12 Good Reasons to VOTE on Nov. 5! Let the “countdown” begin…

Reason #12 to VOTE on Nov. 5 – Your Paycheck

Chris Christie rammed benefits “reform” through the Legislature in 2011, forcing us to pay

THOUSANDS of dollars more per year in health insurance premiums. He refused to let us bargain over

this economic issue.

Barbara Buono – who was Senate Majority Leader at the time – OPPOSED Christie’s law, insisting that

our right to collectively bargain those increases should be honored. She was stripped of her leadership

position for taking that principled stand.

Reason #11 to VOTE on Nov. 5 – Your Pension

Back in 2009, when Chris Christie first ran for governor, he wrote an “open letter” to NJEA members,

saying “Nothing about your pension is going to change when I am governor.” He then cut our pensions

by eliminating annual Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs), while increasing our annual pension

contributions.

Barbara Buono supports full funding of our pensions, because she knows the state’s repeated failure to

fund the pension system led to our being forced to pay more into it.

Reason #10 to VOTE on Nov. 5 – Education Funding

Chris Christie cut $1.3 BILLION from state education aid in his first year – causing 10,000 layoffs of

teachers and school staff, larger class sizes, and deep program cuts that are still hurting students.

Barbara Buono sponsored the common-sense School Funding Reform Act of 2008 – which Chris

Christie has under-funded by nearly $5 BILLION since taking office.

Reason #9 to VOTE on Nov. 5 – Respect for Educational Support Professionals

Chris Christie VETOED two bills that would have given ESPs protection against unfair dismissal and

against ill-conceived privatization schemes.

Barbara Buono VOTED for BOTH of those bills, and promises to sign them into law when she is elected

governor.

Reason #8 to VOTE on Nov. 5 – Testing and Evaluation

Chris Christie and his Education Commissioner, Chris Cerf, insist on using student test scores to

evaluate teachers, despite overwhelming research saying that’s bad policy – and bad education.

Barbara Buono respects and listens to teachers, and understands that standardized test scores cannot

measure the many factors that go into a child’s success in school.

Reason #7 to VOTE on Nov. 5 – Property Tax Reform

Under Chris Christie, the average property tax bill went up 18.6 PERCENT in his first three years in

office, but he repeatedly VETOED a tax on millionaires to make them pay their fair share.

Barbara Buono supports REAL property tax reform, and wants millionaires to pay their fair share of

taxes to protect our public schools.

Reason #6 to VOTE on Nov. 5 – School Construction

Chris Christie has sat on $3 BILLION in already-approved school construction funding, while countless

schools – particularly in urban districts – are dangerous, unhealthy, run-down environments that are

unfit for learning.

Barbara Buono has promised to release the funds targeted for school repair: when she toured Trenton

Central High School in October (Gov. Christie has refused to visit), she told reporters that it was in a

“criminal state of disrepair.”

Reason #5 to VOTE on Nov. 5 – Preschool Education

Chris Christie has called universal preschool “state-funded babysitting,” and has blocked expansion of

New Jersey’s best-in-the-nation preschool program.

Barbara Buono supports expanding full-day kindergarten and preschool programs, because she knows

they are proven ways to support early literacy and to close the achievement gap.

Reason #4 to VOTE on Nov. 5 – College Affordability

Chris Christie has increased tuition at state colleges and universities by 12 PERCENT, while continuing

to cut the budgets of all public higher education institutions.

Barbara Buono, who worked her way through Montclair State and Rutgers Law School, supports

making tuition affordable for college students. She knows that higher education is central to

supporting a strong middle class.

Reason #3 to VOTE on Nov. 5 – Unemployment and the Economy

Under Chris Christie, New Jersey still has the HIGHEST unemployment in the region, while ranking a

dismal 47th among the 50 states in overall economic growth. He vetoed an increase in the minimum

wage.

Barbara Buono won’t waste $4 billion on corporate tax breaks that failed to produce jobs, as Christie

did. She’ll invest in education, infrastructure, and small businesses to keep the middle class strong,

and will increase the minimum wage to help poor families make ends meet.

Reason #2 to VOTE on Nov. 5 – Women’s and Children’s Health and Safety

Chris Christie vetoed $7.5 million that would have kept six family planning clinics open – depriving

135,000 women of cancer screenings, mammograms, and Pap tests. He repeatedly vetoed equal pay

legislation, and cut $507,000 from a center for abused children in Newark.

Barbara Buono is a leader on women’s and children’s issues. She wrote New Jersey’s historic Paid

Family Leave law that allows workers to take paid time off to care for new children and sick family

members. She also authored legislation allowing mothers who have just given birth to stay in the

hospital for a minimum of 48 hours.

Reason #1 to VOTE on Nov. 5 – RESPECT

From the moment he took office, Chris Christie has vilified and insulted teachers and school

employees, calling us “greedy,” accusing us of using students as “drug mules,” and ridiculing us at

every turn. He even told a group of students in 2010 that if their teachers really cared about them,

they wouldn’t be “partying” at the NJEA Convention in Atlantic City.

Barbara Buono listens to teachers and school employees. She supports the rights of union members to

collective bargaining and fair treatment. She RESPECTS us. It’s that simple.