Christie: NJEA Exec Director Vincent Giordano Should Resign

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Governor Christie Vs NJEA in 60 seconds

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Joint Statement From Governors Christie and Cuomo On Port Authority Consultants’s Report

Trenton, NJ – New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today released the following statement regarding the Phase 1 Interim Consultant’s Report on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey:

“The interim report released today on operations of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey describes an agency which failed to exercise proper oversight, control costs and budget transparently. The report’s Executive Summary describes an agency that is ‘challenged and dysfunctional,’ and where poor management ‘obscured full awareness of billions of dollars in exposure’ to the Port Authority.  

“Cause for further concern is the report’s conclusion that the WTC gross project costs, last publicly reforecast at $11 billion in 2008, have since grown a staggering $3.8 billion to $14.8 billion, at a minimum.  Similarly, the report finds capital planning is plagued by management deficiencies that have resulted in a doubling of debt in 10 years as the agency drifted from its core responsibility as a transportation infrastructure organization. Coupled with the consultant’s assessment of the impact of ‘add-on’ compensation for agency personnel – an institutionalized practice that has contributed to an unacceptable 19 percent increase in gross compensation in just five years – the interim report makes clear that wide-ranging reform is long overdue.  

“This record of historic failure must be reversed.  Steps have already been taken in the last two years, but much more must be done to restore the Port Authority to a responsible, highly transparent, well-managed organization focused on its core mission of maintaining and expanding our states’ shared transportation infrastructure for the health and growth of our overlapping economies.  We will demand nothing short of the agency’s implementation of comprehensive recommendations and reform to achieve this critical mission.” 

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Monmouth Poll: Voters Like Christie, They Don’t Like Property Taxes

Patrick Murray has a new poll out this morning.

55% of New Jersey registered voters approve of Governor Chris Christie’s job performance. 37% disapprove.  Among men Christie has a 17% net positive rating.  Among women, net positive 6%

While still upside down, the state legislature’s ratings have improved.  39% disapprove of the legislature, the best rating they have had since 2007.  56% disapproved in April of 2010.  The legislature’s approval rating remained steady at 35%.  Murray didn’t say so, but it would stand to reason that voters feel better about the legislature due to Christie promoting how they have compromised with him.

Property taxes remain the most pressing concern of New Jersey residents.  Murray asked respondents to rank Trenton’s priorties on a 1-10 scale:

New Jersey‘s Pressing Issues

(rated on a 10 point scale)

Tier 1:

8.9 Reducing property taxes

Tier 2:

7.7 Reducing income taxes

7.6 Increasing minimum wage

7.4 Reforming teacher tenure

7.3 Raising millionaires tax

Tier 3:

7.0 Reforming drug sentencing laws

6.7 Restructuring higher education

Tier 4:

5.8 Expanding charter schools

5.1 Same sex marriage

While same sex marriage  is a low priority for New Jersey residents, 52% now favor allowing same sex couples to marry compared to 34% who oppose. For the first time since the question has been polled, residents who strongly favor same sex marriage exceed residents who strongly oppose by a 32% to 25% margin.

The poll, including data tables and Murray’s write up can be found here.

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Super Celebration at MetLife Stadium, Tuesday at 3PM

Following the Canyon of Heroes parade in lower Manhattan, the New Jersey Super Bowl Champion Giants and Governor Chris Christie will rally at MetLife Stadium.  Admission and parking are free.

MetLife gates will open to the public at 2:15 PM.  The rally is scheduled to start at 3PM and last until 3:30. PM

Christie was a guest of Boomer and Carton on WFAN radio this morning.

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Sweeney Calls Rutgers-Camden Students and Faculty Protesters A “Lynch Mob”

Senate President Steve Sweeney called Rutgers-Camden students and faculty members who were protesting the proposed merger of their school into Rowan University a “lynch mob,” according to a post at Blue Jersey.

I wonder if Congressman John Lewis will be coming back to Trenton to slam Sweeney.  Lewis came to Trenton last week to denounce Governor Chris Christie’s “in-artful” comments about the 1960’s civil rights movement in the South when calling for a referendum on same sex marriage.

I wonder if Assembly Speaker Shelia Oliver will give Sweeney a history lesson about language that African Americans find offensive and then go on the Al Sharpton Show to talk about it.

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Christie’s Top 11

Politico produced a video of what they are calling Governor Chris Christie’s Top 10 quotes. (Hat tip InTheLobby)

It’s good, but I think they left the best one out.  In my mind, Christie’s best YouTube moment was one of his first.  The “Honest and Refreshing” video, made early in the term, where he turn the tables on Star Ledger Editorial page editor Tom Moran who was questioning the governor’s style or “tone.”

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Senator O’Toole Makes Case For Christie’s Supreme Court Nominees

By Senator Kevin O’Toole

The appointment of Justices to the Supreme Court of New Jersey is one of the most important duties afforded to the Governor under our Constitution.  The men and women called to serve as members of our State’s highest judicial body must grapple with the most significant disputes arising from laws in a variety of areas, ranging from criminal justice to corporate governance.  Rightfully, the qualifications of any attorney nominated to sit on the Supreme Court should be carefully scrutinized.  In the case of Governor Christie’s two recent nominees, Bruce Harris and Phillip Kwon, that study reveals the backgrounds of extremely well qualified candidates whose experience is entirely consistent with the past and present Justices of the Supreme Court, all of whom enjoyed swift and strong Senatorial support.

