Transparent. Just like a stone wall.

by: Adam L

Tue Nov 30, 2010 at 01:56:55 PM EST

"Folks in this state have a right to know what we're doing in their name every day. And any kind of thought that you have about playing hide-the-ball on the public or on any part of the administration should be left by the sidelines,"

And because Christie doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt, let's take a look at what Governor Christie does:

• On August 26 Senator Buono filed a request for all documents related to New Jersey's 2010 application to the Race to the Top funding. She granted one request for an extension and denied a second request made just two days after granting the first one.
• The Asbury Park Press on Aug. 27 filed a request under OPRA to both the governor's office and the state Department of Education for copies of all correspondence regarding the firing of former Education Commissioner Bret Schundler. In a response, they were told summer vacation made them unable to produce the records and no date was given for completion of that review.
• After a two week extension from the standard OPRA waiting period, Senator Loretta Weinberg was given a Xerox of a newspaper article in response to her request regarding funding for women's health.
• Christie has said his Hanson Gaming Commission is not subject to the scope and scrutiny of the Public Record (OPRA) and they have no records of what went on, though published reports show people were contacting the Governor's office to arrange communications and meetings.  
• Even after he just took office, Christie's transition team issued a report questioning the extent to which the Open Public Records Act applies to the Governor's Office in light of the exceptions found in the statute as well as judicially-recognized privileges, including executive privilege, the deliberative-process privilege and the attorney-client privilege.
• The Governor's secret slush fund Reform Jersey Now, has helped Christie's close friends get around campaign finance laws and raise unlimited sums of money from the same people that are protected by the Governor's changes to disclosure laws in order to push the Christie agenda.
• In May, Christie quietly issued an executive order not forcing N.J. officials to disclose more info on assets, and then delayed disclosing his own tax return information for months.
• And just this week, we hear that Christie's administration knew about $14 million in charter school aid it lost since August but hid this from the public until it was uncovered by a news report.

Maybe Christie honestly doesn't know the meaning of the word "transparency".  But more likely, this is yet another one of Christie's rules that apply to others but not himself.  And once again, what Christie is saying is in direct contrast to what he does.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

BREAKING: How NJ Treasurer replied to OPRA request by Senator Weinberg

by: Rosi Efthim

Wed Sep 15, 2010 at 05:55:44 PM EDT

Weinberg is seeking - still seeking - documentation for NJ Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff's ruling that monies in an apparently overfunded line item paying for the prescription program for public employees can't be used as alternative funding to replace $7.5 million for women's health that Gov. Christie scrubbed out of the budget. Weinberg said this to Blue Jersey:

If we - the public, the legislature, anyone - cannot get access to the actual work papers and documents that we the taxpayers pay for, then the powers that be can tell you anything they want to, and you have no way as citizen - or as a legislator - proving or disproving what they tell you. This is a basic foundation of our democracy.

There are a couple key things going on here. One, the alternative funding source - replacing healthcare funds for uninsured New Jerseyans - came from the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services, which located an overfunded line item and suggested that money could be used as alternative funding. The line item with the excess is the one paying for the state employee prescription plan.

Why did the Treasurer say no? When this suggestion was brought to Sidamon-Eristoff, he sent a 2-paragraph letter saying essentially, no, then declined to come before legislative committee and say why not. Not good enough, said Weinberg. If the answer was This won't work, she wanted to see why.

What Weinberg was looking for: Figures of the cost per person of the employee prescription plan, estimates of how much was actually spent, and what is expected to be spent this fiscal year, all relating to the overfunded line item which pays for the prescription program for public employees. A workable source, according to OLS, for funding the women's health centers in $7.5 million in state funds.

What Weinberg got (after she granted multiple extensions): A copy of a copy of a Philadelphia Inquirer article I cannot find on line - Christie Plans Cut in Family Planning dated 3/18/10 by Jonathan Tamari (a staff writer who appears to mainly be on the sports beat). And two pieces of paper Weinberg calls "isolated documents" - one from OMB, another from the Pension Bureau.

