Menendez on Corzine’s role in MF Global: See no evil. Hear no evil

Watch the Senate Banking Committee Hearing on MF Global Collapse. 

Middletown, May 2…The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing last week to investigate the collapse of MF Global Holdings, a major financial commodities brokerage firm. 

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Kyrillos: “Cherry Hill Teacher Bullies Show Need for Tenure Reform”

Middletown— State Senator Joe Kyrillos (R- Monmouth), prime sponsor of the “School Children First Act” which reforms New Jersey’s tenure system for educators, issued the following statement regarding reports that several Cherry Hill elementary school teachers and aides were recorded bullying a student with autism:

While at least one teacher’s aide was dismissed by school officials, the father of this student alleges, and news accounts confirm, that other teachers and aides involved were simply reassigned.

Nobody directly involved with the abuse of Akian Chaifetz, or who witnessed the abuse without reporting it, should be employed in a classroom. We need to reform protections to ensure that these individuals can be swiftly terminated, rather than just shuffled around.

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SENATE AND ASSEMBLY REPUBLICAN LEADERS ENDORSE JOE KYRILLOS FOR U.S. SENATE

“New Jersey needs Joe Kyrillos in the U.S. Senate”

Morris, Somerset and Union Counties  – March 2…  Today, Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean and Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick endorsed Senator Joe Kyrillos for United States Senate. 

Senate Leader Tom Kean said, “Joe Kyrillos has been a reliable conservative warrior on behalf of New Jersey taxpayers throughout his entire career.  Joe has been a leader in the Senate and a valuable ally as we change business as usual in Trenton. I consider Joe and his wife Susan to be among my closest friends and as the people across New Jersey get to know Joe throughout this campaign, they will come to realize just as I have, that Joe is just the reformer we need to send to Washington, DC to change business as usual in our nation’s capital.” 

Assembly Leader Jon Bramnick said, “Joe Kyrillos has been an incredible ally in our effort to fix New Jersey’s fiscal mess and I am proud to endorse him today.  Not only has he been an ally, but he’s also been a leader – he led the charge for us in the Senate as we fought together for Governor Christie’s ‘Tool Kit’ initiative to reform government and cap our property taxes.   He has played a vital role in the reforms we have been able to pass to get the New Jersey comeback started.  When you compare Joe’s record of accomplishment to Bob Menendez’s failed record, it becomes crystal clear – New Jersey needs Joe Kyrillos in the U.S. Senate.”

Senator Joe Kyrillos said, “I am proud and humbled to have the endorsement of two of New Jersey’s leaders and most accomplished legislators.  Today’s endorsement of my campaign by my friends Senator Kean and Assemblyman Bramnick demonstrates that our message of reform is resonating across this great state.  Our representatives in Washington are failing us.  They offer us nothing new or different—just more of the same: More spending, more debt, more job-killing regulation.  I am running on my record of reform and I know that together, we can prove again what a free and enterprising people are capable of.  We can renew America’s promise of opportunity, and make New Jersey proud.  I don’t take this responsibility lightly, and I won’t let you down.”

Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos, Jr., 51, is married to Susan Doctorian Kyrillos and they live in Middletown with their children Max and Georgia. He began serving New Jersey’s 13th Legislative District in 1988 when he was elected to the General Assembly. After spending two terms in the Assembly he was elected to the Senate where he has served since 1993.  In addition to his official duties, the Senator is employed as Senior Managing Director of Colliers International, the commercial real estate services firm with offices in New York and Parsippany. He is also an advisor to the Newport Capital Group in Red Bank, NJ.

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Kyrillos Tours Cop2Cop Call Center

Piscataway— Following a tour of New Jersey’s Cop2Cop crisis intervention program call center in Piscataway, Senator Joe Kyrillos (R- Monmouth) applauded the University of Medicine and Dentistry (UMDNJ) for providing professional, life saving crisis intervention services to New Jersey’s law enforcement officers:

“Cop2Cop, like its sister services Vet2Vet, Vets2Warriors, and Mom2Mom, fill a critical need for police officers dealing with significant psychological and emotional trauma as a result of their service to our state and communities,” said Kyrillos, who was the original prime sponsor of the legislation which established the program. “UMDNJ has done a fantastic job of running and promoting what was at its conception a truly innovative idea. This program is now a model for the nation that has helped to avert 187 suicides since its inception.”