Phillip Kwon has admirably dedicated nearly his entire career to various positions in public service within New Jersey.  A graduate of Georgetown University and Rutgers Law School, Mr. Kwon has worked over the last decade for the State’s Attorney General and the United States Attorney’s Office as the lead trial prosecutor in matters such as narcotics trafficking, gang violence, and public corruption.  He has served with distinction as a manager of dozens of federal prosecutors and thousands of state attorneys, earning the accolades of colleagues and adversaries.  As both a private attorney and a judicial law clerk, he has experience in the same variety of civil matters that will occupy the Supreme Court’s docket in the years to come.

Mr. Harris has achieved the rare distinction of combining a successful career as an attorney at two of the State’s most prestigious private firms, with nearly eight years of elected public service.  A magna cum lade graduate of Amherst College, Mr. Harris also holds an M.B.A, with honors, from Boston University and a law degree from Yale.  In legal practice that spanned nearly two decades, Mr. Harris personally negotiated a wide array of financial transactions, in both the public and private sector, valued in excess of $8 billion.  His legal advice and representation ranged from matters involving environmental projects, health care facilities, and public libraries, to assisted living homes, nonprofits, and residences for the disabled.  Simultaneously, Mr. Harris volunteered his time with a host of local charities, including the Chatham Environmental Commission, the Chatham Historic Preservation Commission, and as a Trustee of the Foundation of the UMDNJ and New Jersey Health Foundation.  He also combined his legal practice with nearly eight years of elected service, first as a member of the Chatham Borough Council and now as Chatham’s Mayor.

Notably, the backgrounds of both of these candidates are highly similar to the experiences and qualifications of our current and past Justices, all of whom received quick approval by the Legislature.  Like Justice LaVecchia, who was confirmed within four days, Mr. Kwon is a graduate of Rutgers Law School.  Mr. Harris not only has a legal degree, but also holds a Masters in Business Administration, which he obtained in 1979.  Similar to Justice Rabner, who was confirmed within 17 days, Mr. Kwon clerked in the U.S. District Court, and held leadership positions in the Office of the United States Attorney.  Both Justices Rabner and Patterson garnered experience at the Office of the Attorney General, as has Mr. Kwon, who has been with the Office since 2010.  Three of the five current justices have extensive legal experience in private practice, as do both Mr. Harris and Mr. Kwon.  Like all members of the court, Mr. Harris and Mr. Kwon have worked in prominent New Jersey law firms.  Nor will Mr. Harris become the first elected Mayor and Councilman to sit on the Court, as Justice Daniel O’Hern served as both Mayor and Councilman of Red Bank before his service as a Justice.Water Sports Product

Moreover, the confirmation of both Mr. Harris and Mr. Kwon will restore much-needed political balance to the high court.  By unwritten rule, Governors have maintained a political party affiliation split on the New Jersey Supreme Court, with no more than four Justices of the Governor’s party serving at the same time.  Since 1947, however, the implementation of that “tradition” has produced a Republican majority a mere five times compared with nineteen Democratic majorities.  Governor Christie’s appointments will honor the real intent of the compromise by creating a true party balance comprised of three registered Republicans (Hoens, Patterson, Harris), two registered Democrats (Rabner, Albin), and two unaffiliated Justices (LaVecchia, Kwon).

 The Constitution does not permit indefinite, or even lengthy, vacancies on the Supreme Court.  While the power of appointment and re-appointment rests solely with the Governor, the Senate holds the privilege of providing advice and consent of all persons asked to serve the people as members of the Court.  The Governor’s selection of these two exceptionally qualified candidates, whose backgrounds are substantially similar to the attorneys who have served our State with distinction, will allow the Senate to move swiftly to publicly consider the temperament of these nominees in fulfillment of our Constitutional duty.

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National Organization For Marriage Calls On Christie To Withdraw Harris Nomination To Supreme Court

Controversial Traditional Marriage Advocate Says Christie’s Supreme Court Nominee Lacks Judicial Temperment

Bob Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, sent an email blast this evening asking the recipients to contact New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and ask him to withdraw Chatham Mayor Bruce Harris, an African-American, openly gay Republican, as a nominee to the State Supreme Court.

Brown said the Harris nomination appeared to be failure a vetting, “not a deliberate backhand betrayal by New Jersey’s governor.”

The email, which directs readers to the organization’s website where they are prompted to send a pre-written email to Christie, reads as follows:

I need your help right now to stop Gov. Christie from making a horrible mistake-appointing a radically pro-gay marriage anti-Christian judge to the state supreme court.

Gov. Chris Christie has been the hope of millions of Americans across the country looking for honest conservative leadership.

Last week we asked you to thank Gov. Christie for saying he will follow through on his campaign promise to veto same-sex marriage.