Not OPRA-able: Weirder still, than this disjointed, latenik, reply from the Treasurer was the statement that the 2 pieces of paper she was handed "are not OPRA-able" but that she was getting them anyway. Weinberg was told that the docs she requested are also not OPRA-able because they are unaudited. That leads her to 2 questions for the Treasurer:

Quote of the Day: We've been caught out, kept in the dark a bit

by: Jason Springer

Mon Jul 19, 2010 at 05:15:00 PM EDT

"We've been caught out, kept in the dark a bit. We're not sure exactly what he plans to say," said Assemblyman John Amodeo, R-Atlantic.

AC Press on Christie's Slush Fund group: An end around campaign finance laws

by: Jason Springer

Sun Jul 18, 2010 at 01:54:42 PM EDT

It becomes more obvious by the day that this group - like others before it - represents an end-run around campaign-finance laws and was clearly formed to promote the governor's political agenda. At the very least, the public should know who is providing the money.

"Reform Jersey Now contributions are not affected by the pay-to-play statutes ... or by applicable executive orders," one recent solicitation reads. "Reform Jersey Now may lawfully accept donations from any source - corporate or individual - in unlimited amounts."

In other words, let the money flow. Including, possibly, money from businesses seeking state contracts from the administration whose agenda the group is promoting.

But there's a big difference between unions and Reform Jersey Now: It's clear where unions get their money. Voters have no way of knowing who is behind Reform Jersey Now.

Disclose them now.

Christie - who has touted his support for pay-to-play and other campaign-finance laws - should tell his pals to let the public know now who the money is coming from.

Feed the government what is healthy

by: Thurman Hart

Thu Jul 15, 2010 at 05:20:43 PM EDT

Lovable, huggable old Cookie Monster has it right - cookies are a sometimes food (check out his "healthy food" rap). If Cookie Monster was into politics, he'd be telling us that transparency is just as healthy for government as broccoli is for a growing boy. The Asbury Park Press is having to remind Governor Christie of that:

But actions speak louder than words. Christie continues to appear as a guest star at some of Reform Jersey Now's] $25,000 per-person soirees. That is unacceptable. Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, hit the nail on the head when he said, "I'm not arguing when the governor says, "I got beaten up by all these groups.' But you knew who was beating him up."

Exactly right. And it should be noted that for all the pounding Christie took from the big, bad unions, it hasn't stopped him from getting pretty much everything he's wanted - or from pounding the unions right back.

The pay-to-play laws need to be strengthened. One of candidate Christie's "88 ways to fix New Jersey" called for exactly that, particularly when it came to the unions. Christie should use the bully pulpit and the power of his office to push for those changes, including changes for groups like Reform Jersey Now.

In the meantime, Christie should take the high road and separate himself from those who run headlong into whatever loopholes the law currently allows. To do otherwise is disingenuous and two-faced, and encourages a willful disregard for the spirit of the law.

The emphasis is mine. Because that is the heart of the matter. Allowing a person to know who is paying for a message tells them a lot about whether or not they should believe it. If you have nothing to hide; then there is no reason to hide.

Even if you're the Governor and his buddies.

X-posted from Garden State Politics

Will Goodwin join Democrats calling on Christie slush fund group to release donors too?

by: Jason Springer

Thu Jul 08, 2010 at 10:30:00 AM EDT

You've heard of 'Six degrees of Separation', in this case there are zero degrees of separation from Governor Christie, Minority Leaders Kean and DeCroce and this supposed 'issue advocacy' group.

1.  Christie's top political advisor is on the 'advisory board'

2.  Their treasurer, a Governor's appointee to the Turnpike Authority, is the campaign treasurer for Chris Christie, Senate Minority Leader Kean, and Assembly Minority Leader DeCroce amongst others.

3.  The address and phone number listed on their website are the same as the top Republican fundraising firm in the state which works for the Republican State Committee, the Senate Republican Majority and the Assembly Republican Majority

4.  The chief strategist for the Christie / Guadagno campaign is their spokesperson

5.  Governor Christie was the only keynote speaker at the only event supporting Reform Jersey Now

These are direct ties between the statewide Republican apparatus, and this shadow group which is nothing but a front for the Republican Party to raise unlimited, unregulated contributions from anyone it wants.

"The days of backroom deals are over and a new day of government transparency has finally arrived," said Goodwin. "I commend ELEC for proposing these common sense reforms that will give residents the assurance to know that the professional politicians can no longer trade contracts for campaign cash."

