New York, Nov. 10, 2007
Subash Malhotra
Dr. Wasim Khan, who ran for New Jersey State Senate (District 26)
lost with 34 percent of the votes (13,308 votes).
New York, Nov. 01, 2007
Subash Malhotra
"It's definitely an insult to the voting public," said
Khan, a medical research scientist who ran unsuccessfully for
Parsippany's township council in 2005. "I hope voters are
listening and paying attention because it means he's just taking
them for a ride and will use this position as a steppingstone,"
said Khan, 52. Pennacchio, a dentist, said Joseph Lieberman ran
for vice president on Al Gore's ticket in 2000 while also running
for re-election to the Senate from Connecticut, and that Democrat
Linda Stender, who is running for re-election as a Union County
assemblywoman, has said she is running for Congress next year.
"I don't say it's right or it's wrong," said Pennacchio,
who is also 52. "It is what it is and in politics timing
is everything." The Montville resident said the issue of
his U.S. Senate race is distracting from his record of service
in the Legislature. Although in the Republican minority, which
has kept many of his bills from becoming laws, Pennacchio said
he has been a forceful advocate in Trenton. As a member of the
expected Democratic majority, Khan maintains he would be in the
position to actually accomplish change.
Khan added, “What can our guardsmen and guardswomen expect
to achieve in Iraq? Iraq had nothing to do with September 11,
so they won’t be investigating and arresting the criminals
responsible for that. We know that Iraq had no weapons of mass
destruction, so our guardsmen and guardswomen won’t be finding
and defusing WMDs. The Iraqis have already held elections, so
they don’t need the New Jersey National Guard to set up
the polling stations and protect voters. There seems to be no
justification for taking New Jersey’s brave sons and daughters
away from their homes and families and putting them in harm’s
way.” According to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count Web
site, 428 members of the Army National Guard and 2 members of
the Air National Guard are among the 3,835 U.S. servicemen and
-women who have been killed in Iraq.
He said that as a medical doctor who works as a research scientist
for a pharmaceutical company, he particularly keen on providing
universal health insurance for children -- an idea Pennacchio
opposes. To pay for it he would not shy away from imposing higher
taxes on tobacco and alcohol sales. "It's just like not repairing
roads, it's an essential service and it's do-able."
