budget priority, says Stender, who opposes efforts to privatize the program.
Implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission would be a good first step towards making the nation more secure, Stender believes. “We must secure our ports and borders to keep America safe from terrorism,” she says, “and give first responders the tools they need to protect us.” Stender also believes the U.S. must restore its international reputation and work with allies to eliminate the financial networks and safe havens used to support terrorism.
To ensure federal protection of civil rights, Stender supports full funding to enforce existing laws. She favors continuing affirmative action policies and full support for Title IX.
“After-school programs keep children out of trouble,” says Stender, who supports increased funding for anti-gang programs and stiffer penalties for gang-related crimes. “I will fight for federal funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services program to put more officers on our streets,” she says. Stender also favors tougher penalties for child sex offenders.
The government should have the power to negotiate with drug companies for lower costs, Stender believes. She also favors allowing re-importation of prescription drugs. Emphasizing preventive care would bring down health care costs, she says. Stender also favors providing incentives to employers who provide health insurance to their employees.
Increasing the minimum wage would help reduce poverty, Stender believes, as would expanding food stamp and school lunch programs. “We must improve public education to ensure equal opportunities,” she says, “and increase access to higher education and quality health care.”
Stender has successfully spearheaded efforts to limit overdevelopment and protect the environment in New Jersey. Noting that the U.S. is by far the largest producer of greenhouse gases that create global warming, she believes the U.S. must sign back onto the Kyoto Protocol, which would reduce emissions from greenhouse gases worldwide. “We should expand the use of renewable energy and strive to attain energy independence in 10 years,” she says.
Stender steadfastly supports family planning and reproductive freedom. “I am unequivocally pro-choice because I trust women,” she says. “I have been a leader on this issue at the state level and will work to protect women’s rights at the federal level.”
June 2008