Friday Feb. 26, 1999

Open Senate Seat is New Jersey Political Identity Crisis

Senate President Don DiFrancesco, R-Scotch Plains, quipped recently that New Jersey Republicans have conventions to select their candidates for local office.

"Democrats," he said, "chose their candidates in back rooms."

The remark was a harmless little barb from the notoriously nice DiFrancesco who knows it
isn't accurate. When Senator Frank Lautenberg recently announced his retirement, there was a
huge rush to closest back rooms available by power brokers in both parties.

At first glance, the battle for the open Senate seat looks like a war of egos among people, mostly men, who will do practically anything for a bigger piece of the limelight. But there is more on the line in the the 2000 Senate race than one's politician's potential blaze of glory over the agony of another's defeat.

Both of New Jersey's political parties are currently in a kind of identity crisis. The Republicans must demonstrate they are different from their GOP colleagues in Washington who impeached the president. And the Democrats are being called on to stand by their new image as Clinton moderates while former governor Jim Florio is the leading contender for the Senate nomination. In New Jersey Florio symbolizes what many people don't like about Democrats in the same way that Newt Gingrich represents what lots of folks don't like in Republicans.

Both parties are also dealing with the increasing cynicism of voters. Polls show that only a third of New Jerseyans can name either one of the current U.S. Senators.

Pragmatic politicians see the public's revulsion at all things political as a threat that is bigger than a mere abdication of civic duty. If enough people are turned off to politics their negativism might start affecting the gravy train of financial spoils that keep the political games in New Jersey moving.

The choices are tougher on the Democratic side. Former governor Jim Florio has been out of office since 1993 and, according to him, he's been thinking the entire time. The governor who used to be a boxer has recast himself as a kind of "Jersey Jesse Ventura," a politician who is not beholden to anybody because he already has enough name recognition to win a Democratic primary.

Party boss, Robert Janiszewski, the Hudson County Executive, told me diplomatically last week that Florio was defiantly part of the history of the New Jersey Democrats, but he was not sure if the former governor represents the future. Jersey Democrats are just beginning to overcome the legacy of defeat they inherited from Florio and his $2.8 billion dollar tax increase and they are absolutely determined not to saddle themselves with his image again.

Janiszewski says that Rep. Robert Menendez, D-Hudson, represents the Democrats' future, but some Democrats think Menendez is too liberal, too urban and too "north Jersey." Rep. Frank Pallone, D-Ocean, is seen as a more moderate and more suburban choice.

Former State Democratic Chairman Tom Byrne is also in the race and says the decision is "old versus new" but New Jersey Democrats have begun to see it as "us versus Florio" and they don't like it. They've already got the albatross of Bill Clinton. They don't need Florio too.

Republicans are having an easier time because they only have to wait for Gov. Christie Whitman to make up her mind. Whitman's Senate candidacy would send a strong message of socially moderate Republicanism, which is why New Jersey's Conservative Party has pledged to put somebody in the race against her if she runs. Ironically, Whitman is less liberal than State Sen.

Bill Gormley, R-Mays Landing or Essex County Executive James Treffinger, who want the GOP
Senate nomination too, but the Conservatives don't hate them as much as they hate her. Another irony is that some Republicans worry that Gormley is too "south Jersey" in the same way that Democrats worry that Menendez is too "north Jersey."

Geography always matters in the battle for the heart and soul of New Jersey's political parties.

But the biggest irony in all the machinations regarding the identity crisis in the Senate race is that, in the end, neither the Democrats or the Republicans care all that much about who is ultimately elected. Their foremost interest is making sure that the 2000 campaign doesn't hurt their chances in 2001 when the governor's office is open again.

Don't look for them to come out of the back rooms any time soon.

Sat., Feb. 27, 1999

SUPREMELY PETER: Verniero tapped for high court

Gov. Whitman announced yesterday that she will nominate Peter Verniero, the state attorney general whose arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court won back Ellis Island for New Jersey, to the latest vacancy on the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Verniero also spearheaded the successful resolution of the 28-year court battle between the state Department of Education and the state's poorest school districts.

Whitman said Verniero was her "first choice" for the top court.

"His sharp and insightful mind, his dedication to the people of New Jersey, his remarkable work ethic and rock-solid integrity are evident to anyone who has worked with him," said Whitman.

Whitman also announced that she would promote her chief counsel, John Farmer, to Verniero's job in the Attorney General's Office.

Verniero called the appointment a "profound honor" and said "the New Jersey Supreme Court is known for its national reputation of scholarship, integrity and always doing the right thing. I commit myself to uphold that reputation."

Verniero, who is 39, is the youngest justice ever named to the Supreme Court since it came into existence as a seven-member panel in 1948.

His appointment raised questions yesterday among some Democrats, who believe the trend of choosing Supreme Court justices from political appointments might be weakening the high court and reducing the separation between the executive judicial branches of state government.

A bill was being drafted in the state Senate Minority Office yesterday that would amend the state constitution and prohibit the appointment to the Supreme Court of "any person who served during the governor's term of office as a member of the cabinet or as a member of the governor's staff."

Whitman quickly dismissed the criticism, noting that former governor Brendan Byrne had also appointed his members of his cabinet to the Supreme Court.

Whitman spokesman Pete McDonough called the criticism "probably the most shallow and two-faced idea that has come out of the Senate."