The True Costs of Police Misconduct

by: Deborah Jacobs, ACLU-NJ Executive Director

Wed Jul 07, 2010 at 09:33:46 AM EDT

A jury awarded Darren Nance $600,000, finding that the Newark Police had racially discriminated and retaliated against him.

Once lawyers tally up interest for this verdict, legal fees for his attorneys, plus the two private law firms hired to defend Newark, this case will likely cost millions.

Most cities rely on insurance to cover misconduct-based payouts, but Newark is deemed too high risk to qualify for a policy. Instead, these payouts come out of the pockets of Newark taxpayers. And for every case like Nance's that goes to trial, many others settle out of court behind closed doors.

It is difficult to know, therefore, the full financial impact of police misconduct on Newark  taxpayers. We're also left in the dark about the details of the misconduct at the center of those cases, and whether the officers involved are sanctioned.

This is a shame because lawsuits - especially settled ones - can reveal dangerous practices in a department. And when individual officers are openly held accountable for the misconduct, it can deter others from engaging in similar acts.

To determine how much police misconduct cases cost Newark, and shed light on the underlying abuses, the ACLU of New Jersey has combed court databases, City Council minutes and other public records to find settlements.

We found that since January 2008, nine lawsuits by Newark police officers against the City were settled, with the settlements totaling $1,696,503. These cases primarily involve discrimination and retaliation.

Lawsuits from officers are just the tip of the iceberg. In that same time period, Newark  awarded at least 23 payouts to citizens filing lawsuits over mistreatment ranging from false arrest to death in custody. Those, too, come with a hefty price tag - $766,617 from the 18 cases for which we have settlement amounts.

More cases are coming through the pipeline. We have identified 27 pending cases ordinary citizens have filed against the Newark Police since January 2008, and seven more filed by employees.

And there are likely others; since information about these lawsuits is not publicly disseminated or maintained in a centralized placed, we couldn't find every case filed against the Newark Police.

The costs go well beyond finances, of course. Lawsuits aside, police misconduct jeopardizes community safety and erodes the trust officers need from community members to effectively protect and serve.

But money matters, too, especially during a budget crisis. If the money Newark spends  to defend and compensate for police officers' mistakes went towards reforms instead - training, technology, and resources for police - it would save money, lives, and public confidence in the long run.

The ACLU-NJ has an unwavering commitment to both government transparency and sound police practices. For the public's benefit, starting today, the ACLU-NJ will publish "the dirty dozen" of these cases on our website - representing some of the most egregious claims of discrimination, retaliation, beatings, and internal affairs corruption. We will release one a day for the next twelve business days. Many of these settlements have never before seen the light of day.

Darren Nance, however, got his day in court. He started his career as a Newark police officer in 1989 and encountered racism in the department after just a few months on the job. He spent the next seven years fighting for his rights, until the Newark Police fired him in 1996.

The jury verdict for Nance, along with these settlements, demonstrates that justice for police abuses can indeed come. But it also demonstrates a disturbing pattern: we see the abuses described in Nance's complaints from 15 years ago repeated in the settlements and pending lawsuits of today. The ACLU-NJ, which turned 50 this year, has fought the same kinds of abuses against Newark Police since our founding; change is overdue.

The only way to prevent the same mistakes, the same wounds, and the same payouts from the same stories is root out their sources. Otherwise, the citizens of Newark will continue to pay for bad apple officers who engage in abusive conduct and for managers and elected officials who fail to fix the underlying problems.

Christie Caught Doing Deals for Developers

by: Jason Springer

Mon Jun 21, 2010 at 11:00:00 AM EDT

Between late February and mid-April, representatives of Revel Entertainment Group, which started but has since halted construction on a $2.5 billion casino in the South Inlet, reached out to the Governor's Office, asking for a meeting not with Christie but with Jon F. Hanson, chairman of the governor's gaming advisory committee.

The revelations of Hanson's involvement in the Revel case, coupled with the advisory panel's prior handling of a Meadowlands casino proposal, show a high level of influence vested in a committee not subject to the state's open government laws and answerable only to the governor.

