Kean seeks to cut $1 billion in spending Assemblyman Sean T. Kean is running in the 11th District state Senate race to continue his efforts to make New Jersey an affordable state. Sean T. Kean Kean, a Republican, is being challenged by Democratic candidate John Villapiano to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Joseph Palaia in the Nov. 6 election. "People are leaving New Jersey in droves to escape the skyrocketing taxes," said Kean in a press release this week. "As a state senator, I will continue to fight against the Legislature's tax-andspend ways that have made it increasingly difficult for the hardworking taxpayers to afford to live and work in the state. "The state's inability to control its spending has led to massive property tax increases that are forcing more and more people from their homes," Kean said. "I want to go to the Senate to tell Gov. [Jon S.] Corzine ... that the people of the 11th district can no longer afford to foot the bill for free-spending ways." Kean explained in a press release that his plan to reduce state spending would reform a system that has produced five years of record spending that has "dramatically" increased the cost of government. The state spending reforms proposed by Kean include cutting more than $1 billion in unnecessary spending and earmarking that savings for constitutionally guaranteed property tax relief. Kean has also proposed a constitutional amendment that would require all new state debt and any increases in spending that exceed the rate of inflation to be approved by voters. Kean joined the Legislature in 2002 and was re-elected in 2003 and 2005. "I am proud of my time in the Assembly and I look forward to going to Trenton to fight for the people of the 11th Legislative District as their state senator," he said. Kean said that the damage done to middle class families by Democratic leadership was evident in light of the latest Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll finding that, if given the choice, half of all New Jerseyans say they would leave the state as a result of high taxes and the cost of living. "The results of this poll are startling and sobering," Kean said. "How bad must things be that half of the people in this state are saying that they want out? "The Democrat policies of the past six years are destroying this state," he added. Kean said he is also calling for ethics reforms to be enacted in light of the arrests of 11 public officials, including two state assemblymen, on corruption charges last month. "[The] arrests serve as another reminder that until we pass real ethics reforms in Trenton, there are individuals who will continue to exploit the system to enrich themselves," Kean said. "I am hopeful that this latest round of arrests will finally spur the legislative leaders to take necessary action to stamp out public corruption," he added.