McDonough said that several Supreme Court justices, including Daniel O'Hearn, Stephen Pollack and Alan Handler, were exemplary and had ascended to the court from cabinet positions.

Jim Manion, spokesman for the Senate minority, said the questions that were being raised about the political appointments were "institutional, not political."

Since William Cahill's administration, beginning in 1970, both Democratic and Republican governors have appointed cabinet members to the high court.

Manion said it was "too early to tell" if there would be a confirmation fight in the Senate to block Verniero's nomination.

If Verniero is confirmed, Farmer will likely take over the Attorney General's Office before the current investigation of alleged racial profiling by state troopers has been completed.

Farmer pledged to move forward with the process that Verniero has put in place to investigate these allegations, and said that he spoke yesterday with Rev. Reginald Jackson, executive director of the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey, to ask for continued support of the investigation.

Whitman said there was no need to delay the appointments until the racial profiling investigation was finished.

"I'm going to stay," Whitman said, restating her commitment to completing the investigation.

Farmer will also assume the ongoing investigation of the Baron Athletic Association in Hamilton.

Verniero is Whitman's third appointment to the Supreme Court. If she completes her term and decides not to run for the U.S. Senate, she will get to fill two more Supreme Court vacancies.

Thurs., Feb. 25, 1999

A Kinder, Gentler, Jim Florio

It's a kinder, gentler Jim Florio these days, according to the former governor who says he's thinking about running for the U.S. Senate seat that Frank Lautenberg is leaving.

Florio became one of the state's most hated top officials for imposing a $2.8 billion dollar tax, but he says he's "older and wiser" now.

"There is such a thing as being overly analytical, overly rational," Florio told The Trentonian yesterday. "Now I am more focused on people and I think I have a better sense of the non-rational aspect of things."

Florio announced earlier this week that he is forming an exploratory committee to consider the possibility of the 2000 Senate campaign. But unlike other Democrats who are interested in Lautenberg's job including Reps. Bob Menendez, D-Hudson, and Frank Pallone, D-Ocean, Florio says the questions he is asking himself are more personal than political.

"I need to examine my willingness to go through the next year and a half looking for ways to communicate with people about the substance of issues," Florio said.

The former governor said he was not interested in launching a political campaign where "all you do is raise money."

"Philosophically, the only reason for me to do it is to do it a different way," Florio said, noting that he if he does run he wants to focus on the lack of security that families are currently experiencing regarding health insurance, pensions and other economic issues.

Florio is the best known of the Democrats who have currently announced their interest in Lautenberg's seat.

But several party leaders said privately yesterday that they believe the former governor could not win and would do damage to Democrats because of lingering unpopularity. After Florio increased taxes, Democrats lost control of both houses of the Legislature and have yet to get the leadership back. Florio was defeated by Christie Whitman after only one term.

Late yesterday, some insiders told The Trentonian there was a push to unite behind Pallone as the only candidate who can stop Florio.

But even his opponents concede that Florio currently has the best chance to gain the Democratic nomination, particularly if there are several others in the race including Menendez and Pallone, who are less well known. Unlike the current congressmen, Florio has a base of Democratic voters who are committed to him that some observers say is as large as 30 percent.

"Since I've been out of office, people have come up to me and say they're surprised to find out I'm a relatively nice guy," Florio said.

Hudson County Executive Robert Janiszewski, who is also a member of the Democratic National Committee, acknowledged that Florio would be a very competitive contender for the Democratic nomination, but Janiszewski says he will support Menendez if he decides to run.

"I know that Jim Florio is part of the great history of the Democratic Party in New Jersey," Janiszewski said, "but I don't know if he is part of its future."

Janiszewski said that the leadership Menendez, the state's only Cuban-American congressman, has demonstrated indicates that he is clearly part of the Democrats' future.

Florio said he would make a final decision regarding a Senate run in the next few weeks.

Feb. 23, 1999

All Eyes on Christie

All political eyes in New Jersey are watching Gov. Christie Whitman's every move these days. Democrats, Republicans and a single-minded press corp are looking for signs indicating whether or not she will decide to run for the U.S. Senate seat that Frank Lautenberg is leaving.

Last night, on CNBC's "Hardball" with Chris Mathews, Whitman called being New Jersey's governor "The best job possible to have" but Whitman said she had to look at the
challenge of a Senate race.

"For me the question is whether or not I can complete everything I want to do as governor in a year and a half instead of two years and a half, because that's what the difference would be."

Matthews predicted that Whitman would run for the Senate and win and was so sure he was right that he asked the governor if she would travel to Washington by car or take the train from Trenton.

Whitman said she liked traveling by train.

Whitman spokesman, Pete McDonough, is with the Governor in Washington where she is attending the National Governors Conference. McDonough said yesterday that dozens of fellow
Republicans in Washington have spoken to Whitman about making a run for the Senate race.

"There are three stories here," McDonough said. "George W. Bush, Jesse Ventura and Christie Whitman."

But McDonough says that while Whitman is talking with lots of people, making the choice to pursue another statewide political campaign or serve until the end of her term is essentially a personal decision for Whitman. Other sources close to the Whitman say she is considering both her family and political obligations as well as the extensive agenda she has defined for herself as governor.

State GOP Chairman, Chuck Haytaian, is one of the many people who is urging Whitman to run.

