Throw the bums out? Most don't see politics that way

Monmouth University / Gannett poll finds interest in serving

By Michael Riley
Staff Writer

"Throw the bums out! They're all a bunch of crooks, anyway!"

That's the kind of barroom talk and dinner table discussion we imagine taking place when it comes to conversation about New Jersey politicians.

Yet, in spite of (or maybe because of) the rabbit hole of graft and corruption that some believe is at the heart of New Jersey politics, 55 percent of Garden State residents see getting involved in politics and government as honorable, compared with 32 percent who feel it is a dirty business, according to the latest Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll.

In addition, nearly two-thirds of New Jersey residents said they feel it is important to be active in their communities and 4 in 10 express at least some interest in serving on a board or commission in their town. 

Yet, just 23 percent said they worked to help solve a problem in their community in the last year, the poll found.

 "Although New Jersey has developed a reputation for ethically challenged government, most residents feel it doesn't have to be that way," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, West Long Branch.

 While about 1 in 7 expressed a high level of interest in participating in local government, "if just 1 in 7 residents got involved at the local level, the impact would be noticeable," he said.

The poll found that, on the flip side, 21 percent say that they don't think that their contributions would make any difference at all.

"The political process is not crooked," said Casey Cruetz of Jackson. "But it attracts the sort of people who seek power for their own personal gain."

That's why public service often becomes a dirty business, he said.

But Patricia Atheras of Wall believes that public service is not only honorable but patriotic.

"How can we complain about the government we get if we are not participating in the process?" she asked. Atheras has campaigned in the past and continues to support candidates she likes. Her son is a member of the Board of Education in Brick.

About half of New Jersey residents feel they personally can make a difference in working to solve problems in their local communities. Of course that still leaves 48 percent who feel that they can make little or no difference at all.

The Citizens' Campaign and Monmouth University will be holding a "Call to Service Conference" on campus on Tuesday.

The conference will encourage New Jersey business leaders to become more involved in state and local governance, and assist local government leaders in launching calls to service in their own towns.

The Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll was conducted by telephone with 808 New Jersey adults from Sept. 11 to 14. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Gannett New Jersey newspapers are the Asbury Park Press, Courier-Post, Courier News, Daily Journal, Daily Record and Home News Tribune.

View poll results http://www.monmouth.edu/polling/admin/polls/MUP18_4.pdf