The Cranford Chronicle
November 1, 2008
by Leslie Murray

CRANFORD--In a show of political muscle just days before the election, former President Bill Clinton spoke at Union County College (UCC) during a rally for Assemblywoman Linda Stender's (D-Union) campaign.

While nearly 2,000 people packed the rally, the location drew fire from Union County Republican Chairman Phil Morin who called hosting a political event a "direct violation of the written rules and regulations of the college."

Stender is in a highly-scrutinized race with state Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon) for the for the 7th Congressional District seat currently held by Rep. Michael Ferguson (R-7). The district covers most of Union County, as well as sections of Middlesex, Somerset and Hunterdon counties.

When Stender first ran for Congress in 2005, the former Union County freeholder lost to Ferguson by about 3,000 votes.

In addition to Clinton, Gov. Jon Corzine, State Democratic Party Leader Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, and the state's four Democratic Congressmen attended the rally this morning, praising Stender and urging the excited crowd to vote for Barack Obama.

"You need people in public office who want to understand and can understand. Linda Stender can do that," Clinton told the eager crowd.

The day prior to the event, serious objections were raised from supporters of Lance that holding the event at UCC was a violation of campus policy. Morin said in a statement released on Friday that Dr. Thomas H. Brown, President of Union County College, had failed to respond to the suggestion of violations.

"It is clear that Dr. Brown would rather hide under his desk until this mess is over than face the fact that as the head of a publicly-funded community college, he is playing partisan political politics over the college's written policy. He will be held accountable," Morin said.
The overwhelmingly enthusiastic crowd seemed more excited about the presence of Clinton in Cranford.

Tony and Debra Kono of Westfield said they were already supporters of Stender, but called the rally a thrilling moment in the election.

"I've met Bill Clinton once before, but this was really exciting," Tony Kono said.