*UPDATE* Governor Chris Christie exercised more over-reach as his deputy tossed Carl Lewis from the ballot.Read it and Weep.
After calling Carl Lewis a political lightweight who'd be "embarrassing himself if he ran," the Chris Christie administration continues to throw roadblocks at the 9-times Olympic champ's bid for NJ Senate.
(The BurlCo frontier)-- It's becoming quite a spectacle watching the entire state Republican apparatus bend over backwards to keep Carl Lewis from running against GOP Senator-select Dawn Addiego this November.
Once thought to be the Republican's opening salvo (tossing Lewis - a Democrat - from the ballot on on a residency technicality) turns out to be part of an orchestrated attempt to take the choice from the voters in Burlington County, where -- not coincidentally -- GOP party goons reign supreme. As early as April 9th -- two days before Lewis filed his petitions to run -- Governor Christie decided to clear the Republican path to victory with a little Jersey-style arm twisting.
Gov. Christie tried to talk Olympic medalist Carl Lewis out of running and [...] Christie's staff threatened that if Lewis decided to run, an athletic program he wanted to start would be scuttled.
Back in 2008, then-Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno hired a new "Sheriff's Chief" - retired investigator Michael Donovan, Jr. The operative word is "retired," because with Guadagno's help and apparent malfeasance, Donovan secured himself a sweet deal (scam) that has, to date, cost the state of New Jersey nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Charged with getting to the bottom of this is Treasury, whose investigation of the matter has - strangely - fallen apart at the seams. But let's rewind.
As defined by state statute, "sheriff's chief officer" and "chief warrant officer" are not the same thing. A key distinction between the two titles is that "chief warrant officer" is considered a temporary position, exempt from the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS). A "sheriff's chief officer," however, is a permanent position, and does qualify for PFRS.
As confirmed by multiple official documents collected and distributed this week by NewJerseyWatchdog.org (who first highlighted this story), Donovan was hired as the Sheriffs Chief Officer. You can see for yourself on this org chart, this website, and this memo from Guadagno herself, all of which clearly show Donovan as SCO. By accepting this position, a retired investigator like Donovan would be required to stop collecting retirement benefits; he also would have to re-enroll in PFRS.
Yet personnel records list Donovan as "Chief Warrant Officer" - strange, because 1) that's not the job he was hired to do, 2) that job doesn't exist on any current org chart, and 3) the very position of Chief Warrant Officer was eliminated by an order from Guadagno just one week before Donovan started. Guadagno even went as far as to announce Donovan's hiring as CWO in a press release. But it simply wasn't true - it was, in fact, part of a deception engineered by Guadagno to help Donovan cheat the pension system.
Double-dipping Donovan gets his cake ($85k yearly retirement benefits), and gets to eat it, too ($87,500 yearly salary as SCO). To date, this scam has cost New Jersey $245,000. And the friendly favor/theft originates with one Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, whose fudgy paperwork now threatens to embarrass the Christie administration in a big way - which may be why the NJ Treasury has mysteriously been unable to find any wrongdoing (even when presented with overwhelming evidence), expose this fraud, and get New Jersey's money back.
If Christie wants to prove that his corruption-busting is in no way political, let's see him appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Guadagno under the NJ State Constitution, Article 5, Section IV, Paragraph 5.
Of all the many headlines in New Jersey blizzard news now gone national and international, "Chris Christie's Katrina" - which I saw for the first time in APP- is the most compelling. Some are funnier, some are even harsher. But "Chris Christie's Katrina" reminds us of who put some ideas behind Christie, who protected Christie as he was coming up, and some of the darker implications of deconstructing government, its services and its obligations.
The ideology that disrespects government, while running government, is an off-putting concept, and one we were happy to shake off once we got George W. Bush out of office after 8 long years, and two miserable terms, only during the second of which did most Americans catch on to the destruction he was doing.
