Community Corner

Frank Pallone Was Lautenberg's 'Go-To Guy,' Widow Says

Bonnie Lautenberg took aim at frontrunner Cory Booker during Monday's press conference in East Rutherford.

Written By Keith Brown

The widow of late Sen. Frank Lautenberg called U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6) her husband’s "go-to guy" while ramping up the rhetoric against Democratic frontrunner Cory Booker on Monday.

Speaking at a former toxic Superfund site in East Rutherford, Bonnie Lautenberg told reporters that when her husband needed help with legislation, especially on environmental issues, Lautenberg would go to Pallone.

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"Especially on the environment, Frank Lautenberg had a critical ally in Frank Pallone," Lautenberg said. "When my husband needed help in the House of Representatives on an environmental issue, he always knew what to do: he’d call Frank Pallone."

The Lautenberg family has endorsed Pallone in his bid to succeed Lautenberg in the Senate over frontrunner Cory Booker. Pallone also faces U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-12) and state Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-34) in the Aug. 13 primary election.

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The winner of that election will face off against one of the two GOP candidates – former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan or Somerset County physician Alieta Eck -- in a special Senate election on Oct. 13.

Speaking in a parking lot of a Lowe’s hardware store, Bonnie Lautenberg said Pallone was the "go-to guy, the one who had experience and knew how to get things done.’"

Frank Lautenberg died on June 3, setting in motion the contest to fill his unexpired term, which is up next year.

Pallone pointed to his work with the late Senator to keep funding for the Superfund program and the similar Brownfield program as evidence that he was the candidate who could “get things done.’’

Pallone called the Lautenberg family endorsement “tremendously helpful.’’

“When the Lautenberg family endorses me and says that I’m like him and that’s why you should vote for me, I think that says a lot,’’ Pallone said.

Bonnie Lautenberg did not have nice things to say about Booker, who leads Pallone in recent polling by nearly 40 percentage points among likely voters.

“Being good on TV and raising money outside the state doesn’t mean you’re going to be the most effective in the United States Senate,’’ Lautenberg said. “You have to look at how they did in their current jobs. And I know Frank Pallone has done a really good job.’’

In their endorsement of Pallone, the Lautenberg family took veiled jabs at Booker, saying that New Jersey needed a “work horse, not a show horse.’’

Bonnie Lautenberg defended the family’s statement Monday, saying that Booker “deserves a spanking,’’ and that the family felt Pallone was the best person to for the job. 

Pallone also announced a new 30-second television ad, to begin airing on cable and some broadcast stations on Tuesday.

The spot, titled "You can count on Frank," highlights Pallone’s work on President Obama's Affordable Care Act, his longstanding environmental work and his fight to save Social Security and Medicare from cuts.



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