"I don't need a poll to tell me she'd be our best candidate," Haytaian said, predicting that Whitman would win if she runs.
Most other Republicans, including Senate President Don DiFrancesco, say they are extremely optimistic about Whitman's chances. DiFrancesco told the Trentonian last week that he believes Whitman is the Republican's strongest candidate, although he admits his enthusiastic support could be seen as self-serving because he would serve out the final year of Whitman's term if she is elected to the Senate.

But not all of Whitman's GOP friends believe the Senate race is the best choice for her career. Some say privately that Whitman has a better chance of being asked to become a vice presidential candidate, perhaps in 2000 with George W. Bush, if she remains in New Jersey.

Others believe that a bruising campaign war against a Democratic opponent, at a time when the GOP is thought to be weak, is not a sure win for Whitman. Some fear attacks from the right because of Whitman's abortion position and attacks from the left because she called on President
Clinton to resign.

Since Whitman was elected governor, she has played her political cards very close to the vest.  She campaigned for Republicans all over the country last year, but she denied she had any interest in running for president and made no moves to raise funds or nail down commitments to launch a national run. She has also denied any national aspirations are linked to her expanding international resume, including the development on relationships with leaders in the Middle East, Latin America and Europe. When Whitman was in Switzerland last month, she was scheduled to review the NATO troops before she broke her leg.

Many wondered why the governor of New Jersey would review the NATO troops, unless she wanted to look vice presidential.

Everybody is looking for signs.

Feb. 19, 1999

Hillary Not Qualified for Senate

Bill Bradley had never held a real job before he was elected to the U.S. Senate, unless you count playing basketball as a real job. He had never helped a citizen get a traffic light erected or attended a local planning board meeting. But he was tall and people liked him, so they elected him to serve three terms in the U.S. Senate. Now he's running for president.

When Christie Whitman was first elected governor I wrote that her elevation to the state's top office was "her first real job." Whitman had served as a Somerset County freeholder and did a stint on the Public Utilities Board but even the most charitable observer would admit that back then, Whitman's resume was a little thin. But now most New Jerseyans (about sixty percent) believe that Whitman is doing a pretty good job as governor and she now may be running for the U.S. Senate too.

Whitman used her personal wealth and Bradley used his athletic celebrity to jump start their political careers and people seem to feel fine about the results. So why shouldn't Hillary Rodham Clinton, the wife of the president, be viewed as a completely credible candidate for the U.S. Senate in New York?

Because, unlike Whitman and Bradley, Hillary Clinton is a fraud. She presents herself as something she is not...a working and independent woman. Her self-elevation from political wife to political player is a throw-back to bad old days when the way a woman got to the top was to marry the right guy.

Mrs. Clinton had only one job before she became First Lady and she got it based on the fact that her husband was governor of Arkansas. That is not to say she wasn't minimally qualified for the job. She has a law degree and a solid academic record. But law firms move folks to top spots like the one Mrs. Clinton held based on the contacts they can bring to the firm. Mrs. Clinton was in a position to bring in lots of people who would do business with her in order to gain access to her powerful husband.

Mrs. Clinton's record at the Rose Law Firm makes it clear that there was lots of cross pollination between her legal work and the governor's office. That's not particularly illegal, but Mrs. Clinton career is hardly an example of a competent professional woman who blasted her way through the glass ceiling to make it. Her skills as an attorney were basically irrelevant. Her last name on the letterhead is all that mattered to the firm.

She is not unique among political wives. There are any number in New Jersey who use their husband's name in the same way as Mrs. Clinton, presenting themselves as attorneys, public relations consultants and even interior designers when their only job qualification is that they are married to a guy who has some political influence.

These women are not to be confused with the truly competent and independent working women who compete in the work force like everybody else but who happen to be married to powerful men. Women who are determined to build their careers based on their own accomplishments rather than their husbands' connections are mortified at the idea that they would use their husband's name to get ahead.

Mrs. Clinton is not in the latter group, but she pretends to be. She seems to think her opinions on everything from health care to a Palestinian state are important because she is in a position to know. She seems to believe she has acquired skills and experience.

But Mrs. Clinton has no public policy experience at all, other than her abysmal failure at constructing a health care plan. Everything she stands for is theoretical, based on her decision to stay in the White House and kibbitz her husband instead of going out and getting a real job.

Mrs. Clinton's potential candidacy for the U.S. Senate in New York can not be compared to Whitman's current considerations about running for the same job in New Jersey. Instead, Mrs. Clinton's candidacy makes as much sense as John Whitman (the governor's husband) or Ernestine Bradley (Bill Bradley's wife) deciding to take a stab at electoral politics. Mr. Whitman has undoubtedly learned a lot about the workings of government while his wife was running the state and Mrs. Bradley surely knows a thing or two about politics. But unlike Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Whitman expanded his business and continued working when his wife was elected to high public office. Mrs. Bradley is a college professor. Like most self-respecting, independent persons, it seems never to have occurred to them that they should have quit work in order to help their spouses do their jobs as senator and governor.

Specifically, feminists would have been outraged if John Whitman had decided to stay home and help Christie.

Hillary Clinton should be judged the same way. In fact, she has no political experience.

And these days, no self-respecting woman should pretend that she's built a career on the work that her husband does.

No self-respecting man would.

Fri., Feb. 19, 1999

Profiling statistics are unclear

Do New Jersey State troopers pull over more minorities than they do white people?

Nobody seems to know for sure, at least not yet.

