Comparing the Candidates in the N.J. Governor's Race

This November, only two states will elect new governors: New Jersey and Virginia. Political commentators frequently view these two off-year races as harbingers of political winds to come, so those of us at Early Ed Watch are keeping a close eye to see what implications these races may have for early education.

There is a lot at stake for early education in New Jersey. The state has made significant investments in preschool and PreK-3rd as a strategy to narrow achievement gaps between students from high-income and low-income families, and the state is seeing some successful results in several school districts.

Since Jon Corzine was elected Governor in 2005, he has made pre-K a pillar of his education policy . Last year's School Funding Reform Act included plans to phase in state-funded full day preschool for all low-income 3- and 4- year olds in the state over the next eight years, and to expand universal pre-K from 31 Abbott districts to an additional 84 districts statewide, with the goal of providing preschool for an additional 30,000 children by the 2013 school year.

School construction was a major part of Corzine's economic recovery plan. As part of a July 2008 law, the School Development Authority is spending $3.9 billion constructing and expanding New Jersey schools, the largest state school construction program in the country.

Chris Christie, the Republican nominee, entered the race after spending six years as New Jersey's U.S. Attorney, the chief federal law enforcement officer in the state. During a heated campaign, Christie has criticized Corzine's education spending, saying in official statements last month that the governor has a "blind eye to waste" with a "failed record when it comes to promoting successful school alternatives," a reference to the fact that Corzine-appointed Commissioner of Education Lucille Davey approved only one new charter school in 2008.

Christie has specifically attacked Corzine's record on early education spending, referring to preschool as "babysitting" in an October 6 interview with New Jersey pundit Steve Adubato. Corzine is using the clip as part of an escalating cycle of attack advertisements between the two camps. Christie says he did not intend to use the word "babysitting" pejoratively.

Christie's stance on education emphasizes the need for improved job readiness and more choices in New Jersey's public school system. He is in favor of authorizing more charter schools and establishing a private school voucher system, both of which Christie says would give parents the choice to send their children to more successful schools.

Last week, the New Jersey Education Association's political action committee unanimously endorsed Corzine. The NJEA, which has over 200,000 members from New Jersey's education community, says that Corzine "made significant progress in implementing the progressive, pro-public education agenda he ran on in 2005," and praised him for increasing education funding despite the harsh economic climate during his term as governor.

The race itself has been close, with Christie and Corzine usually falling within a few points of each other in the polls. Chris Daggett, the Independent candidate, has had a recent increase in support, but still trails significantly behind the other two candidates.

Early Ed Watch will continue monitoring the New Jersey race in the coming weeks. Watch later this week for our rundown of the Virginia gubernatorial race as well.