As George Bush helped jell the forming Christie, Grover Norquist helped form the jelling George W. Bush. And that is why the irresponsibility and detachment of Bush during Hurricane Katrina was so well defined: Grover Norquist had already spelled it out for us: "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub." Does that kind of government reduction in force, with casual regard for the outcomes, sound familiar to you in New Jersey? Hurricanes, particularly Katrina, are not northeastern blizzards. That's not the comparison being drawn. The detachment, the cluelessness, the lack of respect for constituents, the vacationing is the comparison being drawn. And like Katrina hurt Bush, this blizzard may impact how New Jerseyans think of their absent leader; after a year of news coverage of Gov. Christie as a phenom, a brash character, a leader among governors, a Teflon personage unmarred by screwups like massive botched education grants, Christie's neglect should be compared to Bush's. They're very different personalities, and frankly our governor has way more on the ball than Bush, but the acorn doesn't fall far.
If this is true, then 3 immediate things should be said:
1 - We wish the LG's father comfort and health, relaxation and peace.
2 - The Christie front office should have released that information immediately. Failing to do so, and instead running a PR campaign focused on damage control for the Christie take-charge image, reflects far more poorly on the Christie administration than it does anyone who criticized either elected official this week.
3 - And most critically, this information brings into even sharper focus the irresponsibility of Gov. Christie himself. He should have been here, knowing his LG was on compassionate duty with her family, and not simply a vacation, as he is taking.
Christie flew out of NJ on Sunday. That's when the snow started, that's when snow projections became clear. If he knew the nature of Guadagno's trip - and I cannot imagine he didn't - he was on notice that she was going to be unavailable to serve in his absence and might be unavailable to be called back.
That made his actions that much more irresponsible, arrogant and not-ready-for-prime-time.
Since Christie & Guadagno's vacationing during the 2010 blizzard - and not returning once the emergency was declared - became national news, the governor's spokesman has been working overtime doing damage control for his boss.
It's a big snow, definitely, but the world is not coming to an end.
Can no one in the Christie administration go a day without that belittling tone? He goes on to say:
We are a northeastern state and we get snow - sometimes lots of it like this - and we will get through it just as we always do.
Yes, as I returned to New Jersey after being snowed in elsewhere, I saw a lot of public workers out salting and clearing the roads, emergency services workers tending to accidents, shopkeepers clearing a path to their doors to stay open, low-wage workers in double-layer work gloves pumping gas for weary drivers, waitresses in double shifts at McDonald's keeping the coffee fresh.
Yes, we'll "get through it as we always do". That'll be us, your constituents. That's who I see out working and getting "through it". Your boss and his LG still have another few days of play in the sunshine, so maybe stow the snide at least till the governor's back on New Jersey soil. Till then, it sure as hell is lost on me.
It's not a Christmas miracle, it's merely a case of Chris Christie leaving for Disney World. In the middle of a weather emergency. While his LtGovernor was also AWOL.
It's such an inconceivable case of schuling nincompoopery that even Republicans are pissed.
I could certainly understand if the Governor were already on vacation when a natural disaster hit the state ... however, there was ample warning days ago and the Governor had plenty of time to reschedule his Disney World vacation so that he could be close to home in the event some fresh hell revealed itself.
Instead, he skipped town a couple of hours before most flights out of Newark were canceled and the storm system descended upon the Garden State - leaving hoi polloi to fend for themselves midst the snowdrifts. Can someone on the Governor's staff please tell us what the hell he was thinking?
Governor Christie adds insult to injury below the fold.
(What do you think, Blue Jersey? Should Sweeney stay in the sidelines or use this as an opportunity to do some "mischief"? - promoted by deciminyan)
Talk about "below the fold".
On Christmas Day, 1:00pm, when most people were not reading the Star Ledger or NJ.com, came the news that Governor Chris Christie and Lt Governor Kim Guadagno are both taking vacation out of state, leaving Senate President Stephen Sweeney as acting governor while both are away. Maybe I missed something, but wasn't the position of Lt. Governor created to provide for continuity in the NJ Executive branch while the Governor was unavailable to discharge his duties? How do they get away with leaving the state at the same time?