Many New Jersey drivers were not surprised last week when statistics published from the State Police indicated that 75 percent of the persons arrested on the New Jersey Turnpike were minorities. There has long been a perception among some in the public that there are officers in the State Police who may decide which drivers to stop based on the color of the skin. The practice is called "racial profiling."

But the State Police statistics that the public has been pouring over in the press reports do not reflect who the troopers actually pull over. They are arrest statistics which list the people who were actually arrested by State Police for some crime that was detected as a result of having been pulled over in a traffic stop.

Most people who are pulled over are not arrested. They are given a traffic ticket or a warning.

According to State Police spokesman, John Hagerty, that information regarding the race of drivers pulled over for tickets or warnings is not available.

"The Uniform Traffic Ticket used by all state troopers and other law enforcement officers in the state does not have a box for race on it," Hagerty said. When a motorist is pulled over, the driver is required to give the State Trooper their driver's license, a copy of the vehicle registration and a proof of insurance card. The trooper then returns to his car and radios the Dept. of Motor Vehicles database to confirm that the driver's license is valid and the vehicle registration is genuine. There are no mobile computer terminals in state police cars. The database will show if the driver's license is current and if there are any "stop" notices on the car indicating that it might be stolen.

Jeff Lamb, spokesman for the DMV, confirmed that their computer database, which is used by police, does not have information regarding the race of the driver.

"The database has information regarding name, address, date of birth, height, weight, eye color and when the license expires," Lamb said. "We do not collect information regarding a driver's race when they apply."

Hagerty says that the State Police is not trying to hide statistics regarding their traffic stops, but said they have not kept data on race in the past because they haven't needed it.

"If we had the data don't you think we would have used it in Gloucester County?" Hagerty said.

Nineteen individuals in Gloucester County who had been charged with possession of illegal drugs and weapons in 1996 had the evidence in their cases thrown out because the court ruled that there was a reasonable belief that the defendants may have been stopped as a result of racial profiling.

The State has appealed the case but, in the meantime, Hagerty says that State Police Superintendent Carl Williams has taken a number of steps to insure that racial profiling does not occur and to change public perception about racial profiling. About 60 percent of state police vehicles have had video cameras installed to record all traffic stops. Hagerty says the entire fleet will have video cameras by the end of the year.

Hagerty also said that Superintendent Williams has directed that radio logs document the race of individuals who are stopped as part of an operational dispatch system, although the system is not yet deployed on the Turnpike or the Garden State Parkway.

"This is a another way we hope to provide data for our internal use, for the court and for the public," Hagerty said.

Hagerty said other anti-racial profiling initiatives include upgraded in-service training for officers and the joint committee that is working with the Attorney General's office to review all allegations of racial profiling in the State Police.

"These checks are meant to send a strong message that racial profiling is not condoned, not taught, and not tolerated," Hagerty said. "If it is rooted out, it will be severely dealt with."

But Hagerty said the State Police is careful how much of its resources are deployed in record keeping. "If we kept everything the media asked us for, we'd just be keeping data and not fighting crime," Hagerty said.

Hagerty also said the State Police was working to link the data between the different patrol units. Currently, data is kept regionally by the State Troopers who patrol the three sections of the State -- North Jersey, Central Jersey and South Jersey. Information regarding summonses and warning tickets on the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway and the Atlantic City Expressway are also collated separately.

"Our goal is to centralize the data system and integrate all the troops when it comes to data collection," Hagerty said.

Lamb said the DMV database has information on six million New Jersey drivers.

Thurs., Feb. 18, 1999

Lautenberg Shakes Jersey Political World

Senator Frank Lautenberg rocked the New Jersey political world yesterday with the surprise announcement that he will not run for re-election to the United State Senate in 2000.

Lautenberg said that he "weighed the option of spending two years primarily fund-raising for my election" and decided against making the run. Lautenberg estimated that he would need to raise $125,000 a week until the election in order to have the $10 million minimum that is believed necessary to run statewide in New Jersey.

Lautenberg said he had lost valuable fund-raising time during the recent impeachment trial in Washington.

Speculation about Lautenberg's replacement began immediately. Gov. Christie Whitman, who was shown beating Lautenberg by nine percentage points in a Quinnipiac College Poll released last Friday, immediately soared to the top of the long list of contenders.

Whitman acknowledged yesterday afternoon that she was considering a run and promised to decide "shortly" regarding the best way that she could serve the people of New Jersey.

Whitman spokesman, Pete McDonough said that Whitman "knows what it takes for a race like this. She won't drag this out."

Senate President Don DiFrancesco, who would complete Whitman's gubernatorial term if she is elected to the Senate, said yesterday he hoped Whitman would run because she is the most formidable candidate for Republicans.

"She has a proven record of winning statewide twice and almost winning the Senate race a third time," DiFrancesco said.

DiFrancesco said that he was sure Whitman was getting lots of calls from top Republicans in Washington who would urge her to run in order that the GOP could regain the Democratic seat held for 18 years by Lautenberg.

Whitman's possible candidacy dampens the prospects for other Republicans who have been considering a challenge against Lautenberg including Senator Bill Gormley, R-Atlantic City, who was believed by many to have the backing of many of Whitman's fund-raisers.

Essex County Executive James Treffinger told hundreds of supporters on Saturday that he was likely to enter the race but most think his chances would fade if Whitman enters the contest.

