Rollins Alleges Whitman Camp Paid to Curb Black Vote in N.J.

Republican political consultant Edward J. Rollins said Tuesday that the successful gubernatorial campaign of Christine Todd Whitman in New Jersey spent about $500,000 in “walking around money” largely to suppress black voter turnout.

Rollins, who managed the Whitman campaign, said much of the money was paid out to politically active black ministers and to city Democratic political workers. In both cases, the recipients, whom Rollins declined to identify, were asked to minimize or stop get-out-the-vote activities in behalf of Democratic incumbent Gov. James J. Florio.

“We played the game the way the game is played in New Jersey,” Rollins told reporters at a discussion of political matters. “To a certain extent, we suppressed their (the Democratic) vote.”

Rollins, who is well-known as an unusually forthcoming political operative, said:

“Here is how we used it (the walking around money). We went into the black churches and basically said to ministers who had endorsed Florio: ‘Do you have a special project (that needs financial support)? We see you have already endorsed Florio. That’s fine. But don’t get up in the Sunday pulpit and preach. . . . Don’t get up there and say it’s your moral obligation to vote on Tuesday, to vote for Jim Florio.’ ”

Asked how the payments would be made, Rollins said “we made contributions to their favorite charity.”

In addition, Rollins said, the Whitman campaign approached workers for black mayors who were unhappy with Florio and said: “ ‘How much have they paid you to do your normal duty? We’ll match it, go home sit and watch television’ and I think to a certain extent we suppressed their vote.”

A spokesman for the Whitman campaign said neither he nor Whitman has any knowledge of payments made to suppress the black vote. “To my knowledge, I am not aware of anything like that, the campaign was not doing anything like that. The candidate, and now governor-elect, is not aware of anything like that,” said Carl Golden, the spokeswoman.

The legality of the tactics allegedly used is uncertain.