Don’t Count On GOP Legislators Voting To Override Christie’s Port Authority Reform Veto
By Art Gallagher
In his OpEd published this morning, former Kean and Whitman Administration spokesman Carl Golden makes the case why it is safe for New Jersey’s Republican legislators to defy Governor Chris Christie and join the Democratic majority in overriding Christie’s of the Port Authority reform legislation.
The two identical bills that Governors Christie and Cuomo vetoed on the Saturday between Christmas and New Years Day had passed overwhelmingly with bi-partisan support in both houses of the New Jersey and New York legislatures. The bills would have required increased transparency and accountability on the part of Port Authority of NY/NJ.
In vetoing the bills, Christie and Cuomo endorsed reforms proposed by a panel they had appointed and urged both legislatures to adopt them instead. But as Golden noted in his OpEd, the vetoes have been widely viewed as maintaining the status quo of disfunctionality, wasteful spending and gubernatorial abuse at Port Authority.
In his five years in office, none of Christie’s vetoes have been overridden, even if the original bills passed the legislature with bi-partisan support and by veto proof majorities. Republican legislators have frequently “flip-flopped” and changed their votes to uphold the Governor’s will. As Golden explains,
Posted: January 20th, 2015 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Mike Doherty, Monmouth County, NJ GOP, Opinion, Port Authority | Tags: Art Gallagher, Carl Golden, Chris Christie, Port Authority of NY/NJ, Senator Michael Doherty, Senator Mike Doherty, Veto override | 3 Comments »NJ Senator Mike Doherty Pulls A Pelosi
Sponsors a critical bill before he reads it
Legislature in poised to pass a “cap” that doesn’t control costs
State Senator Mike Doherty (R-Warren) told MMM that he hadn’t read a bill of which is he is a primary sponsor, the day after it cleared the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee.
We’re not talking about an insignificant bill like designating “I’m from New Jersey” as the State Song, or the establishment of special license plates for honorably discharged veterans, two other bills that Doherty sponsored.
We’re talking about the extension of the 2% cap on arbitration awards for police and firefighters unions, the provision of the 2010 reform legislation that slowed the growth in New Jersey’s property taxes and made the 2% cap on those taxes work.
Doherty joined Senate President Sweeney in sponsoring legislation that exempts contracts that have already been subject to the cap from being subject to it again when they are up for renewal and raises the cap to 3% on contracts that have not yet been subject to renegotiation.
Doherty said, “I don’t see what the big deal is, the original bill had one bite at the apple, this bill extends that. Is it a perfect bill? No, but this is the way Trenton works. A bill that passes is better than no bill.”
Not really, Senator. A bill that passes the same as no bill, except it deceives the public into thinking the legislature is continuing fiscal reforms when they are actually engineering massive chaos in municipal governments.
Doherty said he hadn’t read the bill when we questioned him on specifics. He said he was relying on analysis of the bill from Republican legislative staffers and referred questions to Republican Senators Steven Oroho and Sam Thompson, members of the committee that unanimously cleared the bill.
The leadership of the police and firefighters unions not only read the bill, they helped write it, according to what they are telling their members.
Posted: March 27th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: NJ State Legislature, Property Tax Tool Kit, Property Taxes | Tags: Interest Arbitration Cap, Nancy Pelosi, NJ State Legislature, Property Tax Tool Kit, Property Taxes, Seante President Steve Sweeney, Senator Mike Doherty | 1 Comment »Property taxes: Christie won’t sign Democrat bill to extend key law, Republican lawmaker says
TRENTON — A fight over renewing a law crucial to holding back an increase in property taxes is nowhere near resolved, a Republican lawmaker who has led the fight for retaining it said today. Although the Democrat-led Legislature last week began advancing…
Christie Drops Appeal To Gay Marriage Decision
Same Sex Nuptials Are Now Certain To Remain Legal in New Jersey
Given the State Supreme Court’s signal that the Christie administration would not prevail in its appeal of Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson’s decision compelling the State to grant same sex couples the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples, Governor Chris Christie withdrew his appeal today, the first day that gay couples can wed in New Jersey under Jacobson’s order and the Supreme Court’s refusal to stay that order.
“Although the governor strongly disagrees with the court substituting its judgment for the constitutional process of the elected branches or a vote of the people, the court has now spoken clearly as to their view of the New Jersey constitution and, therefore, same-sex marriage is the law,” said Colin Reed, a spokesman for Christie. “The governor will do his constitutional duty and ensure his administration enforces the law as dictated by the New Jersey Supreme Court.”