Other Republicans who said yesterday that they are consider a run are Reps. Marge Roukema, R-Ridgewood; Frank LoBiondo, R-Vineland; and Bob Franks, R-Union.

But Democratic party boss, Sen Ray Lesniak, D-Elizabeth, predicted that Democrats would retain the seat currently held by Lautenberg. "This is a solidly Democratic state and its getting more Democratic every day," Lesniak said, insisting that no Republican except Whitman had a chance of beating whatever Democrat was nominated to run.

Rep. Bob Menendez, D-Hudson, has long declared his intention to run for Lautenberg's seat should the senator resign and State Democratic Chairman Tom Giblin said Menendez was the guy to beat.

But speculation late yesterday afternoon indicated that some Democrats believe Menendez is not strong enough to box out other Democratic contenders or to mount a strong race against Whitman, should she decide to run.

Reps. Frank Pallone, D-Ocean and Steve Rothman, D-Bergen, both indicated they were interested in the seat as did Cherry Hill Mayor Susan Bass Levin. The two best known Democratic names in the race are former governor Jim Florio and Tom Byrne, the Princeton investment broker who is the son of former governor Brendan Byrne.

State Democratic legislators who expressed interest in the race include Senate Minority Leader Dick Codey, D-West Orange, Senator John Adler, D-Cherry Hill and Assemblyman Neil Cohen, D-Roselle Park.

Pallone noted that as vice chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, he had the capacity to raise the millions required to run the race. He said he believed it was a Democratic year and that he was "seriously considering a run."

Cohen noted that an open United States Senate seat rarely comes along in politics and that politicians who are serious about policy development must consider the run as a career option.

Menendez has the most to lose by stepping down from his Congressional seat to run because he is currently fourth in line to become Speaker of the House should the Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives in the next several years.

Speculation that Lautenberg would not seek re-election had ben floating among party insiders for over a year, but before yesterday, Lautenberg had firmly squashed any suggestion that he would not run again. During the last gubernatorial campaign, he angrily chided both Menendez and Levin at a Democratic fund-raising event for holding his funeral before he was gone.

TROOPER STORM: Verniero takes on 'profiling'

Attorney General Peter Verniero says he'll take on whomever he has to in order to assure that there's no trace of racial bias in the practices and procedures of the state police.

"No attorney general has ever done this before," Verniero said. "Those who know me know I will leave no stone unturned and will let the chips fall where they may."

In an exclusive interview with The Trentonian yesterday, Verniero said that he was extremely concerned about figures released last week which indicated that 75 percent of all those arrested on the New Jersey Turnpike during the first two months of 1997 were minorities.

But the attorney general said that his office must set the standard for the state police and that he "not only has the capacity but the obligation" to assure that there is no racial bias in the state police force.

Verniero said calls for a federal investigation by New Jersey's black clergy and state Senate Minority Leader Richard Codey, D-West Orange, did not affect his determination to fully investigate state police practices.

"If the U.S. attorney general wants to investigate, that's fine. We will cooperate and we will help," Verniero said. "but I must push forward with my investigation."

Verniero's office contends that reports released yesterday that the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Attorney's General's Office was looking into accusations of racial profiling in New Jersey state trooper arrests was a response to an ongoing and cooperative effort between New Jersey and federal authorities regarding alleged racial bias.

Sources familiar with the historic relationship between the state police and the attorney general say that Verniero's initiatives to open recruitment and training and investigate trooper practices are unprecedented, though some doubt Verniero's determination will be enough to change the traditional lines of authority between his office and practices in the state police.

Verniero announced last week that he was appointing First Assistant Attorney General Paul H. Zoubek to head a review team to study the procedures and protocols of the state police regarding enforcement. He estimates that it will take about four months to complete the review but said if problems were uncovered in the initial investigation, he would correct them immediately.

He noted that one of the difficulties in investigating police practices is that statistical data does not seem to be easily attainable regarding traffic stops. Verniero spokesman Roger Shatskin said that the recent arrest information that was recently made available to the press was obtained by manually tabulating information compiled from radio logs.

The attorney general said yesterday that minorities were well represented on the Review Team, which includes Assistant Attorneys General, Al Ramey and Jeffrey Miller and Rolando Torres the Director of the N.J. Division of Civil Rights of the Dept. of Law and Public Safety.

Verniero said that he also plans to continue to work closely with the Rev. Reginald Jackson, executive director of the Black Ministers Council, who said earlier this week that Col. Carl Williams, state police superintendent, should resign. But the attorney general said he would not comment further about Williams' status. Williams is appointed directly by the governor.

Whitman has indicated she will wait for Verniero's report before making a decision regarding Williams.

Verniero cautioned his critics not to pre-judge his efforts until the results of his investigation into police practices was completed and pointed out that he has been extremely aggressive in his efforts to insure that the public could have complete confidence in the state police.

Verniero has directed that video cameras be installed in all state trooper cars and has doubled the number of state trooper recruiters to assure that minority candidates are aggressively recruited.

"I'm not one who is afraid of trying to reform agencies, or even of hearing criticisms that we've done too little too late. We're not at all defensive about what we've done," Verniero said.

Tues., Feb. 16, 1999

Christie Speaks Out on Teletubbies!

Whitman told the Republicans that they must get away from the perception "that all we care about is whether or not the Teletubbies are gay."