Hanson would only say Thursday that his hands-on discussions with Revel were done with the governor's knowledge.

"The governor was aware I was meeting with them," he said.

Deep Thought: Cloudy Transparency

by: Jason Springer

Tue Jun 15, 2010 at 04:00:00 PM EDT

But now as Christie is forced to make some tough choices, weighing both policy and politics, scrutiny is a lot less attractive. And the last thing he wants are some grandstanding independent operators investigating and exposing corruption. In other words, New Christie fears Old Christie.

Let's take a look at some recent actions:

1. Destroying the State Commission of Investigation (SCI): The SCI is one of the most productive and cost-effective agencies in state government. Part of the legislative branch but independent, New Christie wants SCI under his control in the executive branch.

2. Privatizing NJN: Without a plan this clearly would jeopardize the future of the television station that pays attention solely to our state. Beyond New Christie's dislike for certain reporters at NJN, the station is one of the strongest watchdogs on state government, providing constant monitoring of New Jersey government that no other news agency can or will. Corruption never had it so good.

3. Buy the Gadfly, hiring Wally Edge/David Wildstein to a nice $220,000 job in charge of capital projects at the Port Authority (if writing a political blog counts as qualifications, I'm available) removes one of the more well known and aggressive political reporters from off New Christie's back.

And the list goes on. New Christie needs to give Old Christie a call and learn about this transparency thing, that holding politicians accountable for bad behavior is not only important, but a great way to get yourself elected governor. Old Christie might wonder what you do after that...it's cloudy

New comedy duo underwhelms

by: Thurman Hart

Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 10:46:45 PM EDT

X-posted from Garden State Politics

Nicky Sacco and Brian Stack are upset because a new measure just passed the Senate that will, "...mandate state, county and municipal governments and authorities to create searchable websites for taxpayers to track how their money is spent." Hudson County's Double-Dipping comedy duo explain their opposition this way:

"I don't think anybody's against transparency, however, it is an unfunded mandate," said Sacco.

Another against it is Sen. Brian Stack, a Democrat who is mayor of Union City. Officials close to Stack say the cost of maintaining websites for the city and agencies will increase each year. They add that citizens can already e-mail OPRA information requests.

The idea that Nick Sacco would support transparency is pretty freaking hilarious, though.

Almost as funny as Brian "Senor Patronage" Stack saying that OPRA requests are already available. Oh yeah, it's true. They're available. And Hudson governments are famous for stonewalling requests or giving the wrong information and, oh yeah, trying to charge outrageous sums of money for filling those requests.

And here's a newsflash...the cost of maintaining EVERYTHING goes up every year, Stack-o. But I understand, it just doesn't sound good to say, "My patronage mill will be uncovered if I comply with this."

AC Press to Christie: Stop hiding financial information

by: Jason Springer

Wed May 19, 2010 at 12:30:00 PM EDT

On April 15, spokesman Michael Drewniak told The Star-Ledger, "He's filed his form for an extension. We just don't have it handy today." On May 5, spokeswoman Maria Comella said the governor will not be releasing anything until the tax returns are filed. "We are not going to release estimates without any context." So it isn't about having the information handy, is it?

Meanwhile, Christie has also issued an executive order giving state officials - which would include him and members of his administration - until Aug. 25 this year to file their financial disclosure information. The deadline is usually May 15.

The official reason? The governor is in the process of seeking legislation that would make the reporting requirements more stringent.

Isn't it convenient that Christie and members of his administration won't have to say anything about their finances just yet? By delaying the release of information, they are able to keep secret how many members of his administration have household incomes of more than $400,000 (including his own), while at the same time standing firm on eliminating the income-tax surcharge on those earning more than $400,000. The Press calls the Governor out with this challenge:

Play fair, governor. Release your gross-income information. Rescind the financial-disclosure extension. And give the people of New Jersey the transparency you promised.

Christie doesn't want to tell the public about a $600 million no bid contract proposal

by: Jason Springer

Thu Apr 29, 2010 at 12:22:05 PM EDT

Last week, the Governor's Advisory Commission on Gaming, Sports and Entertainment acknowledged it's working with developer David Hanlon on a proposal to add 5,000 video slot machines to Meadowlands Racetrack. In return, he'd pay the state $600 million. The commission was created by the Governor through Executive Order #11 in February. The only proposal under discussion is Hanlon's, who admitted last week that taking his idea to the commission meant the governor could study it while the public could not:

When asked for a copy of the executive summary, he refused to provide it, saying, "It's not a public document yet."