This week, we have urgent and terrible news to report-Gov. Chris Christie’s nominee to the New Jersey Supreme Court is not only an outspoken advocate for gay marriage, he has extreme and hateful views equating traditional Christian views on sex and marriage with slavery.

This kind of intemperate and extreme view should be totally unacceptable in a GOP judicial nominee.

Yet Gov. Christie’s proposed supreme court nominee Bruce Harris sent this email in 2009 to State Senator Joe Pennacchio urging him to vote for gay marriage:

“When I hear someone say that they believe marriage is only between a man and a woman because that’s the way it’s always been, I think of the many “traditions” that deprived people of their civil rights for centuries: prohibitions on interracial marriage, slavery, (which is even provided for in the Bible), segregation, the subservience of women, to name just a few of these “traditions.”

I hope that you consider my request that you re-evaluate your position and, if after viewing the videos, reading Governor Whitman’s letter and thinking again about this issue of civil rights you still oppose same-sex marriage on grounds other than religion I would appreciate it if you you’d explain your position to me. And, if the basis of your opposition is religious, then I suggest that you do what the US Constitution mandates-and that is to maintain a separation between the state and religion.”

Governor Christie says that Harris has promised to recuse himself when the same-sex marriage comes before the court, but even this unenforceable promise misses the bigger issue: a man who cannot tell the difference between supporting our traditional understanding of marriage and wanting to enslave a people lacks common sense and judicial temperament.

And to suggest that legislators should ignore the views of religious constituents, that moral views grounded in the Bible are somehow illegitimate in the public square, seriously compounds the offense.

These are not the words of a judicial conservative, a man who believes in common sense, strict construction of the state constitution-the kind of judge Gov. Christie promised to appoint to the court.

How did this happen?

When Assemblyman Mike Carroll was sent a copy of that email by a reporter, he had one word in response: “Yikes.”

Gov. Christie’s nomination of Bruce Harris appears to be a result of a failure in the vetting process, not a deliberate backhanded backroom betrayal by New Jersey’s governor. If so, the Governor can and must honorably withdraw the nomination.

The next generation of GOP leadership on the national level have to understand: knowingly appointing radical anti-religious justices is unacceptable.

Please, right now, send Gov. Christie a message keep him from making a terrible mistake marring his record. Tell Christie: Withdraw the Bruce Harris nomination today. Protect our judiciary from radically unconservative judges with extremist views pushing gay marriage and equating Christianity with slavery.

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Christie’s Supreme Court Nominees Under Scrutiny

The press is vetting Govenor Chris Christie’s nominees to the State Supreme Court.

NJ.com, The Star Ledger’s website, posted an article this morning about the family business of nominee Phillip Kwon. Kwon’s mother owns a  liquor store in Mt. Vernon, NY that made a $160,000 settlement with the New York U.S. Attorney’s office over $2,000,000 in allegedly “structured” cash bank deposits.  “Structuring” is the practice of spreading out cash deposits in order to avoid the $10,000 trigger that requires the bank to report the deposit to the IRS.

There is no evidence or allegation that Kwon had anything to do with the business or the transactions.  There was no admission of liablity in the settlement.

Star Ledger columnist/blogger Paul Mulshine reports that Bruce Harris, the African-American gay Mayor of Chatham that Christie nominatied to the Court along with Kwon this week, wrote an email to state senators, including Joe Pennacchio,  asking that they support the same sex marriage bill that was before the Senate during the lame duck session of 2009.

Harris’s email said, in part (with emphasis added):

The New Jersey Supreme court has determined that our relationship is entitled to the equal protection guarantees of the State Constitution. The New jersey Civil Union Review Commission determined that civil unions do not provide the equality the State Constitution mandates.(Please take a few moments and visit www.gardenstateequality.org. which has two short videos that provide sad examples of the failures of the civil union law.)

Mulshine points out that there is no equal protection clause in the State Constitution.   Mulshine quotes conservative Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll regarding “originalists” interpretations of the State Constitution:

“No originalist can tell me there’s an equal protection clause in the constitution. No originalist can tell me there’s a right to a thorough and efficient education or a right to affordable housing.”

As much as Christie has done, and is attempting to do, to reform New Jersey’s government, there is nothing more important he can do that make sure conservatives, “orignalists,” are seated on the Supreme Court.  The State Supreme Court will be his legacy.

I hope that Christie is not using the same standard that former Governor Christine Todd Whitman used to populate the Court, i.e., appointing friends and senior staffers or making “diversity” appointments for political gain.

The activist State Supreme Court, with the consent of the Legislature and six governors/acting governors, have destroyed New Jersey’s economy over the two decades. 

Governor Christie needs to make sure his nominees have the “right stuff.”   Hopefully Kwon and Harris do. 

Harris said we would recuse himself from cases involving gay marriage.  Now that he is going to be a Justice, if confirmed, he needs to brush up on the State Constitution.

As for Kwon, the news of his mother’s business with the feds is interesting but does not qualify him. 

The question the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the press, should ask, is what does qualify Kwon and Harris.  

Is being the Governor’s long term trusted colleague enough?  Is being Black and gay enough?

Maybe it is.  But similar standards did not serve us well with Whitman’s Court.

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