WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

Governor-elect Chris Christie and Lt. Governor-elect Kim Guadagno roared through Monmouth County towns last week, from Aberdeen to West Long Branch, steamrollering the Bozo-coiffed, now lame-duck Gov. Jon Corzine in an overwhelming majority of towns. One of our own will be going to Trenton.
We are well aware of what this means locally insofar as the Sheriff's office goes. Kim vacates the office upon taking office as Lt. Governor and Christie must appoint her replacement, who must run for a full term in November.
We also know that Christie will appoint an entire new Cabinet, including a new Attorney General, who the governor-elect has said will be faced with the task of fighting political corruption. This will make John D'Amico's (Flippy) ethics board much less relevant.
Christie will also have the authority to appoint county prosecutors, including a successor to Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin, who's term expires in 2010. Valentin was appointed by then-Governor Dick Codey with input from Christie, but I believe that Christie would be looking to appoint his own person, one that will be more aggressive than Valentin on public corruption. This, too, will make moot a county ethics board, no matter how distinguished its members.
Another important position to open up during Christie's tenure is that of Commissioner of Registration / Superintendent of Elections, currently held by Democrat Hedra Siskel of Marlboro. Her term expires about 2012. This is an important office, as it oversees the actual registration of voters in the county, as well as the investigation and removal of ineligible voters from the roster. With groups like ACORN and its ilk operating in the urban areas of our great county, it is important that the right person is sitting in that office, working to prevent the corruption of voter fraud.
The transition will be an interesting, bracing time for Monmouth County Republicans. But that will continue beyond the transition, into the administration itself.

THE INSPECTOR GENERAL RESURFACES; also A MALLET GAFFE

"...I'm afraid this could turn into a witchhunting tool."
...Freeholder Candidate John P. Curley

It is alive!
Just in time for Halloween, the Democrats on the Board of Freeholders have disinterred the Inspector General. Only this time they're not calling it the Inspector General.
The Asbury Park Press reported last week that the Democrats are proposing an "Ethics Board" to keep County Government in line, following the lead of Union County, which called theirs the "Economic Crime / Inspection Bureau".
The prime proponent of this is, yes, you guessed it, County Commissioner (neé Freeholder) John D'Amico, known affectionately as "Flippy". Citing two incidents involving employees, Flippy stressed the need for an ethics board, stating, "This county can not afford to have another Bid Rig".
Fine. But let's look at the two incidents. One was a case where an employee is alleged to have used a county computer for political purposes, and the other case alleges that an employee was removing one party's lawn signs from roadsides. Hardly rises to the level of Bid Rig, Flippy. Really. The county has a disciplinary code for such matters. I am sure that the two employees were disciplined or will be. Maybe even fired. I don't see what more Flippy wants, unless maybe the real issue here is that the employees dissed the Democrats? (This blog is not privy to any specific information in these cases.)
Looks like just another case of the Democrats trying to expand government.

County Commissioner (neé Freeholder) Amy Mallet, known affectionately as "Hammerhead", must really enjoy the taste of her own feet, because this past summer she stuck her foot in her mouth, calf deep. On the TV show Monmouth in Focus, a very chipper Mallet, speaking about the Monmouth County Fair, notes the "rides for the fat children".
I don't know what it is about the Democrats. Bad enough that the Bozo-coiffed Governor Jon Corzine used Republican candidate Chris Christie's weight as a campaign issue, but did Mallet really have to take a shot at the children? Really.
Just in case the county takes down the link, here's the text of what Mallet said on the video.
"You look around, first of all, the sun is shining, it's a beautiful day here, but rain or shine it's a great place to be, and it's a great place to be able to celebrate our county and all that it has to offer. And we've got folks here with crafts, 4-H; we've got rides for the fat children, for families; we've got something here for everyone. So I say everybody should just come out and enjoy the fair."
We've previously referred to Mallet as "Biden with boobs". Hey, if the shoe fits...

ASBURY PARK PRESS ENDORSES CHRISTIE (And Other Random Stuff)

"Pulling the lever for (Chris Daggett) as a protest vote will only ensure four more years of Corzine and his Democratic administration. That must be avoided at all costs."

"...Christie is the only hope for change." Asbury Park Press editorial, Sunday, October 25, 2009.