Kyrillos toured the Piscataway facility with Cherie Castellano, Director of the Cop2Cop program and was introduced to many of counselors who respond to calls from those seeking help from the program.

Cop2Cop is an award winning, nationally recognized, first-of-its-kind program that utilizes former police officers to provide counseling and suicide prevention services to officers in crisis who call the hotline. It has three sister services that operate using a similar peer counseling model: Vet2Vet, aimed at veterans returning from active duty, Vets2Warriors, a new service modeled after Vet2Vet serving veterans nationwide, and Mom2Mom, providing crisis intervention services to parents of autistic children.

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Kryillos Will Make Senate Bid Official Today

The dean of the Monmouth County legislative delegation is running for United States Senate.

MMM has confirmed that State Senator Joe Kyrillos has completed his exploratory activity and will announce his candidacy to replace Robert Menendez in the United States Senate today.

Kyrillos has represented northern Monmouth County in the state legislature for over two decades.  The close friend and advisor of Governor Chris Christie is also a former NJ GOP State Chairman.  He chaired Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in New Jersey in 2008 and was Christie’s campaign chairman in 2009.

Kyrillos established an U.S. Senate Exploratory Comittee last June to evaluate the viability of a potential campaign to unseat Menendez in a presidential election year.  His announcement today is an indication not only that he and his senior supporters see a path to victory, but that the highest levels of the NJ GOP believe that New Jersey’s 14 electoral votes are in play during the presidential election.

New Jersey has not elected a Republican U.S. Senator in 40 years and has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since George H.W. Bush in 1988.

Republican pollster Adam Geller, who has consulted with the Kyrillos Exploratory Committee says Menedez is vulnerable.  Despite out polling Kyrillos, former Highlands Mayor Anna Little and a generic Republican, only 43% of New Jersey voters support the incumbent Senator.  “That is Jon Corzine territory,” Geller said in a memo to the Kyrillos committee last week.

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Kyrillos “Grow New Jersey” Legislation Gets Senate Approval

Bill Extends Tax Credits to Companies that Create Jobs, Invest in New Jersey

Trenton–  Legislation sponsored by Senator Joe Kyrillos (R- Monmouth/Middlesex) seeking to create jobs and business investment in New Jersey has received full Senate approval. The Grow New Jersey Assistance Program established by S-3033 provides tax credits to businesses that invest at least $20 million in New Jersey and retain or create at least 100 jobs.

Kyrillos lauded the bill as an incentive for firms to relocate or expand operations in the state.  “This legislation will help businesses put people back to work by reducing the tax burden of those that make a commitment to New Jersey,” he said.  “Businesses that make a substantial investment of jobs and capital in New Jersey will receive a tax break from state government. This is exactly the kind of incentive program we need to bring New Jersey’s economy back.”

Businesses that qualify will receive a $5000 credit against its tax liability for each job created or retained in state under the program for up to 10 years. Senator Kyrillos joins Senator Ray Lesniak (D- Union) as co-prime sponsor of the measure.

The measure now heads to the Governor.

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Kyrillos: “Another Day, Another $1 Million In Taxpayer-Funded Boat Checks Down the Drain”

Trenton— Outraged at news that Lower Township will pay out nearly $1 million in terminal leave payments to its employees for unused sick and vacation time, Senator Joe Kyrillos (R- Monmouth/Middlesex), sponsor of legislation to end sick leave payments for public employees, called for terminal leave reform to be completed before the end of the current legislative session.

