Corzine holds his own with Middlesex crowd

by: kwilkinson

Sun Feb 10, 2008 at 07:50:47 PM EST

because Lautenberg is going to get re-elected, retire after a year, and Corzine will again be in the position of appointing a senator.  It will save them from having to spend on a campaign

I came in at the part with the pie charts showing how much we're paying to service the debt (p 9 of 28 according the power point presentation on his website).  The crowd 'cat-called and booed' as much as was described from the earlier GOP county townhalls.  I'm always impressed with a politician's ability to insist on 'civility' and to some extent get it.  When the one guy's screaming, and others start yelling at him to shut up (including the guy next to me), the hostility level gets pretty high, and I tend to get a little queasy.  

As already reported, tolls on 440 are off the table, 'thanks to your Mdlsx legislators,' and general outcry, he said.

He was asked a question about de-federalizing the National Guard so they wouldn't have to go back to Iraq in June.  He doesn't believe he can do that, or at least he says NJ would give up even more money that should come back from the federal govt, since in general we only get about .55 for every $1 we send to DC.  He also commented the last time he got booed at a townhall this much was after he voted against the war.

I found him persuasive on the idea that he will listen to concerns and other ideas, but that he is not going to 'kick the can down the road' and put off facing up to the debt problems in the way that has been done before for political expediency.  It is certainly looking like he is calling his re-election into quesiton with this plan.  He claims to be the first gov (since this problem began?) to start taking benefits off the table -- though if I recall he wasn't as successful with this as he hoped to be last year.

People seemed to be pretty pissed at teachers.  One retired E. Brunswick teacher talked about her starting salary of $4,500 (some years ago) and being told that they were working for so little but would have benefits.  Corzine stressed he will honor the obligations that have already been made.  

One truck driver claimed that the warehouses that give truckers work are threatening to move out of state if the tolls go up.  Corzine didn't buy it.

He wasn't averse to a woman's suggestion to put billboards at the 30 state-run motor vehicle inspection stations.  Billboards are already part of the plan to keep tolls below the maximums set.

The crowd struck me as not all the familiar faces that you'd see at a political event.  Rush Holt was there but didn't speak, as were Barbara Buono and Jun Choi.  Choi told me he wouldn't support the plan without amendments.