While we know that the Governor will be in Disney World in Florida with his family, it has not been released (not to this writer, at least) where Lt Gov. Guadagno will be, other than that she will be out of state. Perhaps she will be in Disney World with the governor, standing behind him, gazing longingly, Nancy-Reagan-like, while Christie hob-nobs with Mickey and watches his kids enjoy the rides.
According to the Star Ledger:
"Theoretically, Sweeney could sign legislation Christie hasn’t acted on or even file nominations Christie would never dream of filing. Sweeney could even re-nominate former state Supreme Court Justice John Wallace Jr. to the bench, whose pass-over by Christie in favor of attorney Anne Patterson angered Sweeney. But he won’t.
Not surprisingly, many of the people I hang out with advocate the recall and replacement of Governor Chris Christie. We all agree that he is a terrible governor, trying (and failing) to fix New Jersey's fiscal problems on the backs of the middle class and the poor while the wealthy get more tax breaks, our taxes increase, and our infrastructure deteriorates. And his bullying demeanor as chief executive is not one that makes New Jerseyans proud. But a special election to recall Chris Christie is a bad idea.
Today's The Auditor tells a backstage story from the League of Municipalities conference that strikes me as an insult to LG Kim Guadagno.
Look, Guadagno doesn't need me defending her. Besides the obvious point that she can take care of herself - believe me, I watched her at the LG candidates' debate, and she can - I'm saying besides that fact, she's got a whole staff to look out for her, and they all voted for her. I did not. Nevertheless, she's my LG now, too. We didn't think it worth our time to link to her speech if the governor was going to blow off meeting with local electeds to fly west for another GOP love fest (that's on him, not her), the The Auditor's account of the lead up to her speech sheds light on how Christie sees her. The podium jokes - Christie staff watching so she didn't "go rogue," poised to text him if she got out of line - got a little laugh. And why shouldn't they? She's a charming woman, comfortable in front of a crowd. But here's the stuff Auditor says the electeds didn't see:
What Guadagno didn't mention was the behind-the-scenes turmoil associated with her marquee luncheon address. The Auditor has it from two sources the LG's staff wrote a speech, deemed too "strident" for the crowd, that would have been received badly.
Much to Guadagno's chagrin, the governor's gang relieved her staff of responsibilities for the text. As she fretted, Christie's communications people tore up Guadagno's remarks and put them back together.
In the end, we hear, she was satisfied. But seriously, does it look like she'd be free to say if she wasn't?
One of the reasons we have an LG is so she can step in and govern. Guadagno is no dummy, so why does Christie's staff have her on this short a leash? Why do they outrank her? I want this woman ready to lead if Christie's sidelined for health or any reason. How's she going to do that if she has to be handled to this degree by a control-freak governor? Free the LG!
Man, elections have consequences. Can you imagine Loretta Weinberg putting up with this for 5 minutes, let alone 11 months?
False statements by Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno enabled a police official to improperly receive $170,000 from a state pension fund, according to a New Jersey Watchdog investigation."
Acting New Jersey Governor Kim Guadagno's executive order establishing a bi-partisan commission to reduce red tape is a feel-good exercise in futility. While the commission will certainly meet the GOP's goal of eliminating some of those pesky regulations which help consumers and the non-wealthy, it will be ineffective in making a significant dent in the burgeoning state budget.
The nine-member commission, to be headed by no other than the same Kim Guadagno, will review "administrative rules and regulations, which the administration says can have an impact on job creation, investment and economic growth" according to the Press of Atlantic City. That would be a great approach if we were living in the 1950s.
Over the past half-century, better techniques for elimination of bureaucratic waste have been proven more effective and efficient.
Almost a dozen Democratic Assemblywomen stormed Chris Christie's office today to talk to him about restoring the $7.5 million for family planning his budget removed. Brava, to them. A bill restoring the funds passed both houses last week, but Christie is mum on whether he'll sign it into law. This is not the first time they've tried to get the governor's attention.
