Governor Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Cory Booker will make an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday to announce the restructuring of the Newark School System and the gift of $100 million from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerman, according to a report in the Star Ledger.
Under the restructuring, Newark’s schools will be under the authority of Mayor Booker who will be named a “special assistant to the governor.” The schools have been under state control for 15 years with the governor as the official overseer.
Booker will implement reforms to include expanded charter school, new achievement standards and methods of judging which schools and teachers are effective. New Jersey’s teachers unions have long opposed these types of reforms.
The Democratic leadership of the State Legislature went along with Governor Chris Christie in capping NJ’s property tax increases at 2% last July with the understanding that they would get to work on and pass the governor’s “tool kit” which enables municipal leaders to responsibly reduce the cost of local government in September.
Rather than focusing on municipal government reform, the Democratic leadership is focusing on the Christie administrations failed “Race to the Top” application for $400 million in federal education dollars. Nothing that the Democrats discover in their “Race to the Top” circus will bring NJ the $400 million the Christie administration applied for. That $400 million is not coming, just as Frank Pallone’s $400 million to count fish is not coming.
Trenton Democrats need to put policy over politics. They can hold hearings on the Race to the Top snafu after they have passed the tool kit. They will get just as much political mileage and just as much money (none) from Race to the Top hearings held in December or January as they will from hearings held now.
Failure to pass the tool kit will lead to massive municipal layoffs and service cuts throughout New Jersey while property taxes increase by 2%. This week, just in Monmouth County, we have seen two clear examples of why the tool kit is necessary. In Belmar a mediator awarded the police department a 15% salary increase while Highlands announced that they might layoff 12 of their 53 employees, including three police officers. There will be literally hundreds of stories like this throughout the state if the legislature doesn’t pass the tool kit legislation before municipal leaders start crafting their 2011-2012 budgets.
Maybe that is what Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver want to happen. Maybe their focus is on next year’s state legislative elections and they think they have a better chance of keeping control of the legislature if New Jersey’s municipalities are in chaos next year with rising crime and garbage piling up on the streets because only the most highly paid municipal employees are still working while their former junior colleagues are collecting unemployment or moving out of state to take lower paying government jobs elsewhere.
Sweeney and Oliver wouldn’t do that, would they? Will it work if they do? I don’t think so.
Appearing on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning, Governor Chris Christie said the GOP needs to get real about reducing the size of government should they take over congress.
TRANSCRIPT OF YOUTUBE VIDEO
CARL QUINTANILLA: Is the model of governing that you have brought to New Jersey successfully, can you replicate that on a federal level? When you have to answer constituencies in San Francisco and Seattle and Chicago? It’s not all in the garden state.
GOVERNOR CHRISTIE: Listen, it’s much more difficult. I mean, the bigger government gets the more difficult it is to change it and to manage it and so it’s not easy. It won’t be easy for anybody. It wouldn’t be easy for President Obama if he wanted to change it to make it smaller. It’s always easy for government to get bigger because you’re saying yes to somebody. It’s hard to say no but we have to and so it will be harder on the federal level. You’re right, Carl. There’s no question. But I saw Eric Cantor here before. They now — Republicans, my party, if we win the Congress we got to put up or shut up. This is it, we failed the last time. We went away from our principles and we paid for it. And now the price is even higher if we don’t.
Posted: September 21st, 2010 | Author:Art Gallagher | Filed under:Chris Christie | Comments Off on Christie: GOP Needs To Put Up Or Shut Up If It Wins Congress
Now that the legislature is back in session, all eyes are focused on Trenton as the debate over Governor Christie’s “Mayor’s Toolbox” begins in earnest. The 33 bills contained within the “toolbox” are critical to give local governments the ability to cut spending that they are legally unable to do now. It is imperative that the legislature act quickly to implement these essential reforms. Unfortunately, it appears that resistance is growing to many of the bills from special interest groups that have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, regardless of how damaging it is to those who pay local property taxes. These special interests appear oblivious to the current economic crisis the country is facing.
The only hope that residents of New Jersey have to cut the state’s highest in the nation property taxes is to allow their local officials to cut their budgets, get reasonable concessions from the unions, have significant pension and benefit reform and remove education funding from the backs of local property owners. The people of New Jersey simply cannot afford to subsidize a system that has grown way too big and way too expensive. Many residents, if they are lucky enough to still have a job, have often had to accept a pay cut or a pay freeze, contribute 30% or more to their health care, and fund their own retirement through a 401k or similar plan. It is time for government to be brought in line with the private sector and Governor Christie’s reforms will allow local officials to do just that.
Trenton, NJ – Governor Chris Christie issued the following statement today regardingthe U.S. Department of Education’s approval of $268 million in federal education funds:
“I am pleased that Secretary Duncan has approved New Jersey’s application for funding under the Education Jobs Fund Program. As I have said before, difficult economic times necessitated difficult choices in our budget. The additional resources will be helpful, but this funding must be viewed for what it is – a one-time infusion of cash that will not be available to us the following year. This funding, while welcome, must not change our commitment to careful, prudent budgeting that properly aligns state spending with revenues.”
Posted: September 13th, 2010 | Author:Art Gallagher | Filed under:Chris Christie, Economy, Education | Comments Off on Governor Christie’s Statement Regarding Education Jobs Fund Program
The Star Ledger’sAuditor reports that Governor Chris Christie will not reappoint Luis Valentin as Monmouth County Prosecutor, nor will Christie promote Valentin to Essex County Prosecutor. The Auditor says that Valentin is out in Monmouth because he doesn’t have political chits with Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno or Senator Joe Kyrillos. If Valentin was “Christie’s guy” he would not have left the U.S Attorney’s office to take the Monmouth job in 2005.
Monmouth County Democrats were not happy when then Governor Richard Cody appointed Valentin in July of 2005. Democratic Chairman Vic Scudiery even tried to impose upon Republican Senator Joe Palaia (now retired) to invoke senatorial courtesy to block the appointment in favor of an attorney from the local party faithful.
Similarly, Christie is not likely to appoint prosecutors from the ranks of the Republican party faithful. Rather, Chrisite will restructure the manner in which county prosecutors offices operate and then fill the positions with his own people. Veterans of Christie’s U.S. Attorneys Office will be heavily favored.
Valentin, whose term expired in July, will probably serve as a holdover until December or January. Christie’s first choice for the Monmouth job, a veteran of the U.S. Attorney’s office, is not a member of the NJ bar, according to sources close to the selection process. Current law requires prosecutors to be a member of the NJ bar and to have practiced in NJ courts for at least 5 years. The commission that Christie appointed to recommend changes to the operation of prosecutors offices is due to issue its report by December 15. The commission report will probably recommend changes to the statutory qualifications of prosecutors. Also, the results of the most recent NJ bar exam will be announced in December.
Christie’s successor in the U.S. Attorneys Office, Paul Fishman, announced that public corruption will not be a priority during his tenure. Fishman’s soft stance on corruption makes it all the more important that Christie put his stamp on NJ’s law enforcement apparatus as he works for reform of government on all levels throughout the state.