Gov. Whitman returned from Florida late last night where she had tough talk for Republicans. While there she took a hard line on Teletubbies and made a cameo appearance on "Sam and Cokie" on Sunday morning. She made Rush Limbaugh angry enough that he attacked her moderate approach to politics and yesterday she appeared above the fold of the national edition of the New York Times.

Yesterday, National Public Radio also rebroadcast a show they taped late last year with Whitman, who is praised by former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro as one of the most promising female presidential contenders.

Whitman is still hobbling on her broken leg but she is continuing to shore up her national profile and polish her image as one of the national GOP's strongest and most articulate moderate leaders. She spent the Presidents Day holiday trying to put the pieces of the Republican Party back together after last week's final battle in the impeachment fight.

Whitman is the driving force behind the national Republican Leadership Council, a group of moderate Republicans which met in Miami on Saturday to figure out how to counter the negative image the GOP acquired while pressing charges against Bill Clinton.

"These are tough times for Republicans," Whitman told the crowd. "The fact is that too many Americans right now have an impression of the Republican Party that's mean-spirited, vindictive and not attending to the public's business."

Whitman told the Republicans that they must get away from the perception "that all we care about is whether or not the Teletubbies are gay."

Whitman was referring to Jerry Falwell's charge last week that one of the Teletubby television characters is modeled after a homosexual.

Whitman, who was attacked by GOP conservatives at their winter meeting last year for her support of unlimited abortion rights, has long charged that Republicans should not use a litmus test to exclude party members. Watching Republicans fall into disfavor with voters because of a perceived closeness to the conservative right wing, Whitman refrained from saying "I told you so."

But the governor, who pulled no punches criticizing Clinton's behavior regarding Monica Lewinsky, said that voters were turned off by the perception that some Republicans were saying "only my morals are right and if you don't think exactly the way I think you can't be a good Republican."

Whitman, whose picture appeared on Parade Magazine last week as one of the five women who are qualified to be president, has become almost as well known nationally as she is in New Jersey. Her broken leg landed her a joke spot on "Saturday Night Live's" Weekend Update with Colin Quinn.

Meanwhile, many of the hundreds of supporters who gathered in East Brunswick on Saturday night to celebrate the inauguration of James Treffinger, the Essex County Republican executive, had Whitman on their minds. Treffinger, who defied the Democratic odds to win re- election in November, all but formally announced his intention to run for the United States Senate next year against Sen. Frank Lautenberg. Most n the crowd gave him a thumbs up on the condition that Whitman doesn't decide to take on Lautenberg herself. Many believe that Whitman's high media profile is in preparation for a statewide run for the Senate. Others believe Whitman is positioning herself for drafting as a vice presidential candidate or even a cabinet position if Republicans take back the White House in 2000.

Whitman is scheduled to appear on "Meet the Press" this weekend.

Sun., Feb. 14, 1999

ANTI-GLOAT VOTE: Dems suffer post-acquittal blues

Polls and political forecasts leading up to Friday's impeachment vote indicated that when the dust settled, Democrats everywhere would be the big winners. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that a White House party scheduled for this weekend would have a "gloat check" instead of a coat check in an effort to keep Democrats from becoming insufferably arrogant over the Senate acquittal.

In New Jersey, a Quinnipiac College Poll conducted the first week of February found voters were so mad about impeachment that they wanted to take it out on the New Jersey Legislature. Forty-five percent of New Jersey voters said they wanted the Democrats to replace the Republicans who now control the Assembly.

Hudson County Executive Robert Janiszewski, who serves as one of New Jersey's representatives on the Democratic National Committee, sent a letter to New Jersey Democrats threatening political revenge and saying it was time to "expose New Jersey's so-called "moderate" Republicans as right wingers" and "exploit this chance to return Democrats to the majority in the Assembly."

Brad Lawrence, a Democratic strategist based in New Brunswick, also said last week that he believed Jersey Democrats could portray local Republicans as "not listening, playing partisan politics and being out of touch" like their counterparts in Washington.

But the winds blowing against Republicans seemed to have shifted while the Senate was in secret session. Word that President Clinton was planning to campaign against Republicans who had mounted the impeachment charges against him were met with an icy response from Democratic senators who seemed weary from defending him.

Another poll released by Quinnipiac College on Friday found that if the election were held today, New Jersey voters would send Republican Christie Whitman to Washington to replace Democrat Frank Lautenberg, the senator and presidential defender who is already there. Half the votes preferred Whitman, who was clearly identified as a Republican in the polls, while 41 percent went for Lautenberg.

So much for the anti-Republican backlash in New Jersey.

State Democratic Chairman Tom Giblin looked at the handwriting on the wall on Friday and said flatly, "Democrats in New Jersey can't build a campaign on the president and Monica Lewinsky."

Whitman spokesman Pete McDonough said Jersey Democrats like Janiszewski were "so caught up into ‘I'm a friend of Al Gore's'" that they had lost their political sense about what win races in New Jersey.

"The Democrats aren't talking about anything that matters to people," McDonough said.

McDonough reiterated that Whitman has no current plans to run for anything, but that the governor knows that in politics, one should never say never.

"Things could change," McDonough said.

Assemblyman Paul Kramer, R-Hamilton, is one of the Republicans that will be running for re-election in November. Kramer told The Trentonian on Thursday that it is always difficult for local politicians to defend anything that is going on in Washington. He said ultimately voters will decide "if over the last eight years we have done enough."

