Today’s Asbury Park Press has a story on Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck’s three license suspensions, which have been publicized by her opponent for the 12th-district state Senate seat, incumbent Ellen Karcher.
The most recent suspension was in 1995, and Beck hasn’t had a moving violation ticket issued to her since 1996, a state DMV spokesman told the Press.
The Press’ Larry Higgs reports that Beck “had her driver’s license suspended three times for failure to appear in court to answer three traffic tickets, twice for a parking ticket and for failure to pay a surcharge, in the mid-1990s.”
More:
Beck’s license was suspended by the courts twice in 1994 and once in 1995 for failure to appear, said Michael Horan, an MVC spokesman.
Beck said that at the time she had just graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and moved to New Jersey. In the course of several moves, Beck said she lost track of the summonses and it took time for court notices to reach her, resulting in the license suspensions.
Beck took the rap for the tardy tickets and said, “Obviously it’s incumbent on me to pay fines and fees and to take responsibility, which I did,” she said.
MVC records show that Beck’s license was suspended on June 10, 1994, for failure to appear to answer a summons issued in Howell for “failure to maintain lamps” on Dec. 22, 1993; and then again for “failure to observe a traffic control device” issued in Red Bank on Jan. 24, 1994.
The third violation was issued in Newark on May 13, 1994, for failure to observe a directional signal.
The administrative suspensions are issued by the court and are not removed until fines and fees are paid, Horan said.
Beck had two other license suspensions, one for a parking ticket issued in Manasquan on July 5, 1994, and one for nonpayment of surcharge on Oct. 29, 1995.
No one from the Karcher campaign is quoted in the story.
The issue was raised by the Karcher camp last week as part of a series of 25 questions — one a day — that it believes should be asked of Beck. Last Thursday’s question: “Do you think drivers who have had their licenses suspended multiple times should permanently lose their drivers license?”
