By Brenda Flanagan
NJ Today
Like a coach prepping players for a tough tournament, Barbara Buono rallied a room full of Democratic party faithful in Irvington — a ladies’ luncheon focused on women’s issues and beating Gov. Chris Christie.
“I don’t know about you, but I think we’ve made a lot of progress as women in this state, right? But we have a governor who’s trying to turn back the clock. And we’ve got to stop it. That cannot happen,” Buono said.
Buono rolled out an agenda that emphasized several different issues she says resonate not only with women, but also with families. She talked about equal pay for equal work and promised as governor to increase New Jersey’s minimum wage — themes already familiar from her campaign.
“Come on, you cant live on the minimum wage in this state. You know that,” she said.
Buono said working women need help caring for their families, too. She called for earned sick days, better pre-school and after-school programs and full-day kindergarten. The Democratic candidate told her female audience she would restore the $7.5 million in state funding that Christie cut from family planning centers, and she supports a woman’s right to choose.
“As a mother of five daughters, I will always stand up and protect my daughters’ right to choose,” Buono said.
The polls show Christie’s comfortably ahead, but Buono claims he’s beatable. She used to trail Christie by 30 points. Now, she’s only 20 points behind.
“We did cut 10 points off of his lead — in the dog days of August. Thank you,” she said.
But Buono lags behind Christie among women voters, too.
“This election is important to women, to families, to everyone because everyone is a stakeholder,” said Irvington Democratic Committee Vice Chair Andrea McElroy. “We have to come out in full support for someone who recognizes what we go through every day. And that’s Sen. Barbara Buono.”
“This straight-talking governor isn’t all that he seems, that he’s driven singularly by his national ambitions and he’s sacrificing the people of New Jersey,” Buono said.
Buono’s looking for some traction as the dog days of August wind down and both campaigns shift into high gear after Labor Day.