Pallone: Keep Special Interest Money Out Of Senate Race

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone on Monday called on his opponents in the Democratic special primary for a vacant U.S. Senate seat to keep third party money out of their campaigns.

Pallone, along with U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and state Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver are vying for the Aug. 13 Democratic Party nod to run for the seat left by late Sen. Frank Lautenberg. That general election is scheduled for Oct. 16.

Pallone in a release challenged contenders to sign a pledge to keep out of the campaign the kind of expenditures allowed by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, allowing unlimited expenditures on campaigns from political action committees.

The so-called “People’s Pledge,’’ was used by candidates in the 2012 Massachusetts Senate race between Democrat challenger Elizabeth Warren and Republican Scott Brown to keep “special interest’’ money out of the campaigns, according to the release.

“In signing this pledge, it is my hope that the other three Democratic candidates in the special election will also decide that it is in the best interests of New Jerseyans to bar special interest third party interference in the campaign in all forms - television ads, radio ads, web ads, field programs and direct mail,’’ Pallone said in the release.

Pallone in a telephone interview Tuesday said he issued the challenge because he believed candidates should be held accountable for what they say and not rely on outside interests to make their cases for them.

Kevin Griffis, spokesman for Cory Booker, said the Booker campaign had not received the pledge from Pallone’s camp and declined to comment before reading it.

Holt's camp called the pledge "nonsensical'' and "unworkable.''

"Nonsensical, unworkable pledges are not the solution to big money in politics,'' Thomas Seay, a Holt spokesman, said in a statement. "Better laws are the solution. In the Senate, Rep. Holt will work to overturn Citizens United, and he will continue to fight for public disclosure of all major donors in elections."

The Oliver campaign could be reached Tuesday.