MARISSA HYMAN
Staff Writer

With the gubernatorial race fast approaching, PublicMind took the opportunity to plan two events on topics constantly debated by the candidates: education and health care.
On Oct. 22, Frank Esposito, an Independent candidate for lieutenant governor of New Jersey, discussed “Education Reform: K-12 and Higher Education.”  The central point that Esposito focused on was the lack of state funding for higher education.  He said that part of the reason for this lack of funding is because of New Jersey’s financial instability.  
“New Jersey is facing an $8 million deficit this year,” Esposito said. “In order to try and have people stay in New Jersey, the property tax has to change.”
He believes that the state’s budget needs to be better distributed, in order for more funding to go towards better quality resources for New Jersey public schools. Esposito and others have already been working on trying to rectify the funding situation. 
Esposito was acting dean at Kean’s School of Education, leading 102 faculty members and 4,000 students. He and others developed new programs in education and technology, and reorganized the university from eight to six departments.
In addition, Esposito contributed solutions to statewide math/science teacher shortages, and helped develop an alternate route for teacher certification in the state of New Jersey.
A week earlier, PublicMind had planned to welcome Loretta Weinberg, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. Weinberg was scheduled to speak on the topic, “Women’s Healthcare Issues.” However, she was unable to attend, due to a campaign rally. PublicMind was able to find a quick replacement, Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale.
Despite not being a health care expert, Speziale was able to give his take on the issue. “My wife is at stage four of breast cancer, so she and I have health care constantly on our minds,” he said. “We support Corzine because of his support of law enforcement, and of what he wants to do for women’s health care.”
Speziale then talked about his area of specialty, which is being an undercover officer. After he was shot in 1986, he was asked the question, “What do you want to do with your career?”  Speziale answered that he wanted to be an undercover officer for narcotics.  He called his shooting incident “the miracle wound,” because it opened the doors to a whole new chapter of his life.
Speziale became one of the youngest recruits for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) task force on drugs, and helped to uncover the most notorious of Columbian kingpins. At the time, the New York City police department did not have a formal training program on how to be an undercover cop. Speziale was told by the department to do what he felt was necessary to do, in order to unravel the Columbian cartel.
While becoming close with Paul Alexander, a sophisticated confidential informant who had once been blacklisted by the DEA, Speziale became well-known under the assumed name Geraldo Bartone. He did things he never thought he would ever do. As Geraldo Bartone, Speziale learned how to pilot planes, build landing strips, skipper Cali-owned yachts that were filled with cocaine, and meet the most powerful kingpins in the drug trade business. During his ten years as an undercover officer, Speziale and other officers have apprehended dozens of high-level dealers and confiscated 22,000 pounds of cocaine.
After his lecture, Speziale stayed behind to autograph his book, “Without A Badge,” which goes into more detail about his life as an undercover officer. Students and faculty were stunned after hearing about Speziale’s time undercover in the Columbian cartel.  
Fred Wied, a political science major, was at first disappointed Weinberg could not attend. Despite her absence, Wied thought Speziale was very enlightening. “Having had a loved one deal with a drug addiction, I could relate to what he [Speziale] was saying,” Wied said. “Being a last-minute replacement, I really think that he was a fantastic speaker.”
Graduate student Heather Suboleski, who is involved with PublicMind, believes the events were a success. “‘Politics on the PublicMind’ provides FDU students, faculty, and staff with the opportunity to hear notable figures from the political world speak on today’s salient issues, which include education, crime prevention, and the New Jersey governor’s race,” she said. “In the quaint setting of the library’s Orangerie, the audience can ask questions and even meet these influential characters. Thus, it provides the FDU community with a forum to respond to what these political figures have to say and get some real answers.”
The final October event for PublicMind took place on Monday, with an appearance by Sheriff Kim Guadagno, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of New Jersey. Her topic of discussion was slated to be “A Brighter Future for All of New Jersey.” Due to publication deadlines, The Metro was unable to cover this event.