More of This, Please

by: Juan Melli

Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 01:52:49 PM EDT

Deborah Howlett reports that Governor Corzine is calling to strengthen ethics and campaign finance laws and says that may happen during the lame duck session after the election.

Gov. Jon Corzine said today he would propose sweeping legislation on ethics and campaign finance in response to the arrests this week of 11 public officials, including two state lawmakers.
"We are going to deal with it quickly...And it will be a bi-partisan response if I'm reading it correctly," Corzine said.
Among the top priorities will be a "clean-up" of the law Corzine signed earlier this week that outlaws a long-accepted practice in New Jersey of holding two elected offices at the same time, the governor said. He signed a compromise version that allows incumbent lawmakers to keep their local posts.
Corzine also said he would demand bans on campaign finance practices, including "wheeling," a way to skirt contribution limits to individuals, and "pay-to-play," a practice where campaign donations are made with the expectation of gaining an edge in the awarding later of of government contracts.

He's proposed big things like this before, but has been forced to compromise with his own party and settle for half measures. Democratic party chairman Joe Cryan has also called for revisiting some of these laws, so there may be real desire for change among Democrats, but I don't think it's unreasonable to be highly skeptical as we've heard this before.

Fool me once...shame on....shame you. Fool me....you can't get fooled again!

Juan Melli :: More of This, Please

Tags: Joe Cryan, campaign finance, ethics, Jon Corzine, (All Tags)

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More of This, Please | 3 comments

The governor is in a unique... (4.00 / 1)

postion in that he can theoretically finance his own campaign. (heck, he's threatened to personally bankroll his own monetization campaign)
This is a good start, but I have always been disappointed that he seems to back away from positions that might threaten the 'bosses' or the 'establishment' when I truly believe he is sincere about his intentions. With other politicians at least you know they are concerned about their campaign cash. Gov. Corzine has an ability to be courageous here that other politicians might not enjoy for a long time to come.

"Where ever you go, there you are." - Buckaroo Bonzai

by: William Weber (WjcW) @ Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 18:06:41 PM UTC

by: you @ soon

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Re: The governor is in a unique... (0.00 / 0)

He is unique in that he doesn't need the money to run a campaign, but he does still need the support of the legislature. Besides ethics and campaign finance, I think Corzine also wants to be successful with other big initiatives, and fears that alienating support on these issues will prevent him from moving the rest of his agenda forward.

by: Juan Melli @ Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 18:44:33 PM UTC

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this is a great opportunity (0.00 / 0)

we have the shame of this scandal, public support, a pending election, and an opposition party that claims it will support reform. This is a great opportunity to get reform passed.

Frank LoBiondo Record and Jon Runyan Watch

by: Hopeful @ Sat Sep 08, 2007 at 21:16:56 PM UTC

by: you @ soon

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More of This, Please | 3 comments