So, the document's not public yet, and if the Governor has his way, it won't be. The Commission has great latitude, but is short on transparency requirements. Governor Christie's spokesman Michael Drewniak offered this:

They are purely advisory. They're not paid by us, nothing they do is funded by us, and nothing they do is binding for the government.

Well, maybe not binding. But it's hard to avoid the enormous advantage Christie is giving a hand-picked contractor, especially since the process is hidden from the public. What a funny little game. The Governor creates the commission and it deals outside of the public eye. And if you believe him, the commission doesn't ever have to make anything public because the state's not paying them. How convenient. Looks like NJ gets a $600 million no bid contract proposal to park VLT's at the Meadowlands. This must be transparency, Christie style.  

Politics over transparency in Governor Christie's Press Releases

by: Hopeful

Wed Mar 31, 2010 at 11:12:49 AM EDT

Governor Christie is flouting that tradition of disclosure. There are press releases on his priorities, and even quite a few highlighting favorable media coverage, but no one has been announced since Bill Baroni on February 19.

Reporter Michael Symons recently posted a list of Christie appointments. How did he get them?

No direct appointments have yet been announced by the Governor's Office - but then again, they haven't yet announced the nominations they made to the Senate yesterday, either, so perhaps they're still coming. The list cited in this blog entry is gleaned from the Legislature's website.

"Gleaned" from the someone else's website. It's not a good sign. Surely the Governor is not trying to keep his appointments secret since eventually they will come all out. The Governor has plenty of people who should be doing this work so why can't he disclose his appointments in a timely manner? Four out of the last five releases criticize the teachers union (the other criticizes the administrators!) so it seems clear that politics takes precedence over transparency in the Christie Administration.

How's that transparency working out?

by: Jason Springer

Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 12:16:00 PM EST

The media was invited into the room while Christie spoke to his cabinet. At the end of his seven-and-half-minute address, Christie said it was time to work.

"We have some work - but the work we have to do is not going to be with all of you," he told reporters, who were ushered outside, the twin doors to the meeting room closed behind them.

At a session called for reporters to drill down on the details of Christie's budget fixes, his press handlers tried tightening the leash. They insisted - in fine Washington fashion - reporters could not use tape recorders during the spin session and could not identify the "administraton officials" doing the spinning.

You're going to have to just go with it today. Maybe we'll change things going forward. But that is the plan for today . . . We can just do this now, or we can not do it. I'm not kidding."

In 2002 just after Jim McGreevey took over as Governor, his treasurer and other adminstration officials tried something similar. They said their entire budget briefing would be off the record. This led to a mini-revolt by the State House press corps led by veteran reporter Joe Allbright. The journalists simply packed up their stuff and left behind a dumbfounded group of top McGreevey staffers. That almost happened again today with the transparent "Team Christie."

Government Transparency: "Fashionable"!

by: Senator Loretta Weinberg

Mon Feb 08, 2010 at 09:29:00 AM EST

The Senate Health & Human Services & Senior Service Committee, which I now chair, released a bill sponsored by Senator Bob Gordon and I requiring all hospitals to have public conflict of interest policies for Boards of Trustees which must include rules to govern when a member has a conflict in the awarding of hospital contracts.  The bill requires the conflict of interest policy to be published on the hospital's web page and sets very strict parameters for board members.  Doug Duchek, the CEO of Englewood Hospital, testified in support of the bill and announced that Englewood does not allow any of its board members to sell goods or services to the hospital.  Good idea!  Let's keep an eye on this one.  I have a feeling that there might be a move to try to undermine its intent.

We also dropped the bill to straighten out that awful initiative law which puts a 10 year moratorium on the petitioning for a local government change to go before the voters.  Senator Joseph Vitale of Middlesex joined me in sponsoring this reversal of our "lame duck" mistake which was an anti-democratic attempt to thwart some good government reformers in New Brunswick.  I know Senator Theresa Ruiz will also sign on as a co-sponsor.  Let's ask Senator Jim Whelan to post this asap in the State Government Committee.

