Senate President Steve Sweeney told The Star LedgerEditorial Board that he is groveling to get back into the good graces of the NJEA. He didn’t put it exactly that way, but that is the effect of his pronouncement that he will not allow two key components of Governor Christie’s educations reforms…merit pay and ending seniority protections from layoffs.
Governor Christie gave himself plenty of room to negotiate when he increased the budget surplus by $270 million while cutting transitional aid to the cities by $139 million. The Democrats want that money, and other monies that Christie cut back. If the cities don’t get the money they could face bankruptcy.
Christie shouldn’t give an dime back to the cities unless he gets everything he wants in education reform. If Sweeney and the Democrats don’t go along because they’re trying to get back into the good graces of the NJEA, let the voters decide.
Let’s have the coming election, in which the entire legislature is up for grabs, be a referendum on Christie’s agenda vs the NJEA agenda.
Assembly Republicans Caroline Casagrande, R-Monmouth and Mercer; Nancy F. Muñoz, R-Union, Essex, Morris and Somerset; Mary Pat Angelini, R-Monmouth; DiAnne Gove, R-Ocean, Amy H. Handlin, R-Monmouth and Middlesex; and Denise Coyle, R-Somerset and Morris, issued the following statement about the Fiscal Year 2012 Budget that fully funds healthcare to low-income and uninsured women through Federally Qualified Health Centers:
“Protecting women’s healthcare, not political agendas, is our primary concern and we are thrilled that New Jersey will fully fund vital health services for women, and their children, through clinics that provide legitimate healthcare.
“Uninsured and low-income women will continue to have access to comprehensive healthcare services in all 21 counties. It is important to note that funding of these vital services has increased by $30 million over the past two years.
“We have proven that it is possible to have a responsible, legal and balanced budget while continuing to fund healthcare programs that are crucial to women and children.”
Senate President Steve Sweeney’s line of bull nearly cost him his life today as a lightning stike just missed him during an on camera interview with the Philadelphia Fox-TV affiliate.
Sweeney’s been lying all week. Not just about the budget and the Governor’s prick. I invited him onto the LaRossa and Gallagher “Real Jersey Guys” Radio Show to talk about the State budget and his now famous remarks to Tom Moran about the Governor. Rather than turn us down because we would challenge him, Sweeney’s spokesman Chris Donnelly said the Senate President was booked all week and suggestted we try at another time. Since then Sweeney’s been a rotten media whore.
That’s ok, former Senator Dick LaRossa and I did fine without him. Here’s a recording of the show:
Middletown- Trenton Democrats’ empty budgetary promises and political rhetoric just more of the same.Senator Joe Kyrillos released the following statement demanding that Trenton Democrats take a moment to understand that their election year games have real consequences.
“Trenton Democrats are using an election year to play on the emotions and real issues of our neediest citizens. By passing a budget filled with empty promises – but no funding – Trenton Democrats have crossed the line into the dangerous and disingenuous. Not only are they playing election year politics, they are doing so in a manner that misleads the public about specific programs, as well as the state’s finances. Democrats overstate the surplus while ignoring that education funding has gone up $850 million over last year, funding for the AIDS Drug Distribution Program has been protected at the same level as last year, and hospital funding has gone up by $20 million.
“If these Democrats have any sense of decency they will be honest with the people they claim they want to help, instead of continuing to put forward myths, lies and distortions about what we can really afford.”
TRENTON – The political theater being carried out by Trenton Democrats over their unconstitutional budget is disingenuous and must end.Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon released the following statement demanding Trenton Democrats start being honest about their budget and to stop misleading New Jerseyans:
“Trenton Democrats’ sickening display of political posturing has to immediately end. Democrats know that their budget did not provide funding for their election year spending spree yet they continue to play on the emotions of our residents.
“New Jersey women still have access to comprehensive health care services in every county and under Governor Christie support for Family Health Services has increased by more than $30 million. By using blatant distortions and lies about program funding, they are misleading the public about what services will and will not be available to them. This is a dangerous new low. This shocking display proves that the current Democratic leadership lacks the soul necessary to govern.”
Atlantic City continues to suffer from competition in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut.
The Christie Administration’s plans to prop up and clean up the city might make a difference, but will those efforts attract gamblers away from casinos closer to their homes?
What Atlantic City is an attractive celebrity spokesperson who can generate world wide publicity and carnival like curiosity.
Governor Chris Christie dropped his bombshell budget on the Trenton Democrats last week and then took off on a two week vacation with his family, leaving a media vacuum for Senate President Steve Sweeney and the Democrats in the legislature to try to fill.
