Herald & Lantern 21 October 81

'The Assembly Race

JOSKIM! W. CHINNICt Assemblymah Joseph Chinnicf (pro « nount erf Ch nee r| has served irt the lower statehouse of government for 10 years,-and for nearly a decade before that represented a constituency on the riumiapal and then county level in his native ( umberland County., The year-old clothing mahufacturer 'Ik* is presidentNof the Major Coat Co.^ Inc i has served^ as a member of the Joint Cbmmiilee on Appropriations in the ihly ^jnce 1972 The Kepub(ican officeholder is former City Clerk of liridgeton. where he was on City Council, ij^ft'served as Council president in-1963 He was also a Cumberland • County freeholder and was freeholder director in |97l, the year he was first elected to the Assembly Born in Deerfield Twp , he was graduated from Bridgeton High School in 1938 and attended the Wharton School. Univ of PennKylvfna He is a World WaV y Army Veteran and served In the • South Pacific ' . He is director of the Farmers &* Merchants National Bank of B^dgeton, belongs to several service and fraternal organizations, and is a lay trustee of St. Theresa of Avila Church in Bridgeton Assemblyman Chinnicilwas interview ed Thursday afternoon

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• <From Page 11 that question

f don’t want the President of the United States to put-one finger on Social Security benefits I feel that all ot us — you and me i and you are probably much younger than ! will someday retire, and we are putting our monies in Social Security so that we will depend not for full living, because I don’t think, it’s,designed'to do that, but at least it's goiqg to supplement a large portion of "our living expehses I've read in the papers now. I haven’t talked to Tom that he's embraced many

. So I don't want to speak on his behalf I will tell you that I don't agree entirely with everything that is happening in the federal level However, the President has a job to do • What jjl yoir most important' accomplishment — and we're not speaking necessarily about legislation -- for your constituency dating the past year, and during your entire time in office?.' chinniri: Qhhhhh The thing is we have continually struggled to keep some items which affect the First District. For example, the Agricultural Experimental Station The Governor, for some reason, wants to dismantle it - And we have fought this thing, anW“we>t<w)n every year Every year thar he trietTto take it out of Ihe budget, we have reinstated the money. And, of course, the '• Ag Station is also the funding for the 4-H program' We have done a greqt job on dredging at the shore. It’s been my efforts and the joint Appropriations Cormpitlee that have made sure that the funding - even tho we have not been able to do all of the dredging that we had wanted to do — it was njy efforts that made sure that we got what we needed, at that point in time. ‘ And you know, if you want to answer the real problem with dredging — and this has got to be done sometime in the future — the only thing that's going to stop the shoaling of these inlets (Hereford and Townsends Inlet i is going to be jetties And they don't cost a half a million dollars The jetty system that is required to stop that problem with the dredging of Hereford’s and Townsend's Inlet - we're talking between $20.and 130 million-dollars; you know, talking a lot of dough. ^ You know, throughout the whole state, we always have projects, things that we’d . like to see done or want to change I’d like to see the death penalty come ' back, very frankly. I’m an advocate pf it. I have four bills so far to reinstate the death penalty,'and I can't seem to go anywhere with them. And Ijthink it’s very important that the death penalty come back. And, of course, not promiscuously; not to be kilU ing anybody that we think-killed somebody We got to make darn sure that wefbt the right gt*y. No baloney We can’t just think we have him; we’ve got to be positively certain. • O'hay 4s your response then, if we 1 understand it correctly; what you're saying is: No one.thing /accomplishment! stands out; just a constant plugging away for the constituency... Chinniri: Absolutely. Just one item after another. We could go through probably a hundred items that we have continually either plugged (or its passage, or opposed to block it. And there are many^things; I couldn't begin to enumerate. •Your, current colleague in the Assembly. Jim Hurlgy, says Home Rule is a hallmark of the Republican party. Your

"I feel that Home Rule is absolutely the most essential thing that has to- be preserved.

