By Senior Correspondent Desirée Taylor
NJ Today
Democratic state senator and gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono told members of the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s policies have hurt the middle class.
“Over the last three years we’ve lost thousands of firefighters in the name of shared sacrifice … while demanding nothing from millionaires,” said Buono.
Today’s event comes on the heels of the union’s announcement last month that it was endorsing Buono for governor. Union president Dominick Marino said it was an easy decision to back Buono because of her support of issues that are crucial to firefighters.
WATCH VIDEO:
“She has been supportive of our pension and health benefits. … Those are core things for firefighters,” said Marino.
Another core issue for firefighters is collective bargaining. Buono was met by applause when she reiterated her support for it saying, “The art of negotiation is fundamental to democracy.”
Buono also has the support of the CWA which represents about 35,000 state workers. And she recently qualified for state matching funds so she’ll have more than $500,000 in her war chest.
But Christie still has a commanding lead over Buono in the polls. A recent PublicMind poll showed 58 percent of respondents favor Christie compared to 22 percent for Buono. Despite this, Buono is confident her campaign will gain momentum as voters get to know her better.
“My message is resonating and the gap will close in the polls. Why? Because we still have the highest property taxes in the nation … and people are living paycheck to paycheck and he won’t dignify them with an increase in the minimum wage. He’s just tone deaf to the middle class,” said Buono.