Now that the impeachment vote is in, it appears the Mercer County lawmaker is right.

Thurs., Feb. 11, 1999

POLL TROUBLE: 6-point lead for Assembly Dems

A Quinnipiac College poll released yesterday showed that Republicans running for the New Jersey Assembly this year are in real trouble.

Asked which party they would like to see control the State Assembly after the November elections, 45 percent of New Jersey voters want the Democrats, while 39 percent want the Republicans.

Because of the way the GOP is handling President Clinton's impeachment in Washington, 41 percent of New Jersey voters say they are less likely to vote for the party next year.

But New Jersey Republicans say they aren't worried.

State Sen. Peter Inverso, R-Hamilton, believes that ultimately, "all politics is local."

"It's not that people have short memories. They don't. But that's good. They will remember and incumbents who have done a good job will do well," Inverso said.

Still, the Hamilton lawmaker said he and others in his party should read the poll as "a wake-up call."

"People are saying something here, and we need to take heed of it," Inverso said. "Republicans will have to work harder."

Hamilton Mayor Jack Rafferty, who is expected to stand for re-election this year, said the anti-Republican sentiment in the poll reflects people's frustration over the dragged-out impeachment trial and what appears to be badgering of the president. But he said the poll is too far from November to count for much in local elections.

"We're affected on the local level by the national scene and the state scene," Rafferty said. "But this is not like Jim Florio who took everybody down with him."

Democratic strategist Brad Lawrence, who will be mounting campaigns against Republicans for Assembly races in the fall agrees that the Republicans are not experiencing the "horror years" of Florio.

"But it's a better year to be a Democrat than not," Lawrence said. "Republicans have created a negative image for themselves that they've got to dig out of."

Lawrence said Democratic candidates would not try to directly link Assembly Republicans to their counterparts in Washington, "unless somebody goes on the Assembly floor and sings a song" like Rep. Mike Pappas, R-Rocky Hill, who was defeated last year.

But Lawrence said that Democrats will take advantage of the perception that Republicans are perceived as being out of touch and not listening to voters. Republicans are also viewed as more partisan than Democrats.

That was good news to Republican strategist Tom Wilson who said he hopes that Democrats base their Assembly battle plan on the anti-Republican impeachment backlash.

"I hope the Democrats put all their eggs in one basket, because they haven't got many baskets," Wilson said.

Wilson believes the Republican property tax-relief initiatives will trump any anti-impeachment sentiment and predicted the Republicans would still have control of the Assembly by the end of the year.

Don Sico, spokesman for the Assembly Republicans, also was unfazed by the Quinnipiac numbers, which he said only reflect the fact that there are more Democrats in New Jersey than Republicans.

"We are always behind. We were down 12 points in 1997 and we won every election," Sico said. "People aren't happy about this, but from tomorrow on, it only gets better."

Wed., Feb. 10, 1999

Education commish: I resign

Dr. Leo F. Klagholz, the embattled education commissioner who saw the state through the final resolution of the almost 30-year court battle to equalize funding between New Jersey's poor and wealthy school districts, announced his resignation yesterday.

In a surprise announcement leaked to the press by Senate Education Committee Chairman Robert Martin, R-Morris, Klagholz said he was leaving to assume a position as distinguished scholar and professor of education policy at Stockton College of New Jersey. Klagholz has headed the state Department of Education since 1994.

Gov. Whitman released a statement praising Klagholz and naming First Assistant Attorney General David Hespe to replace him.

"Leo Klagholz has been at the heart and soul of our efforts to revamp education in New Jersey," Whitman said. The governor credited Klagholz with spearheading the development of core curriculum standards, the fledgling charter school program and the school funding formula to "provide every New Jersey child a thorough and efficient education."

Hespe is a former assistant commissioner in the Department of Education who has worked closely with Whitman on education policy.

Sen. Shirley Turner, D-Lawrence, a member of the Senate Education Committee, said yesterday she was "optimistic" about Hespe's appointment.

"Klagholz overstayed his welcome," Turner said. "He was too isolated. He didn't understand the world of education today. He didn't spend enough time in the districts or working with the legislature."

Republicans have criticized Klagholz as harshly as Democrats throughout his tenure for what they viewed as a refusal to work with lawmakers in crafting controversial educational reforms, including the school-choice program which would allow students to attend schools outside their districts. Most recently, Klagholz has been under fire for including a requirement for actual job experience before a student could graduate from high school.

David Sciarra, head of the Education Law Center in Newark, the organization which sued the state on behalf of the 28 poorer urban school districts, told The Trentonian yesterday that he believed Klagholz did a good job of pushing Whitman's educational policies.

"We disagreed with those policies and we returned to the Supreme Court twice in the last five years to defend the urban schools," Sciarra said. "A lot of Klagholz's tenure was spent defending policies which had to be fought out in court rather than working collaboratively with urban educators for urban schools."

Education observers said privately yesterday that Klagholz was a visionary who did a better job advocating educational policies in court than he did managing the Education Department. Most shared Turner's optimism about the change at the helm of New Jersey's educational system, which consumes about $6 billion in tax dollars annually, almost a third of the state budget.

Sciarra said Klagholz's distance and lack of guidance in dealing with urban schools had created a situation that was "near chaos." He said Hespe should take steps immediately to mend the breach, focusing particularly on the implementation of the new court mandated pre-school programs.