“Lower Township’s taxpayers are being forced to pay for a needless, wasteful, and unjustifiable benefit that is enjoyed in virtually no other work environment,” said Kyrillos. “While we can negotiate and compromise over the details of a final bill to fix this problem, there should be no debate about the fundamental idea that any future sick leave earned by an employee should not carry cash value. Abandoning the idea that sick leave is for when an employee is sick rather than deferred compensation would be a slap in the face to taxpayers.”

The Press of Atlantic City reports that the Lower Township Council made an emergency appropriation of $900, 000 to fund terminal leave payments for employees this year, including three employees receiving checks in excess of $100, 000. Terminal leave payments are responsible for several cents on the municipal tax rate.

“We cannot allow this to go on any longer,” said Kyrillos. “There is simply no good reason to assign cash value to sick leave that is not used by an employee. Taxpayers are being gouged for no reason other than inaction in Trenton.”

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Sen. Kyrillos Participates In Roundtable Discussion on Education Reform

Middletown— Senator Joe Kyrillos (R- Monmouth/Middlesex) this weekend reiterated his call for the Legislature to enact reforms to New Jersey’s public education system in the closing weeks of the 2010-2011 legislative session at a roundtable discussion on principal and teacher evaluations at Princeton University.

“New Jersey is a national leader in student achievement,” said Kyrillos, “yet too many students still move through the system without receiving the quality education to which they are entitled. Reforming our public education system will not just make the good schools better, it will help children trapped in failing school districts obtain the education they need to build better lives and futures.”

Senator Kyrillos provided opening remarks to the forum, “Leading the Charge”, hosted by education reform advocates Better Education for Kids, Students First, and Princeton Students for Education Reform. They day’s panel discussions included public school teachers and administrators, representatives of the Department of Education, as well as leaders from the American Federation of Teachers and New Jersey Education Association.

Kyrillos said he is proud to sponsor two bills that are part of Governor Christie’s education reform agenda, the Opportunity Scholarship Act and the School Children First Act. “Quality education starts with an effective teacher in every classroom. That is why it is so important that we modernize teacher evaluations, tenure protections, and pay structure to value student achievement over seniority. In addition, children in chronically failing districts need options to improve the instruction they’re receiving immediately. The Opportunity Scholarship Act will provide these students an opportunity to enter a high quality school setting in the short term while we work to fix the systemic problems that are all too common in certain districts in New Jersey.”

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KYRILLOS STATEMENT ON SECOND JERSEY CITY SICK LEAVE BOND IN A YEAR

State Senator Joe Kyrillos (R- Monmouth/Middlesex) responded to reports that Jersey City will borrow to pay for more than $9 million in accumulated personal time and sick time this year by calling again for an immediate vote to end unused sick leave payouts for public employees:”Today, we saw the clearest example yet of how the Democratic Majority’s refusal to enact meaningful sick leave reform is costing the taxpayers of New Jersey. Jersey City is being forced to pay $9 million in unused leave benefits, rather than controlling taxes and improving services is bad enough. Sick leave is not deferred compensation. It is not a retirement plan or a bonus- it is intended to be used as time off when an employee is sick. The Majority needs to recognize that we must end, not just cap, these payments and post the Governor’s conditional veto immediately.”

The amended version of, S-2220, which would change the retirees unused sick leave statute is now pending before the State Senate.

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Suddenly Somebody Cares About LD 13

New Jersey Democrats are suddenly taking an interest in the 13th legislative district according to a normally reliable source familiar with the state wide campaign.

Word is that U.S. Senator Bob Menendezis feeling a bit vulnerable with his weak showing in the FDU poll  released this morning and with the possibility that Governor Chris Christie could be the Presidential candidate next year when  needs Obama coattails to get reelected.  He wants the Monmouth Democrats to rough up Senator Joe Kyrillos and make him spend some money.

Assembly Majority Leader Joe Cryan want to take a run at Declan O’Scanlon, if not to beat him this time, to at least weaken him for a future contest against Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornick.  Cryan will be in the district raising money twice in the next two weeks.

Unless I’ve been fed misinformation, which usually doesn’t start until the last two weeks of the campaign, expect 2 or 3 negative mailers on behalf of the 13th district Democrats.

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