Christie On Pension Reform: “We can not afford to let another year go by”
Pension reform needs to happen by April or it won’t happen this year
During his Town Hall meeting in Middletown yesterday, Governor Chris Christine laid the blame for inaction on his pension reform package right in the laps of the Democratic legistlative leaders; Senate President Steve Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and Senate Minority Leader Barbara Buono. Christie read quotes from the statements each Democratic leader issued when he released his pension reform proposal last September.
The governor laid out the legislative calendar and asserted that is the reform agenda is not passed by the legislature by April, it won’t happen this year as the legislature will focus exclusively on the state budget in May and June and then leave on July 1st to launch the election campaign. All seats in the legislature are up this year.
What Christie didn’t say is that if the legislature fails to deliver his reform agenda before they recess, that the campaign will be about the agenda.
Maybe that’s the campaign the Democrats want. I hope so, because a campaign like that, a referendum on Chris Christie’s reform agenda , could very well lead to a Republican controlled legislature and more conservative reform measures, rather than these compromise measures.
..and see Committeeman Scharfenberger,front row behind Gov., texting all through Gov’s. speech: not cool, Gerry!..
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