New Jersey Gubernatorial Debate 2017

Date

September 27, 2017

New Jersey voters will go to the polls November 7 to elect a new governor. Gubernatorial candidates Republican Kim Guadagno and Democrat Phil Murphy met on Tuesday, Oct. 10, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark for their first public debate, co-sponsored by Rutgers. To watch a recap of the full debate, click here.

Voters are expected to closely follow the debate, as the election is the first in more than a decade in which neither candidate is an incumbent. To prepare voters for the topics candidates will likely address during their campaigns, Rutgers Today spoke with university experts in the areas of health care, jobs, education, property taxes, and infrastructure. Here’s what they have to say.

	All Eyes on the Garden State John Weingart, associate director at the Eagleton Institute of Politics and director of the Eagleton Center on the American Governor, discusses what this election means in New Jersey and beyond.
	A Health Care Prescription for the Next Administration Joel Cantor, distinguished professor and director of the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, talks about why the future of the Affordable Care Act matters to New Jersey and what the next governor can do to maintain affordable coverage for the state’s residents.
	With Brighter Job Forecast, New Jersey Can Shift to Wages, Training, and Investment James Hughes, university professor and the former dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, and Kevin Lyons, associate professor at Rutgers Business School, discuss the job outlook, what needs to be done and how the next governor could make a difference.
	Closing New Jersey’s Educational Divide Requires New Approaches to Testing, School Choice and Funding Bruce D. Baker, professor in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers-New Brunswick, explains why the achievement gap in New Jersey is so wide and offers our next governor solutions to address the problem.
	Tips for Restructuring New Jersey’s Property Taxes – The Nation’s Highest Darren A. Spielman, managing director of the Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs at Rutgers-Camden, explains why New Jersey’s property taxes are the highest in the nation and offers our next governor solutions for reining them in.
	How the Next Governor Can Meet the State’s Infrastructure Needs Ali Maher, director of Rutgers’ Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation, discusses the challenges the next governor will face maintaining and improving the state’s infrastructure.
	New Jersey Gubernatorial Election: Helping Students Become Informed Voters RU Voting, run by the Eagleton Institute of Politics' Center for Youth Political Participation, encourages students at Rutgers to pay attention to politics, register to vote, and turn out on Election Day. Elizabeth Matto, an associate research professor who directs the initiative, discusses plans to engage students this fall leading up to the Nov. 7 gubernatorial election and the value for students to get engaged in the political process.

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New Jersey Gubernatorial Debate 2017

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