State Senator Mike Doherty issued a statement condemning Christie for caving to the activist judiciary.
Posted: October 21st, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Gay Marriage, Marriage Equality, Marriage Equality and Religious Exemptions Act | Tags: Barbara Buono, Chris Chrisite, Gay Marriage, Marriage Equality, Marriage Equality and Religious Exemptions Act, Same Sex Marriage, Senator Mike Doherty | 6 Comments »There’s no such thing as a free beach
Sweeney wants to pay for beach safety and maintenance by getting rid of cops and dpw workers
MMM has called Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) three times since he jumped on board with the Senator Mike Doherty (R-Warren) in sponsoring legislation that would ban shoreline municipalites from selling beach badges or imposing other user fees to pay for lifeguards, beach cleanup and policing, if those towns accept federal and state money to rebuild from the destruction of Hurricane Sandy. He hasn’t called back. Steve Sweeney is a kitten. Kitten, kitten, kitten!
Given that he won’t talk to us, we’ll have to judge Sweeney’s crusade for free sand in his ass by what others report he says. The Senate President invited himself to a meeting with the Asbury Park Press Editorial Board earlier this week to make his case for free beaches.
“You don’t charge me to breathe air, why are you charging me to sit on a beach?”
We should be grateful that the top elected Democrat in New Jersey hasn’t figured out how to tax breathing (yet). But really now, our Senate President thinks breathing air (as opposed to grapefruit juice?) is analogous to sitting on a beach? That is something we should be concerned about, especially since this guy is considering a run for governor.
Sweeney told the APP that Belmar and the other shore communities that impose beach user fees should cover those costs by consolidating police forces and departments of public works. He said he would “beat up mayors down the shore” to make it happen “because its not acceptable, you know, to charge beach fees.”
Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty took Sweeney’s first beating:
“I asked (Doherty), how many people live year-round in his town,” Sweeney said. “He’s got a one-square mile town, he’s got 5,800 people. Now, could we run a shared police department? I met his public works director today, could we run a shared public works office?”
“You guys know how I feel about shared services,” Sweeney told the APP. We don’t know if the APP knows how he feels, but MMM thinks Sweeney is thwarting shared services and other methods that municipalities could use to reduce the size and cost of local government. If Sweeney was serious about property tax reduction and more efficient local government he would have passed Governor Christie’s property tax tool kit.
Posted: December 21st, 2012 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Beach Access, Belmar, Government Waste, Hurricane Sandy, Jersey Shore, Matt Doherty, Mike Doherty, NJ State Legislature, Property Tax Tool Kit, Property Taxes, Reform Agenda, Stephen Sweeney, Superstorm Sandy, Taxes | Tags: Asbury Park Press, Beach Access, Beach fees, Belmar, Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty, Jersey Shore, John Pedersen, Matt Doherty, Myrtle Beach, Senate President Steve Sweeney, Senator Mike Doherty, Steve "The Kitten Sweeney", Steve Sweeney | 6 Comments »If Christie’s the new darling of the far right, where does that leave Steve Lonegan?
Should we care?
That’s the question that Bergen Record Columnist Charles Stile asks this morning at NorthJersey.com.
Stile is wondering how Lonegan is reacting to American For Prosperity benefactor David Koch’s declaration that Governor Christie is “my kind of guy” at the super secret corporate donors meeting in Colorado last June. That was the meeting where Christie told the tale of how he saved Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver’s position by lining up Assembly Republicans to vote for her had the Democrats staged a coup to prevent the pension and benefits reform bill from being posted.
Strangely, Lonegan who is never shy with the press, rebuffed Stile’s inquiry four times in two weeks.
Stile probably hasn’t noticed that Lonegan’s rare pontifications about Christie have been positive since April of this year. That is when Christie prevailed upon Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips to get Lonegan to tone his rhetoric down, as reported at the time by the now defunct TheStateNJ.com.
Lonegan’s focus has been on co-opting and controlling New Jersey’s Tea Party movement and attempting to destroy Tea Parties he can’t control, if The Bulldog Pundit, Gene Hoyas’ body of work over this summer is accurate.
Hoyas has been white knighting for the Bay Shore Tea Party Group which has suffered ad hominem attacks from conservative websites that Hoyas says are Lonegan mouthpieces. Hoyas’ smoking gun that Lonegan, and Senator Mike Doherty, are behind the attacks is that they haven’t publically called for the conservatives sites to stop picking on the BTPG.
