Applefield calls on Brown to back primary debates

House candidate David Applefield wants Monmouth County Democratic Chairman David Brown pull back his endorsement of Stephanie Schmid and back debates between the party’s three candidates in the second congressional district.

“Besides ‘meeting with folks’ and being ‘present,’ what ideas, commitments, or tangible work has Ms. Schmid produced that merits an endorsement from the top Democratic official in our county?” Applefield said. “We are in the middle of a deadly health pandemic and an economic emergency of epic proportion. Vapid statements of support like the one Chairman Brown made for Schmid this week typify what is wrong, and tragic, about politics today.”

Brown backed Schmid, a former U.S. State Department official who has the line in Monmouth County, on Thursday.

The line alone is a significant advantage — 64% of the Democratic primary votes cast in the fourth congressional district were cast by voters in Monmouth County.

Applefield and Schmid also face former United Nations staffer Christine Conforti in the primary.

“As a candidate and voter in Monmouth County, I respectfully ask Chairman Brown to endorse yet another idea.” Applefield said. “To promote real dialog and political transparency, a series of candidate debates on streaming video, simultaneously broadcast on local radio and television, and covered by the local print press would enable the public to base their decision on the substance and character of each candidate. Let’s invite citizens and voters to ask hard questions and demand candidates to provide real answers.”