Today's Press carries the editorial endorsement of Chris Christie for governor. It outlines the Bozo-coiffed Gov. Jon Corzine's many failures and foibles, as well as cautioning voters not to turn down the primrose path of Chris Daggett, which will only lead to the poison ivy of more Corzine.

The editorial also has some criticism of the Christie campaign and how it was run, however they make no bones about the fact that Christie is the best choice for the job. Still, we believe the Christie campaign is light years better run and more aggressive than that of the mild Doug Forrester, who blamed President George W. Bush for his defeat.


This editorial is informative, well-written and analytical, although Corzine may disagree. However, it would seem that the Press has more than one individual writing their editorials. Their gushing endorsement of Democrat Sean Byrnes for freeholer last Sunday would seem to have been written by cub reporter Bob Jordan or Mike Mangan more than any impartial editor. They claim that "Byrnes does not appear to be beholden to his party's political bosses", but the very fact that he is the Democratic nominee would put the lie to that claim.

Last December the Democrats were criticized for going to out of county political bosses to try to fill appointed county jobs. County Commissioner (neé Freeholder) John D'Amico, Jr., a/k/a "Flippy", was a prime mover and shaker on that fiasco. If not for his fellow Democrat, Director Barbara McMorrow reaching across the aisle and siding with Republicans on certain issues, things would have been a lot worse. And who could forget the dalliance with Gloucester County initiated by County Commissioner (neé Freeholder) Amy Mallet, a/k/a "Hammerhead". Gloucester County is led by none other than the double-dipping Democratic-State Senate Majority Leader-3rd District Senator-Freeholder Director-Ironworker Union Boss-Stephen Sweeney-Billygoat-Legs.

If Byrnes wins, Flippy will be the Director of the Board, and would provide a third reliable vote for D'Amico and his cronies. This must not happen.

THE DAGGETT FACTOR

This year's gubernatorial race looks to have become a three man race, featuring the Bozo-coiffed incumbent governor Jon S. Corzine, our GOP standardbearer Chris Christie and Independent candidate Christopher J. Daggett.
But is it a three man race?
In fact, there are no fewer than twelve gubernatorial candidates this fall. The other nine are Jason Cullen, Libertarian Kenneth Kaplan, perennial candidate Joshua Leinsdorf, Alvin Lindsay, Jr., David R. Meiswinkle, Socialist candidate Greg Pason, Kostas Petris, Gary T. Steele and Gary Stein. In addition, there are at least three declared write-in candidates, including "Uncle" Floyd Vivino.
Sooooooo, why all the attention on Daggett?
Having kicked back here at The Blog Cabin and watched last week's gubernatorial debate and seeing him in action, as well as hearing what the pundits and pundints have been saying since, it's obvious. Chris Christie has consistently run ahead of Corzine in the polls. Corzine has had little traction, but he can count on a solid base of support among minorities, public employee unions, academia and other liberal constituency groups who would elect a Cow Chip as long as it were running as a Democrat. This base, however, does not put Corzine over the finish line.
Corzine must either (1), win over Christie supporters or (2), divide the anti-Corzine vote among other candidates besides Christie. Remember that he need not get 50% + 1 to win, he just needs to have the most votes. If he can do that with 40% or even 35%, if that's more than Christie gets, Corzine's got four more years.
Since it is unlikely that Corzine will win over many Christie supporters he must divide the opposition and conquer the state. Now, we're not saying that Daggett entered the race at Corzine's behest, indeed it would seem that his Republican credentials are solid. He was involved in the gubernatorial campaigns of both Raymond H. Bateman and Tom Kean, Sr., as well as the presidential campaign of George H. W. Bush. He worked as a regional administrator of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Reagan Administration, and worked as DEP Commissioner under Gov. Kean.
Still, his campaign, while appearing to stay "above the fray" as a populist reformer, is essentially that of a liberal Democrat. Pro-choice and pro gay marriage, Daggett proposes to offset property taxes by "expanding" the sales tax to items now exempt. Now, that sounds good on the surface, but both Corzine and fellow Democrat Jim Florio already did that. (remember the Toilet Paper Tax?) And the State Income Tax, instituted by Democratic Governor Brendan Byrne, was supposed to offset, you guessed it, property taxes! If it ever did it doesn't now, we now have the highest property taxes in the nation and among the highest income tax rates to boot. So expanding the sales tax is a non-starter.
As a former DEP Commissioner, Daggett comes from (he ran it!) the very regulatory apparatus that has helped slow down New Jersey's business climate. No business, no jobs.
Daggett is the darling of the media. After the debate, many mainstream media pundits were singing the praises of Daggett, while continuing to call Christie "vague" even when he is specific on issues.
While one would hope that most if not all readers of this blog would support Christie, we must reiterate that whatever his personal reasons for running may be, Daggett has become a stalking horse for Corzine. Knowing that Daggett will not pull off a "Jesse Ventura" and win on an independent candidacy, we must be concerned that he will pull off a "Ross Perot" and act as a spoiler, ensuring the reelection of Corzine.
We must prevent the reelection of Corzine, not only for the sake of having a Republican governor, but also for the sake of stopping the Democratic überbosses like George Norcross and others from increasing their already immense power.
New Jersey depends on it.