All of this nonsense, from Stile’s piece this morning, to Hoyas and other purists fighting all summer, to Lonegan trying to control Tea Parties, if he is, are gifts to the Democrats who are on track to keep control of the legislature in Trenton.
Stile could have written about the current and ongoing rifts within the Democratic party, rather than suggesting to his readers that Christie is more “far right” than Lonegan. Instead he attempted to tweak Lonegan into reigniting a battle that he surrendered months ago. We should expect that from Stiles as a center-left opinion leader.
But Hoyas and other conservatives fighting with each other, as well as the ongoing ideological Inquisition of RINO hunters is nothing more than a circular firing squad.
Now that they have wasted the summer, it is time for all the ideological purists to stop fighting over which angel does a better dance on the head of a pin and get to work electing candidates who are right and center-right.
Posted: September 18th, 2011 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Bayshore Tea Party Group, Chris Christie, NJ Media, Steve Lonegan | Tags: Bayshore Tea Party Group, Charles Stile, Chris Christie, David Koch, Gene Hoyas, Senator Mike Doherty, Sheila Oliver, Steve Lonegan | 12 Comments »ICYMI: The LaRossa And Gallagher: Real Jersey Guys Radio Show
By Art Gallagher
In case you missed it, here is a recording of this afternoon’s edition of The LaRossa and Gallagher: Real Jersey Guys On The Radio Show:
Senator Mike Doherty was our guest for the first half hour of the show. Doherty spoke about his proposed legislation to equalize education funding throughout the state and was non-committal about running for U.S. Senate next year.
During the second half hour we had a call from “Mark from Anna Little’s district” who called into to say that he had information that many people were calling their congressmen in support of President Obama’s plan (whatever that is) for the debt ceiling. Mark said another report said calls were coming into Washington in favor of Speaker Boehner’s plan. Mark’s point was to ask listeners to call their congressman to support reduced government spending.
The last twenty minutes of the show are Dick LaRossa and I speaking about the debt ceiling. Here’s what a commenter said about that portion of the show:
Art, I didn’t catch all of the show. When I was able to turn in, some guy was rambling on incoherently about Social Security bonds and some 1983 law. (Who was he?) I am a big fan, Art, but you should have cut him off rather than let him ramble on like that. I bet he put half your audience to sleep reading that non-sense for what seemed like minutes on end.
That guy was my partner, Dick LaRossa. Dick was passionate that there will be no Social Security crisis if the government defaults. He was railing against Obama and the Democrats scare tactics regarding the debt ceiling. I have to go back and listen to the end of the show myself to be sure I understand what he was talking about!
I hope you enjoy the show and that you will tune in next Tuesday from 5PM-6PM at WIFI AM 1460 or on the Internet at WIFI1460AM.com.
The show is sponsored by Repatriot Radio.
Posted: July 26th, 2011 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: LaRossa and Gallagher | Tags: LaRossa and Gallagher: The Real Jersey Guys, Senator Mike Doherty | 5 Comments »Sen. Doherty Launches Online Petition to Stop Invasive TSA Screening
Sign the Petition at http://doherty.senatenj.com/stopthetsa
New Jersey Senator Mike Doherty (R-23) has launched an online petition to support his efforts to put an end to invasive airport screening practices that have been implemented by the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Doherty is the prime sponsor of a pair of Senate resolutions that urge Congress and the TSA to end the use of enhanced pat downs and advanced imaging scanners that allow TSA agents to see through travelers’ clothing.
“Travelers shouldn’t have to submit to potentially dangerous scans that allow strangers to view them naked, nor should they have to submit to invasive groping by government agents, just to get on a plane,” said Doherty. “Despite the massive public outcry against these invasive screening procedures, it’s seems that politicians and bureaucrats in Washington still don’t get it. That’s why we’ve launched our petition, to make sure that Americans concerned about losing their rights have an opportunity to be heard.”
Doherty’s petition to stop invasive TSA screening is located at http://doherty.senatenj.com/stopthetsa. The petition page includes video that provides information about the movement as well as features to easily comment on and share the petition on social media websites, including Facebook and Twitter.
“Together, we can send a message to Washington that enough is enough. We can tell the federal government that Americans want common-sense airport security that respects our constitutional rights,” added Doherty. “Filling out the petition takes only a few seconds, so head over now and make sure your voice is heard.”
Posted: November 18th, 2010 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: TSA | Tags: Senator Mike Doherty, TSA | 1 Comment »