He wasn't there. Two of his aides met the women at the door, requesting they call in advance if they want to see him. Christie was at a private residence in Somerset County talking about his property tax cap plans at an event. Asw Valerie Huttle is one of the bill's sponsors:
We were dismissed, in my opinion, as we walked into the governor's office without any real sense of a schedule or 'I'm going to take care of this.'
The assemblywomen - joined by Asm John Burzichelli - made no appointment. But Linda Stender, another sponsor, said she tried Friday to make an appointment with (pro-choice) LG Kim Guadagno. Her call was never returned.
They're right to wonder. Christie has not distanced himself from on-the-record statements made by his GOP State Chair, Asm Jay Webber, that the $7.5 million in family planning funds simply funnels money to abortion providers. The bill specifically prohibits those funds paying for abortions, but anti-abortion activists, like Webber, complain 29 of the 58 clinics affected are run by Planned Parenthood.
The reality? More than 136,000 New Jerseyans are served in the family planning centers whose budgets are being slashed. They get screenings for breast and cervical cancer and for high blood pressure, for anemia and diabetes, for HIV/AIDS and for sexually transmitted infections. Many of their patients are uninsured; the clinics are their primary care. This includes women who get their birth control care there, and say they may have to go off birth control if they lose the clinic.
Know what you get if you have sexually-active people with no access to contraception? You get more abortions. Somebody tell Jay Webber. Somebody tell Chris Christie.
Governor Chris Christie, LG Kim Guadagno, and Senate President Steve Sweeney have just finished a press conference to announce an agreement on the property tax cap agreement reached this afternoon. Also at the podium were Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr. and Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce.
Notably absent was Speaker Sheila Oliver, who all day via a spokesman signaled her distance from the agreement, including a release today saying she was "not part of any closed door deal." In fact, to a reporter's question about the Speaker's absence from the kumbaya moment - if indeed it really was one - the Governor said she had left the state house.
The agreement, announced at the Governor's office, is being called a "hard cap," but there are exemptions: health care costs, pension costs, debt service and capital expenditures, and emergency allocations. I'm also told that increase in school enrollment is exempt. Local voters can overturn and exceed the cap by 50% plus one vote - a simple majority vote.
Here's the way they're going to get there: Sweeney's own 2.9% cap legislation, the already passed S-29, will be the starting point. There will be a conditional veto of that by the Governor and the rate will be statutorially capped at 2%. Sweeney will post the Governor's conditional veto for a vote in the Senate on Thursday, July 8.
Local officials who budget beneath the cap would be able to "bank" the difference for three years. All other exemptions in the current 4% cap law would be eliminated under the new legislation.
An avalanche of press releases began arriving even before the press conference ended, with the jubilant Republicans definitely speaking out first. I'll post some of the statements in Comments, below.
Speaker Oliver will apparently be meeting with her caucus. Nobody wants to infer more drama than there actually already has been. But I imagine there may be shoes yet to drop.
Does Chris Christie plan to celebrate Black History Month along with the rest of NJ, and the 15% or so of us who are African-American? I don't find a single event with either Gov. Christie or LG Kim Guadagno. No statements. No news. Am I missing something?
Input search terms "Black History Month" + "State of New Jersey" and sure, stuff pops up. You get LG/Secretary of State Kim Guadagno's page for ... oh no ... wait .... no, that's from Nina Wells, Corzine's woman at State, last year. Also, this website from the Corzine years, entirely devoted to Black History Month, with a history lesson and profiles.
But he's not so snowed under fixing our economy that he lacks time for the fun stuff. Why, just yesterday, he had a photo op right in his office where he was presented "letters of welcome" by students in each of the state's 5 dioceses - part of Catholic Schools' Week, overlapping 6 days of Black History Month. He's got some time.