CONSOLIDATION OR CENTRALIZATION II

Sen. Sean Kean has written an article on the Bozo-coiffed Gov. Corzine and Education Commissioner Davy's attempt to centralize power. Click here!

CONSOLIDATION OR CENTRALIZATION?

Various forms of municipal consolidation have been proposed by both parties for New Jersey as cost saving measures. These range from shared services between existing municipalities and school districts to the actual merging of small towns into large ones.
Back in May, DynamoBuzz ran a post which explored the issue in-depth. Roberto points out, "And if big means more efficient, explain why New Jersey’s biggest cities (Newark, Paterson, Jersey City, Elizabeth) spend twice as much on schooling, emergency services and government as smaller towns, many of which have volunteer fireman and low paid town officials?" A very valid point.
This past week, the Bozo-coiffed Governor Jon Corzine weighed in, opining that mergers would help eliminate corruption. A report on NJ 101.5's website states:

"Mr. Corzine said the primary source of corruption in New Jersey is too many layers of government, often referred to as "home rule." He said the best way to remove the possibilities for bribery and bid-rigging is for municipalities to consolidate and share services."

I fail to see the connection. The source of corruption is greedy people and lax or absent enforcement of the law. It doesn't matter whether a municipality is large or small. Indeed, would the merger of Jersey City and Hoboken have prevented anything? Would Sharpe James have been more honest if only Newark were larger, say if it absorbed East Orange, Irvington and Nutley? Probably not.
As to cost savings, the problem is property taxes, not the size of municipalities. Until property taxes are no longer the basis for municipal finance and especially school funding, New Jerseyans will continue to pay more. While the regionalization of school districts (and the elimination of overlapping "sending districts") is in many cases warranted, consolidation of municipalities could potentially be nothing more than a power grab by political bosses.
The Founding Fathers wanted to decentralize government as much as possible to avoid a repetition of the tyrrany they had fought. It is why they improved on the English model and went with three branches of government, with a bicameral Congress, all to diffuse the power of government and those running it. That is why we have states instead of one central government. It is why, on the state level, government was again diffused among the state, counties and municipalities. Each level originally had its functions and jurisdiction, and the system was set up to make the consolidation of power as difficult as possible.
Is there room for improvement here in New Jersey? There sure is. But the public should not fall for the panacea of "merge the towns and everything will be OK". While consolidation may be appropriate in certain cases, it is not a cure-all. Do not fall for the snake oil salesmen who would tell you that it is.
What is needed in New Jersey is to continue imprisoning corrupt politicians, and serious reform of our repressive property tax system.
Now that will bring savings.

COZY WITH THE UNIONS

D'ya really wanna go there, Flippy?
County Commissioner (neé Freeholder) John D'Amico, Jr. has accused Sheriff Kim Guadagno, candidate for Lt. Governor, of being too cozy with the unions.
The Honest Abe Research Foundation took a look at Sean Byrnes (Lil' Flippy), Democratic candidate for County Commissioner (neé Freeholder), who D'Amico backs, to find out how cozy he is.
So far, his only major contribution is:

$2,600.00 from the Local Union 400 PAC Fund, received on May 29th, 2009. This was filed as a 48 hour filing, received at ELEC by fax on June 9th. May 29th to June 9th. I guess in a party where up is down and down is up and wheeling isn't wheeling, 48 hours (2 days for us) can stretch out to nearly 2 weeks. Amazing.

NOTE: The Honest Abe Research Foundation will continue looking into Sean Byrnes. We told you it's not going away, Lil Flippy. See?