programs I don t think m^ opinion and I haven't talked to Tom Keanatymt it - that Tom Kean would want to see anything happen to the Social Security-benefits of «nv

retiree

But, you know, somebody didn t do their job in years past Because the SoCjqj Security program did not go to pot in.ihe past three months It went to pot over the

possible legislative associate. Guy Muziani. is' from Wildwood, where some wpuld like to see gambling also legalized.. Two questions: — Is home rule per sealways best; and — What's-your position on legalizing~gbmbling outside of Atlantic

City- ; A

(hinnicj: O'kay. Home Rule: Nobody twin tell me tha^t somebody up in Trenton

care who we want to blame didn't do

their job, and saw it coming

• Whot we meant by the question, let's rephrase‘it Are you totally satisfied with Mr Kean s platform, are you comfortable running on-the same fiefeef with him. /00

per

ertt 1

years So. somebody in the past I don't * can best manage and govern, for example,

the seashore, the wetlands, CAFRA, the dunes, agriculture. Nothing, nobody can do the job in Cumberland Coupty, in Cape May • .the City of Bridgeton. Vineland, MiHville nobody cpn do it better than the people who live there all their lift. I feel lhat Hojqe Rule is absolutely the most essential thing that has to be preserved There's nd question in my mind that once state government commences, for example. the pones Bill, Pinelands — you know, nobody wants to* destroy the core area of the Pinelands. where the best water in the world is setting under it. But the state feels that we can't do the job They have to come and do it for us The same goes for the Dunes Bill. 'Somebody from Bergen County who doesn't live near the shore at all told us

< hinnici: Well. I'm comfortable running on the same ticket with Mr Kean because I know of his ability 1 I served in the legislature with him for eight years, most of which he served in leadership Speaker of the House, Minority party, and majority Party So I Mo khow this lie knows what he'$ talking about He knows-where he's going, and he knows where he's I icon Now. how do I feel about how he errihrac ed the program’’ I don't know I can't em brace everything that Mr Reag&n said

“/ think that the purpose of legalized gambling in Atlantic City has begun really to show what the proponents of it were trying to do."

And I don't want to speak for Mr Kean Mr Kean speaks for himself, and he does it quite capably You’ve got to believe me'

what to do with the dunes. They can’t do that! We ha^e ordinances in every (Page 34 Please)

(From Page 1) surance, four real estate salespeople, and anofher secretary who could handle my business quite well. And, of course, there are days^when I wouldn’t be in Trenton, so —. I’ve never been the kind of person that could ever let anything go. I’m on top of everything. My employees say they can’t understand how I can know everything that's going on when I'm not even there. No, I could handle them both, in that order, because, one, I would resign; the other, I have adequate support in my owp office to handle it. • You are a resident of the Jersey Cape municipality closest to Atlantic City. Can you tell us what effects (good and bad) legalized gambling havefhad on Ocean City? And. as a legislator, would you favor or oppose extending legalized gambling beyond Atlantic City, specifically Into Cape May County resorts like }Vildwood? Woods: Again, a very easyfluestibn to answer. By livihgin the northernmost part of Cape may County, that puts us closer to' Atlantic City than anybody else in the county. We, -of course, would have more experience as to the washoff from casino gambling . And believe me, as I see it, it’s

hot good!

• You say it's not'good? Woods: It is not good. Our experience here in Ocean City is a great deal of traffic, a great rise in crime. Geneally speaking. I think if the people in Ocean City had to do it again l vote on casino gambling referendum for Atlantic City!, they'd probably vote against cafeino gambling. I think it was probably very close* to this city when it wen* through. ^But, generally speaking, it has not been good. People think thai perhaps, casino gambling has had a loMo do With development, increase in prietti of homes in Ocean City. That's not so! Casino-related people generally don't want t<!Nivtf in the;type of town that we have. Probably, sbme of them can’t even afford it. But; the pVices in our town and the atmosphere of our town are as the result of a demand from people (ip in suburban Philadelphia and other areas who want to come to Ocean City. Not the casino-related people. In that respect, I personally would be very milch opposed to extending, number one, gambling from 20 to 24 hours. I cannot imagine how four additional hours can be beneficial to anybody. Anybody who has looked at Atlantic City can see that virtually nothing has changed — just a few hotels along the boardwalk. The town is still as bad as it ever was from an aesthetic stapd-

