COURT HOUSE (Tue. 4.10)  Cape May County Democratic Party Chair Jim Pickering announced today that Steve Bacher and Bob Jackson, both of Middle Township, will run for freeholder in the 2007 election. 
  Their campaign will focus on the county's untapped potential to set an example for the state and nation of the many ways that government can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its own operations and help residents and businesses in Cape May County do the same.
   "Cape May County is surrounded on three sides with 53 miles of shoreline, and it is the most vulnerable county in New Jersey, and among the most vulnerable in the United States, to increases in ocean level due to global warming," said Bacher. 
  "The county should be taking the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, helping residents to do the same, and create a business climate that cultivates innovation and encourages conservation."
   "We must fight global warming here at home and set an example.  If we don't take the lead, who will?" said Jackson.
  "If we don't win the fight against global warming, much of Cape May County will be gone within our lifetimes. And the part that will be gone are the islands and beaches, where most of our ratable base is located. If we do not do something now, our homes and our entire way of life will be gone in just decades.  We have to get our head out of the sand; now is the time to act."
  "Fighting global warming should be the county's number one priority," said Bacher.
  "Doing so will help protect our communities from increased flooding while bringing high paying, high tech jobs that will keep our young people here and stimulate the economy."
  Jackson, former mayor of West Cape May, lives in Del Haven, and is making his second run for freeholder.
  In 2005 he and his running mate Steve Barry lost, but by only 2,000 votes.  He has been a vocal supporter of the environment for many years.  He is well known throughout the county.
  Bacher was raised in South Brunswick, Middlesex County, and lives in Court House with his wife, Karen Courtney, and son, Julian, 2.
  He received a B.A. with Honors from Wesleyan University in Connecticut and an M.F.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. 
  His political experience began as deputy director for the Clinton-Gore campaign in Texas in 1992.
He subsequently served as an Intergovernmental Relations Officer at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C. and was a liaison to elected officials and housing advocacy groups.
  He has worked for nonprofit organizations and the City of Jersey City as a grant writer, where he gained experience raising funds for various programs aimed at improving communities, including services for homeless persons, teen pregnancy prevention, after-school programs and mobile dental facilities for underserved neighborhoods.
  Bacher also was director of administrative systems for the Adoption and Foster Care Division of The Children's Aid Society in New York City. 
  Bacher serves as executive director of The Center for Community Arts (CCA), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to build community through arts and humanities programs.
  During his tenure to date, the organization has expanded its youth arts programs from Cape May to Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and Lower Township, expanded its art programs for adults, added a walking tour to its African American Community History Program, and launched a community radio station.
  During this time, CCA has completed two of four phases of a multi-million dollar rehabilitation project to transform the historic Franklin Street School in Cape May into a Community Cultural Center, scheduled to open in late 2008.
  "I'm very excited about this campaign," said Pickering.
  "Global warming threatens to literally put our county under water. As a nation, we have to change our policies to do something now. As a county, we must do something to help ourselves.  How can we ask America to spend money to end global warming if we are not willing to invest our own money to save our own homes and our own county? Bacher and Jackson will bring necessary leadership to Cape May County on this issue and many others.
  "They will appeal to Cape May County voters regardless of their affiliation.  Steve and Bob will work hard, and I fully expect them to make history in this county and win this fall," Pickering stated.