Tues., Feb. 9, 1999

LAME PLUCK!

Gov. Whitman continued to show a stiff upper lip yesterday as she held her first news conference since returning from Switzerland where she broke her leg skiing Jan. 31.

The governor hobbled out of her office to meet the press using aluminum crutches braced at her elbows before sitting down next to her doctor and a set of mounted X-rays which showed the fracture in Whitman's lower right leg before and after her recent surgery.

"You're going to see a lot more pant suits and some very short speeches," Whitman said.

When asked how the broken leg would affect her daily schedule, Whitman indicated she had no plans to give up her frequent road trips around the state and said only that she was looking at her trade mission to South America scheduled for next month to see if the daily itinerary could be lighter.

Whitman had a spiral fracture of both bones in her lower right leg, which were repaired by Swiss surgeons using a titanium plate and seven screws.

Whitman's orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Robert D'Agostini, said it would be at least six weeks before Whitman could put any weight on her leg, and possibly longer.

"I know from treating Governor Whitman before that she will do better than many patients," D'Agostini said. D'Agostini operated on Whitman in her first term to repair a rotator cuff in her shoulder.

Whitman noted that she has been skiing all her life and had never had an accident before.

However, she joked that for her, "being governor has been very dangerous."

Whitman has had four surgeries since coming into office and has also fought Lyme disease.

Whitman also told reporters that when she was loaded into the ambulance in Switzerland, the drivers shut the door on her foot.

D'Agostini said both the titanium plate and the screws would be removed within a year and said that Whitman would be able to golf by spring and ski again by next winter.

The stoic governor shrugged "such is life" when asked to elaborate about her leg pain.

She said she was only taking one pain pill at night. The governor seemed more interested in responding to questions about her work at the World Economic Forum, which was her reason for traveling to Switzerland. She outlined the economic relationships she is trying to foster for New Jersey businesses internationally.

Whitman said that she had several meetings in Switzerland before her accident with groups who target capital loans to small and mid-sized businesses, a critical business need in New Jersey.

The governor said she also met with Middle East officials while in Switzerland and is moving orward with plans to expand New Jersey's presence in Jordan as well as Israel.

Whitman said she was honored by her selection over the weekend as one of the five women in the White House Project who voters believe are qualified to run for president. She continued to sound like a governor beefing up on foreign policy experience as she noted that it was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who had encouraged her to open an economic development office for New Jersey in Jordan as well as Israel to help stabilize the region.

On the passing of Jordan's King Hussein, Whitman said she had met King Abdullah and predicted Jordan would have "as smooth a transition as it can be when you've lost such an icon."

More than 100,000 people participated in the White House Project selection of American women who were qualified presidential candidates. Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Dole also were on the list.

SKI BUMMER: Whitman wipes out on Swiss slopes, and a broken leg disrupts NATO show.

Governor Whitman was hospitalized yesterday after breaking her leg in a skiing accident in Switzerland. Whitman traveled to Switzerland on Friday to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos and was skiing in a conference-organized event when the accident occurred.

Sources who were nowhere near Whitman when she went down on the powder yesterday said the governor apparently was skiing down the intermediate slope when she shifted to take a very sharp turn and wiped out.

A trooper who was following her skied up, ready for the snowball fight and ribbing that usually occurs when somebody in Whitman's entourage takes a tumble.

It didn't come. The governor simply said to the trooper matter of factly, "My leg is broken." No whimpering. No discussion.

The governor was taken to Spital Davos, the local hospital where a pin was put in her leg. A couple hours later, according to her spokesman, Peter McDonough, she decided to cancel her trip to visit NATO troops in Stuttgart, Germany. The trip had been planned for today. All the governor's other plans are on hold.

The doctors think they may need to keep her until as late as Thursday, but nobody who has watched Whitman come back from physical adversity thinks they'll have any luck. A new itinerary has not been set yet, but bets in the office pool are three to one that she could be on a plane to New Jersey as early as tomorrow.

Whitman doesn't take this kind of thing lying down. In November she had an emergency appendectomy and took half a day off to recover. She's had two other surgeries since she's been in office, but she always roars right back.

The governor is a real jock, a "just do it" kind of athlete who pushes hard and knows that there's no gain if there's no pain. That's why James Carville and other Democratic enemies of his ilk didn't have any luck when they tried to portray Whitman as some kind of upper-crust, pearls and pumps, out-of-touch WASP.

Whitman countered their image attack by racing her mountain bike through the Pinelands, challenging state troopers to basketball games and riding western-style in the state rodeo.

She's not just tough for a woman politician, she's tough period.

There will undoubtedly be comparisons between Whitman's leg break and President Clinton, who broke his leg after partying late one night with his golfing buddies. I'd be willing to bet that Whitman will be up sooner, walking sooner and off her crutches sooner. She's in better shape than he is and she's not a whiner.

After she went down in the snow, there was the usual speculation about which of her understudies would benefit from the leg-breaking of the star. State Senate President Donald DiFrancesco is acting governor now and will be in charge until she gets back. Assembly Speaker Jack Collins is next in line. A week at the helm just after the budget was introduced could provide a welcome platform for either legislative leader.

But don't bet on Whitman giving either one of them any more on-the-job training than is absolutely necessary. She'll be running the show again as soon as the big jet touches down at Newark, not because she's a limelight hog, but because that's her job. She's tough.