WILLIAM H. WOODS A Realtor-insuror by profession, William Woods is also a City Councilman on Ocean City Council where he served as preside^ during his first term of office dn the non-partisan municipal governing body in 1978-80. The 46-year-old Democrat (he was a registered Republican until the early * 1970s) is a longtime friend and neighbor of Cong. Bill Hughes, and served as chairman of the Representative’s District-wide Advisory Council. Mr. Woods served as deputy tax assessor of Ocean City 1965-67 and i$ past presideht'of the Dcean City Board of Realtors, which has honored him as their Realtor of the Year. He has alscljeen active in civic, scholastic and cultural affairs having served in fundraising efforts for Shore Memorial Hospital, bwn vice president of the Ocean City ArtsjCenter. chaired the local Hklloween parade for mote than a decade, bmwvice president of the high school Band Boosters, and past president of the Exchange Club. He is an official of the First United Methodist Church in Ocean City. * 1 < He received his AB degree 1n economics from Washington and Jeffer- - son college, and studied property tax administration at Rutgers Univ. He and his wife Mary have two daughters, 20, and 16. Mr. Woods was interviewed Friday evening. front — streams, tributaries, rivers, bayfront as well as oceanfront. Now...I

“/ have never, eyer agreed that one person should hold two (elective) offices at the same time. In my estimation, that’s a conflict.”

point; and from an unemployment and crime and everything else standpoint. I would be opposed to extending gambling hours to the additionaj four hourt. And I would be also very (extreme emphasis/ much opposed to'extending gambling beyond Atlantic City. I don’t c^e where it is in the State wNew Jersey. And especially, nowhere inCapc May County... I sense it. I can see ifty living up here. I get police reports fromMy own [Ocean City] police chief. I see the percentage of increase in crime. I’ve got a very bad taste in my mouth for extending this in any

direction or any time.

• Because of your real estate and insurance background, you certainly are familiar wllh title insurance and property rights. Can you tell us how Waterfront pro-

would certainly be in favor of maintaining that present undeyelopment. And. of course; I think they would still have to pay for that pri^jege of having that riparian right. \ It’s very difficult for me to answer that question. I’m not sure I totally understand

it, but...

. • Well, the basis of the question is our ‘bqlie/ that we do not think most people in Cdpe May County realize the question, and we're not even talking about the implications of the question: we're talking about the very question itself, If we understand the question properly, .the question -talks about the 40-year limit but the 40-year limit only pertains to lands that have beeh

dry for 40 years ... If it definitely is \lparipn lands — meaning a home on the

“l%e got a very bad taste in my mouth for extending (casino gambling)

in any direction or any time.”

Wj ITDO

pertyowners anywhere in Cape May County would benefit by approving the Riparian Rights referendum, when the question per tains only to lands that have been dry the past 40 years? afterall. we know from the

1962 stdrm what lands are wet!

Woods: Well. I’ve never had that question posed in that manner Existing water-

front — how they would benefit?

• Right, exactly \ Woods: I don't see how their position

Harbor and Avalon and other areas in Cdpe May County, people live on the bayfront and their home is lite'ally right on the water — then this question on the ballot will have absolutely no effect on their waterfront land because there is no doubt that that is riparian: and this question only deals with those lands in which there is a tremendous rfUestion whether or

not it is riparian.

would change any. Because they either , Woods: Well now, if I understand this have riparian right they don’t have correctly — and I was privy to some inside riparian right. And if th^ do have riparian information on this matter a couple even-

right, they've had to pay for that privilege, irigs ago — it’s this way:

And if they don't, then there’s no reason The 40-year figure, apparently, was why they would have any claim against determined — or finally compromised or them agreed upon. There were various bills put

Now as far as the undeveloped water- / (Page34Please)