In Case You Missed It: Vagianos, Ordway in the 40th

THE 40TH Legislative District is one of the most gerrymandered in New Jersey, spreading over parts of Bergen, Passaic, Morris and Essex counties. Republicans long have had complete control in the district, but this year, Democrats are fielding a particularly strong challenge in the form of Paul Vagianos, a restaurant owner from Ridgewood, and Christine Ordway, a former corporate auditor from Franklin Lakes.

Party labels aside, there do not seem to be major philosophical differences between the two teams of candidates. Yet the Democratic challengers make a convincing case for replacing incumbent Republican Assembly members David Russo of Ridgewood and Scott Rumana of Wayne.

Vagianos declared at a debate this week in Ridgewood that the state is in a "fiscal crisis" because of its nearly depleted Transportation Trust Fund, its downgraded bond rating and high property taxes. Few Republicans would disagree.

None of the candidates seems comfortable with raising the gas tax to bolster the transportation fund, although Russo says any potential increase would need to be coupled with decreasing the estate or inheritance taxes. The Democrats say they would try to find money for transportation by identifying waste elsewhere in the budget. Vagianos called raising the gas tax a last resort.

There was also general agreement among the candidates that the workings of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey must be more transparent and that the state's public pension system as currently structured is unsustainable.

Republicans, however, are on shaky ground. A bipartisan Port Authority transparency bill passed the Legislature but was vetoed by Governor Christie. The governor also has refused to fully fund the pension system, walking away from a commitment he made when a bipartisan reform package was passed in 2011.

Like virtually all other Assembly Republicans, Russo and Rumana have voted for bills that passed overwhelmingly but have refused to support overriding the governor's veto. Their dubious explanation often is that the governor's office was able to identify problems with bills that were previously undetected. That excuse just doesn't wash.

Nor have the incumbents showed independence from the governor at other times. They did not advocate loudly with Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, D-Englewood, to stop an administration plan that closed the North Jersey Developmental Center in Totowa, the only center of its kind for severely disabled individuals in northern New Jersey. And Totowa is in the 40th District.

During the campaign, Vagianos and Ordway have offered dozens of solutions to state problems affecting each municipality in the 40th. Some of their ideas are sound bites — like cutting red tape and lowering college tuition — but they also offer such concrete proposals as stopping public workers from collecting multiple pensions and supporting full-day kindergarten.

Discussing ways to lower property taxes, all candidates said one answer would be more shared services among municipalities. Vagianos noted that Russo has been in office since 1990 — Rumana has been in Trenton since 2008 — and the state has done little to encourage that to happen. It's a good point. The 40th District is not drawn to favor Democrats, but residents of the 40th deserve more passionate representation in the Assembly than they currently have.

The Record endorses Paul Vagianos and Christine Ordway for Assembly in the 40th District.