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Dec 17, 2007

Burlington County Times - Democrat Adler ready to take on GOP in race for Saxton's seat in Congress

Meet John Adler. He's an opponent of the war in Iraq, a resident of Cherry Hill and a Democrat running for Congress in a sprawling district that runs through traditionally conservative areas of Burlington and Ocean counties.

Meet John Adler.

He's an opponent of the war in Iraq, a resident of Cherry Hill and a Democrat running for Congress in a sprawling district that runs through traditionally conservative areas of Burlington and Ocean counties.

So why does the longtime state senator think he's the right man to succeed Republican Jim Saxton as congressman for the 3rd Congressional District?

To Adler, who lives in the only Camden County town in the district, the answer is simple: He doesn't like the direction the country has taken during the past eight years and believes he can succeed as an agent for change in Washington.

“We as a country could be so much better,” Adler said, speaking at his Cherry Hill law office during a recent interview in which he discussed issues such as the environment, health care and the war in Iraq.

Commenting on the war, Adler said U.S. soldiers are being put in harm's way for an inactive Iraqi government.

“Our warriors have succeeded twice,” he said. “First, they were successful in bringing down Saddam Hussein, and now they have also been successful in bringing some stability to Iraq. They've met their objectives, whereas the Iraqi politicians have failed to act and reward the Americans for their sacrifice.”

Other nations in the Middle East need to become more involved and invested in maintaining stability and order in Iraq, he said.

“America has an ongoing investment in a stable Iraq, but other countries around it have a much greater interest and have to step up with both financial and military resources to bring about peace in the region,” he said. “Until those countries are brought in, we Americans are left spending our own lives and our own resources in a perpetual holding pattern. It's not fair to our warriors or the American people.”

If elected, Adler said, he would support an orderly and honorable withdrawal of U.S. forces. He said the money saved from the war effort could be redirected toward health-care reform and toward developing an environmentally friendly energy policy

“Instead of giving money to countries that hate us, we need an energy policy that is good for the environment and stops global warming,” he said, adding that while those are national issues, they have specific relevance to 3rd District voters.

“The issues affecting people in Cherry Hill are identical to the ones impacting people in Mount Laurel, Cinnaminson and Evesham,” Adler said. “People want good schools and affordable health insurance. They want their families kept safe and their retirements secure. I think they also want someone who will stand up to special interests.”

Adler announced his campaign for Congress in late September. At the time, he expected his Republican opponent would be Saxton, a 14-term incumbent who defeated Adler in a 1990 congressional race for the same seat.

However, Saxton announced last month that he would retire at the end of his term next year due to health reasons. Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly and Medford Deputy Mayor Chris Myers are expected to vie for the Republican nomination. It appears likely that Adler will not be opposed in the Democratic primary.

Kelly and Myers have both said defeating Adler and keeping the seat Republican is their shared goal.

“This is the front line of not getting John Adler elected to this district,” Myers exclaimed last week during a brief speech at the Ocean County Republican Party endorsement convention.

For his part, Adler, who has been promised support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said he had no preference in which candidate the Republicans field.

“I'm focused on advocating for a change in Washington and on hearing the various problems of people in the 3rd District,” he said. “I want people to understand who I am, and I'm telling them my story, how my father was a dry cleaner who died when I was in high school and how I'm a husband and father of four boys. I want people to know who I am as a family member and a person in the community.”

During the interview, Adler bristled at suggestions that a Democrat from Cherry Hill would be unable or less willing to fight for funding for defense contractor Lockheed Martin and the three military installations located in the district. Lockheed and the three installations — Fort Dix, McGuire Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Lakehurst — are major employers in the district.

He said U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews of the 1st District has disproved the funding theory with his service on the House Armed Services Committee.

Andrews, of Haddon Heights, is a Democrat who has also been critical of the war in Iraq.

“No one would say (Andrews) is not a patriot or a good American,” Adler said. “Every time there has been a threat to national security or the military bases in the region, he's taken action. People have come together on a bipartisan basis, and we've collectively been successful.”

Adler, who has served as a state senator since 1992, said he was most proud of legislation he sponsored and helped get passed into law prohibiting smoking in almost all public places as well as legislation revoking the pensions of any public official convicted of corruption. He said both laws were opposed by powerful special-interest groups.

“The smoking ban was a very pro-family piece of legislation and involved standing up against special interests in a profound way,” he said.