2000 Candidates Forum

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script type="text/javascript" src="http://hb.lycos.com/hb.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ratings.lycos.com/ratings/lycosRating.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[//><!]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://scripts.lycos.com/catman/init.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-start.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-middle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-end.js"></script> <noscript> <img src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/img/common/ot_noscript.gif?rand=732569" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  <iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" width="728" height="90" src="http://ad.yieldmanager.com/st?ad_type=iframe&ad_size=728x90&section=209094"></iframe>  </noscript> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="1a500640egdysm.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#000066" FACE="Arial" ><B>Voorhees Environmental and Recreational  Alliance</b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><B> </b></FONT><B>    |     </b><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Voorhees Environmental and Recreational "><U><B>home</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=130 BGCOLOR="#666699" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id309.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Newsletter"><U><B>Newsletter</b></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Voorhees candidates collide over tax rate </b></div> <bR> <div> By Brendan January</div> <div> INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="626" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="622"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="622" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> VOORHEES - The two Democratic candidates for the Township Committee blamed the mayor for a 22 percent tax increase over two years, and promised, if elected, to use their business experience to balance taxes and promote development.</div> <bR> <div> Mayor Gary Finger and fellow Republican candidate Frank Dutton defended Finger's record and stressed the importance of buying open space as soon as possible, when land was still available.</div> <bR> <div> "I believe that if we wait, the properties will be gone," Dutton said. "This is a priority. This is a quality-of-life issue. We don't have time."</div> <bR> <div> The Democrats - Joe Lovallo and Manny Konstantinedes - joined the Republicans to answer questions on taxes, development, open space, board appointments and parking during a forum Wednesday night sponsored by the Voorhees Environmental and Recreational Alliance. </div> <bR> <div> The Nov. 7 election for two seats on the committee will determine whether the Republicans can maintain their 3-2 majority.</div> <bR> <div> Neither Konstantinedes nor Lovallo has much experience in government, but both stressed that their enthusiasm and experience in business - Lovallo in sales and marketing and Konstantinedes in restaurants - made them good candidates.</div> <bR> <div> "I operate a small business in a field that has a failure rate of 90 percent," Konstantinedes said. "I will bring this experience to the improper handling of funds that has occurred over the past two years."</div> <bR> <div> On the issue of buying open space, the Democrats expressed support but said stabilizing taxes, reducing debt and attracting businesses should come first.</div> <bR> <div> Buying land "is short-term thinking," said Lovallo, who argued that "we have to retire old debt before taking on new debt."</div> <bR> <div> The Democrats criticized Finger for not upgrading the sewer pump station on Cooper Road to support commercial growth on Route 73. </div> <bR> <div> They also attacked the committee's use of "one-time revenues," such as a $665,000 sewer surplus in 1998 and a $730,000 windfall from a land sale in 1999, to balance the budget.</div> <bR> <div> Finger said the money was needed to cover legal and planning costs associated with each windfall, adding that two Democrats - Gary Schlosser and Harry Platt - were on the committee. But, he added, he will not support such a policy in the future.</div> <bR> <div> "The gradual [tax increase] rate makes more sense," he said yesterday. If "we had had a 3.4 percent increase every year, we wouldn't have had the shot we had this year."</div> <bR> <div> The forum will be televised on Channel 18 at 7 p.m. Thursday and Oct. 29 and three times between 6 p.m. and midnight on Nov 6.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> And THEN there was the following "New Jersey Notebook" item on sunday, 10/22 in the Philadelphia Inquirer:</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>View in Voorhees may bode ill for scouts</b></I></div> <div> At a forum of those running for Voorhees Township Committee Wednesday night, the four candidates were asked a question: "The Supreme Court has recently ruled that some groups may discriminate. If elected, will you allow groups that discriminate to use township buildings?" </div> <div> The question referred to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed the Boy Scouts of America to bar homosexuals. </div> <div> However, none of the four - Democrats Manny Konstantinedes and Joe Lovallo and Republicans Gary Finger and Frank Dutton - seemed to realize the question referred to the Boy Scouts. Cued by the word discriminate, each asserted in no uncertain terms that he would never allow such a group to use township property. </div> <div> That would be news to Cub Scout Pack 127, which has used the community center on the third Wednesday of every month. </div> <div> - Brendan January, in Voorhees</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>