So it's been quite a week capped off with a big birthday celebration for me.  (February 6th was also Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman's birthday - happy birthday, my friend.) Thank you Blue Jersey for headlining my 75th birthday. The celebrations started when a group of my Bergen political women friends planned a great dinner.  We drank plenty of wine; told many good political stories about some Bergen luminaries; and had lots of laughs.  The next night was dinner out with son and girlfriend. And Sunday I found time to host my annual super bowl gathering. Wednesday, we're going to L.A. for a few days for a big family celebration.  So I plan to enjoy every minute of all these parties.  It is a little weird, cause the number of these years seems like they should belong to someone else.  Life is still so full of more goals to reach; more adventures to share; the enjoyment of love of family and "best friends"; and most of all fun to share with all of them and with you!!  Thank you for making it a special time for me.  Thank you for helping to ready the next generation of leaders.

On Day One, Christie Ditches Transparency

by: the_promised_land

Thu Jan 21, 2010 at 07:01:11 AM EST

Hi, everyone,

I have been lurking for about a year and have finally decided to try my hand at blogging in response to the new administration and the debacle of the marriage equality bill. I have been constantly educated and frequently amused by the reporting of this great site and hope I can contribute something.

A much quoted section of Christie's inauguration speech said:

Today, a new era of accountability and transparency is here. Today, I will sign executive orders that will make our finances, our budgeting, and our processes more transparent for all citizens to see.

Based on the executive orders themselves, he's not off to a good start. The very executive orders that are supposed to make the process "more transparent" are not themselves available to the public. They are not available, as of 6:45 this morning, on the state's web site - http://www.state.nj.us/infoban... The signed orders exist - I know because I have a sneaked copy of one (which I hope to blog about the horrific details of later) and I have heard of copies of others floating out there - but are not available to the public.

In fact, not even the news media seems to have been allowed a peek - Tom Hester at New Jersey Newsroom notes that the text of at least half of the executive orders "was not immediately available." http://www.newjerseynewsroom.c...

That note is buried far down in the story, and I haven't seen other references to the lack of transparency in the media, who seem to be content with what they were spoon-fed by the Administration.

One way to try to stifle dissent is to only let the outside world see what you want them to see - a kind of wax paper transparency. Amazing that Christie would, within one day of promising a new era of transparency, abandon that promise.

Looking forward to many more posts ahead and to helping rebuild the promised land that our state has been, and should be once again...

--TPL

UPDATE: As of 8:30 AM on Thursday the Executive Orders are now up at http://www.state.nj.us/infoban... Just in time for the news reporting on them to be over. I will try to post an analysis of what's in there in the next few days.

Corzine should back CleanGreenNJ reforms

by: Winston Smith

Thu Aug 13, 2009 at 06:34:20 PM EDT

Earlier this week, the Star Ledger editorialized:

Consider CleanGreenNJ's call for a DEP government cleanup

Freedom of the Press -- The Victor!

by: mikeshapiro

Tue Mar 04, 2008 at 10:52:07 PM EST

The Party Democracy Act -- a Step in the Right Direction

by: mikeshapiro

Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 08:51:44 PM EST

Automated Calls in New Jersey Politics: Mend Them, Don't End Them

by: mikeshapiro

Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 09:48:46 PM EDT

You?ve received them.  I?ve received them.  I?ve even recorded and used them:  those automated calls that emanate around election time.  As annoying as they may be, they are a quick, efficient, and cost-effective way for a candidate or a resident to bring an issue or a candidacy to the public?s attention.  A ban on automated calls amounts to greater incumbent protection as it is usually the incumbent officeholder who has the wherewithal and campaign donations to be able to send out glossy mailings, run radio and television commercials, and afford a sophisticated door-to-door operation.  Candidates who take on incumbents have few tools at their disposal to get their message out, especially in areas where the local press is either nonexistent or ?bought and paid for.?  As a result, the automated call is one of very few equalizing forces in New Jersey politics, allowing all candidates to reach voters without a significant monetary expenditure.  That said, restrictions on automated calls are necessary to curb abuse.