The mark of Kean - Republican candidates for governor of New Jersey

TRENTON, N.J.-When Tom Kean decided to run for governor in 1981, the New Jersey GOP was near extinction, the state was considered a toxic-waste dump, and its economy was in shambles. In his two terms as governor, Kean took the failing industrial state from 10 per cent unemployment and a $300-million budget shortfall to a success story mirroring that of the nation. The state has enjoyed a budget surplus for five of his eight years in office, 4 per cent unemployment, and 600,000 new jobs. In a recent poll, 65 per cent said they consider Kean to be doing an "excellent" or "good" job, despite the present, $500-million shortfall and reports of misuse of funds by certain agencies. Though Kean is prevented by law from seeking a third consecutive term, his accomplishments will play a vital role in the GOP's efforts to hold the statehouse against Jim Florio, Kean's 1981 opponent and the Democrats' likely candidate this year.

The three front-runners for the June 6 Republican primary are Congressman Jim Courter, State Senator Gerald Cardinale, and State Assembly Speaker Chuck Hardwick. Hardwick, the only Republican to hold tbe post of Speaker since Kean (1972-73), is proud of the state's economic growth, but says the most important challenge for the next governor is managing the growth, especially that of the government. The state budget grew from $5 billion in 1981 to $12.5 billion in 1988, as Governor Kean used an increase in revenues to send the state on a spending spree.

Felix Auer-a longtime participant in New Jersey Republican politics and aide to the State Senate minority leader-calls the Speake, "a compassionate conservative who cares about human values and fiscal responsibility." When Kean attempted to repeal a New Jersey law that deducts from homeowners' state income tax what they have paid in property taxes (Kean wanted to use the added revenue to give aid to "distressed cities"), Hardwick helped defeat the repeal. He opposed Kean's divestiture of stocks of companies that do business in South Africa from the state pension fund's portfolio. And he calls Mount Laurel, a state-supremecourt decision requiring each community to supply low-income housing even if it means tearing down existing structures, "a terrible decision."

Education is sure to be a concern of the voters, but Hardwick does not plan radical educational reform. He wants to give more money to the publicschool system while requiring "basicskills testing as a condition for receipt of a New Jersey high-school diploma." He is firm and confident in his support for Joe Clark-the controversial back-to-basics disciplinarian-whom he calls "in American hero."

The Hardwick campaign has statewide support, including endorsements from conservatives such as supply-sider Jeff Bell, who says that "Hardwick is the logical choice to succeed Tom Kean." He also has the endorsements of three of the five candidates who ran against Kean in the 1981 primary.

Opponents contend the Speaker has flip-flopped on certain issues to accommodate his campaign. Most notably, he has a record of opposing capital punishment, but supports it in his run for governor. However an April poll showed Hardwick with a 62 per cent name-recognition rating, highest among all Republican candidates.

State Senator Gerald Cardinale has received the endorsement of the state Conservative Caucus and the Commerce and Industry Association. As Cardinale press secretary Jim Moses puts it, the senator is committed "to cutting unnecessary programs and commissions"-which he is more than happy to list. Like Hardwick, he is essentially anti-tax and anti-spending; unlike Hardwick, he advocates a spending rollback, vowing to eliminate 12,000 state jobs. Generally, Cardinale says that he just wants to "make the state more affordable."

Photographs of his wife and five children in his campaign literature are captioned "Destroy the family and you destroy society." On education questions, he advocates vouchers, a moment of silence, daily recitation of the Declaration of Independence, and a requirement that abstinence be offered in AIDS education as the most effective means of preventing infection.

Solid issues, but polls show Cardinale a distant third behind Hardwick and Jim Courter. Political types say he's spent too much energy proclaiming that he would bulldoze the toll booths on the Garden State Parkway because it would save the state and the drivers money. Perhaps true, but is it enough to win a campaign?

WITH Roe v. Wade on the endangered list, abortion will be a major issue in both the primary and general elections. The issue could deliver a blow to the campaign of Jim Courter. Courter, a solid foreign-policy conservative, has a generally pro-life voting record. But, according to the Lawrence Ledger, Courter was the honorary co-chairman of the fiftieth anniversary dinner of Planned Parenthood. And when the New Jersey Right to Life organization sent questionnaires to the GOP candidates, Courter did not return his because, he told me, "I didn't have the time . . . and they wanted yes and no answers" to complicated questions. (Right to Life leadership was distressed that Congressman Henry Hyde-as in the Hyde Amendments-injected himself into the Jersey race, endorsing Courter, without first consulting the organization.) When asked if he would support a bill outlawing abortion as governor, Courter said he did not like to make decisions based on "hypotheticals." (Both Hardwick and Cardinale said they would sign such a bill, though Hardwick specified an exception for saving the life of the mother.) Courter seems unwilling to take unequivocal stands on local matters; Speaker Hardwick suggests that is because all he knows about them comes from two-hour briefings: "If you want to know about Gorbachev, talk to Jim Courter. If you want to know about garbage, talk to me."