Well, he's already missed Morris County Prosecutor's Office event last Monday (featuring Paula Dow), practically in his back yard. And this talk at Newark Library on how "our story" is written. But he can still get to:
So, am I being harsh? Or is this just me wanting to be front row, center, to see what the law and order governor might speak about, say, this magnificent troublemaker, who was right years early, heard around the world, and one of the finest men the State of New Jersey ever loosed upon the world. You tell me.
It appears Kim Guadagno will get two for the price of one from the Christie/Guadagno victory on election night:
It appears that Gov.-elect Christopher Christie will nominate his running mate, Lt. Gov.-elect Kim Guadagno, to serve as Secretary of State. The law creating the new post requires that the LG also hold another position (anything but Attorney General), but the statute is vague as to whether it must be a cabinet job. Guadagno's nomination as Secretary of State is not Senate confirmable.
We're in uncharted territory with the new LG position, so Christie and Guadagno will be able to define the role and fill in the details as they go along.
This should squash any ambitions Dobbs has of running for office in NJ, or that Christie/Guadagno may have of hiring Dobbs as New Jersey's "alien hunter".
The speech was given over a year ago, but it would be truly shocking, even for Fox, if they back peddled after giving Rivera assurances that Dobbs would be working at Fox.
If anyone has any doubts that Dobbs is radioactive toast, check this out...
WNYC is doing a series of 30 issues in 30 days and yesterday Steven Camarata, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, and David Caicedo, president of the board of directors of Wind of the Spirit, an immigrant resource center based in Morristown, talked about the gubernatorial candidates' positions on immigration issues. Here's the audio of the interview:They talked about how NJ has one of the larger immigrant population and said that 1 out of 4 adults in the state is someone who is not a US Citizen at birth according to the census ranking NJ in the top 5. They talked about illegal immigration and the burden on the state through the use of services and programs. They spoke of the role a Governor can play as opposed to that of the Federal Government, mentioning the 287 G program and E-verify.
Moving to the politics of the issue, Steve Cammarato said that candidates treat the issue like they're putting a hand into an open flame. Looking at their websites, the only mention of immigration is on Corzine's web page talking about developing immigration recommendations.
David Caceido then came on the show talked about the difference between immigration policy including a path to citizenship versus immigration inforcement. He talked about some of the problems of profiling that come along with 287G and the action that the Attorney General has taken. They talked about LG candidate Guadagno's support for 287G as Sheriff in Monmouth County and her disagreement with the Attorney General. By contrast, they talked about Corzine's opposition to 287G saying there is no purpose for it in his administration.
This morning, in a coda to both Republicans' missteps, Gov. Corzine joined Cory Booker for a run through Newark, and the chance to talk about the importance of mammograms, right now during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Joining Corzine and Booker, both regular runners, were about 40 Newark Police Academy members, a bunch of Corzine staffers, and a group of breast cancer activists with stories to tell.
It was also the Blue Jersey Road Runners Club's inaugural run with the Governor, with 8 members showing up for the early morning run in Blue Jersey tees, with I'm Jon's running mate stamped onto their shirts. The Blue Jersey Road Runners Club is a bunch of mostly-progressive, mostly-Democrat folks who like a little politics with their exercise. The club was named after the homeblog by its coach, Passaic DFA member Joe Osborne. Our Jeff Gardner (Passaic DFA leader) is also a member and ran this morning along with Osborne, Glen Rock councilman Byron Arnao, Haledon Mayor (Passaic Freeholder candidate) Domenick Stampone, Hawthorne Councilman Joseph Wojtecki, former Glen Rock councilman Tom Ludlum, former VP NJ NARAL Heidi Ehman, Garfield committeeman Bryan Walensky and Andy Darezzi, a recently returned vet of the War in Afghanistan.
We're just around the corner from the start of the Lieutenant Governor Debate between Loretta Weinberg, Frank Esposito and Kim Guadagno at 8pm. This is the first time in 214 years that we will elect a Lieutenant Governor and the role of the position is still being defined. You can watch the debate streaming here:What do you expect to see tonight? If you're watching, feel free to blog along.
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