Sweeney got some national attention by calling Christie a “rotten prick” and a “bastard” who hurts people and now the Senate is scheduled to hold votes to over ride Christie’s budget next week. The Assembly is scheduling hearings on the impact of Christie’s cuts but hasn’t scheduled any override votes. It is all political theater. The budget that the Democrats submitted to Christie was political theater. They planned on giving Christie a budget he would cut so that they could spend the summer and fall using his cuts against the Republicans in the legislative election campaigns.
Christie is a “bastard” because he outwitted the Democrats, again. By trying to box Christie in, forcing him to make cuts to popular programs they could use against him in the coming election, the Democrats unwittingly gave Christie the leverage he needs to accelerate his reform agenda.
Christie cut $139 million of $149 million from the urban “transitional aid” program. New Jersey’s cities, Asbury Park, Camden, Trenton, Newark, et al, can not operate without that money. The cities can’t legally lay employees off fast enough due to civil service rules, which takes spending cuts off the table. Asbury Park would have to raise their property taxes by 101% to make up the the funds that Christie cut. That would be fun to watch, but I don’t think they could collect those taxes. If they did, they’d prove that the transitional aid wasn’t necessary.
While Christie was gutting the urban budgets and other programs dear to the Democrats, he also added $300 million to the surplus.
The Democrats will keep making noise that nobody hears until Christie gets back from vacation. Then they will start negotiating. But now Christie has the leverage because the Democrats gave it to him while thinking they had in a political poor position. Christie wants education reform, especially tenure reform. He wants the rest of his tool kit passed, especially civil service reform. He couldn’t get that from the legislature over the last year. Now he has what they need, what they must have.
The cities will get the transitional aid money. Christie will get his reforms passed before Labor Day.
Given the new legislative map, it is unlikely that the GOP will make significant gains in the legislature this coming election. However, it looks to me like Christie has positioned himself to extract reforms from the Democrats that are more landmark than the pension and benefit reforms recently passed. Christie and the GOP legislative team are positioned to enter September with major triumphs.
The Middletown Democrats have selected a replacement for Alex Desevo on their Township Committee slate, according to Middletown Mike and RedBankGreen.
Now that the news has made it to MMM, the APP will probably get around to reporting it.
Middletown Mike said the candidate was not even known to him prior to her introduction to the Middletown Democratic Committee, so MMM is not about to boost her name recognition at this point.
She seems like a nice lady who has no clue about how municipal government works. Mike says she spoke about how upset she is with Middletown’s bonding. Excuse my skepticism, but I highly doubt bonding has been keeping her up at night. Sounds to me like she was tutored on the Middletown Dems talking points before she addressed the committee.
MMM will eventually report the candidate’s name and background. For now we’ll refer to the Middletown Democratic slate as What’shername and What’shisname.
NJBiz is reporting that up to 80 tenured New Jersey Judges will file suit later this month challenging the recent pension and health benefit reforms passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Christie.
The suit is to be filed in Hudson County and a Hudson County Judge will be one of the name plaintiffs.
Judges currently earn between $165,000 to $192,795 each year, and contribute from $4,950 to $5,783 to their pensions annually, according to the memo, which was issued by Superior Court Judge Melvin Gelade. Under the recently passed public worker pension and health legislation, judges hired after January 1996 would, after seven years, see their annual retirement contributions jump to between $19,800 and $23,135 a year.
The suit will ask for a temporary injunction blocking the changes, and is expected to be filed in a Hudson County court, with a Hudson County judge to be named as the lead plaintiff.
“It is anticipated that only tenured judges should actively participate in, and contribute to, the financing of a suit,” according to the memo. “Non-tenured judges may anticipate being asked about their involvement at their reappointment hearings.”
Attorney Justin Walder, a member of the Roseland law firm Walder, Hayden & Brogan, will represent the plaintiffs, according to the memo. Walder did not return multiple calls seeking comment.
“The state constitution prevents the government from tampering with our compensation while we’re serving our term,” said a judge who expects to join the suit. “We thought we would be exempt from Christie’s pension and health cutbacks, but this appears to be payback for the state Supreme Court’s Abbott District ruling.”
The judges believe the suit will ultimately reach the state Supreme Court, and hope to have the high court hear it before Christie nominee Anne Patterson is seated in September, according to the judge, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Chief Justice Stuart Rabner will recuse himself from the case, the judge added.
Well it is a good thing that Rabner will recuse himself, but how do they know that given that the suit hasn’t been filed yet?
How can any New Jersey Judge possibly hear this case without a conflict?
