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WHAT DID SHERRY SAY TODAY? Fri.
Jul 30, 1999 Sources close to Sen. Bob Torricelli said Thursday that the Englewood Democrat was angered by a request from Gov. Christie Whitman's office for help in creating a special federal pension package for Carson Dunbar, the FBI Special Agent who is believed to be Whitman's choice to head the State Police. Dunbar, 47, lives in Ramsey and served for several years with the New Jersey State Police before taking a job with the FBI, where he has worked most of his career. Dunbar is believed to be concerned about losing his federal pension if he takes the New Jersey top trooper job. Whitman reportedly asked Torricelli for help in urging the U.S. Department of Justice to come up with options, including a pension buyout, early retirement or retaining federal payroll status so Dunbar could take the New Jersey job. Washington staffers, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said that Torricelli believed Whitman was trying to make it appear that a prominent Democrat supported her expected appointment of Dunbar even though Torricelli had played no role in the process. Whitman called Torricelli directly earlier this week and Attorney General John Farmer reportedly spoke several times with members of Torricelli's staff. Politics have played a strong role throughout the controversy surrounding Whitman's firing of State Police Superintendent Col. Carl Williams, the allegations of racial profiling and efforts to reform the state police. Republicans say privately that they believe New Jersey Democrats close to the Clinton administration have used their influence to assure that the Justice Department does not give Whitman any political advantage by appearing to support her state police reform efforts. Administration sources say that federal justice authorities were angry that Whitman's team released their report on racial profiling including a remediation plan before the feds handed down their own findings. Whitman spokesman Peter McDonough said Thursday that he had no information on the status of the discussions regarding Dunbar's federal pension or the selection of the state superintendent. Although it has been widely reported that Whitman will announce her selection for the state's top trooper Friday, McDonough said the governor has no statement scheduled regarding the state police, although he did admit that an announcement was not impossible. "If all the stars line up on any candidate, it could happen," McDonough said. Torricelli's office confirmed that they had contacted Deputy U.S. District Attorney Eric Holder for Whitman but would not comment Thursday on the Dunbar issue. They also said they had no information regarding the status of Whitman's request.
Wednesday,
July 28, 1999 Former governor Jim Florio told me last week that he and Jon Corzine, the former Goldman-Sachs chairman, are fighting "for the soul of the Democratic party." Both Florio and Corzine want to be the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat that is being vacated next year by Senator Frank Lautenberg. "We're deciding whether we're going to be a party that is capable of being purchased," Florio said. With all due respect to the former governor, who has never been accused of being on the take, you've got to be kidding. The "soul" of the New Jersey Democratic party was purchased long ago by wealthy special interests who always make their payments on time. Just look at the guys (almost always) who have gotten rich off public money that's been pumped into Newark in north Jersey and Camden in the South while the poor people of those communities have watched their towns and public school systems dissolve into piles of rubble. It is difficult to underestimate the hypocrisy that is at the root of New Jersey's urban Democratic greed, but anyone who is in doubt can watch the cynical movements of Camden city leaders who recently took official steps to declare bankruptcy. Camden has been supported by more state than local tax dollars for years, but leaders there have refused to bite the bullet and live within their income. Florio should take a tour of any of the failing public schools in Camden if he wants to get an idea of the selling price of the "the soul of the Democratic party." Corzine believes the battle for the "soul of the Democratic party" needs to be fought on other fronts. He flatly denies Florio's charge that his entry into the race is a "Wall Street oriented hostile takeover." Corzine's a very wealthy guy, but he thinks the Democrats should get back to basics. On the positive side, he wants to stop puttering around with gun control and just register every firearm. But he's got some old Democratic notions about education that could send more children into free fall. "I think we should prioritize education at a federal level," Corzine told me last week. "The political debate isn't on the right subject. We just don't have the funds to be able to execute the performance we need in public schools." Corzine has been involved in the non-profit program in New York City that has helped assure that poor kids get scholarships to go to private schools, but he opposes vouchers to pay for urban kids to go to decent schools. "What you have here are conservatives who say tear up the system and go to vouchers," Corzine said. "That means we abandon what has been the American promise. Education should be more of a national issue, not so fragmented." Corzine should also take a tour and get a good look at that "American promise." Any public school in Newark will do. Billions have been spent there. Newark students cost New Jersey taxpayers over $10,000 a year. New Jersey's teachers are among the highest paid in the nation and school administrators have six figure salaries that astonish their peers in private business. But New Jersey kids don't perform very well even in Central Jersey where Corzine lives. In Newark and Camden, where the "soul of the Democratic party" is strong, students can barely read. "Education is the access point for equal opportunity," Corzine said. "We've learned through social security that it is critical that we invest in the elderly. We ought to believe there's a reason to invest in our schools." That sounds like a statement coming from what used to be "the soul" of Democratic principles. Florio supports the education establishment too, which means that whomever the Democrats nominate, it is likely that they will work to make sure that the teachers unions and the administrators who have ruined New Jersey's public schools will continue to call the shots. Florio says that by bringing his millions into the race, Corzine is creating a focus on money in the Democratic party that runs the risk of creating "two Republican parties." Like many Democrats Florio seems to comfort himself with the notion that no matter how little Democrats do for poor people, Republicans do less. Maybe. Maybe not. Still, its hard to keep a straight face while the former governor bemoans the sale of the soul of the Democratic party. With all due respect, he's got to be kidding. Tue, Jul 27, 1999DIFRANCESCO TO MEET DUNBAR State Sen. Don DiFrancesco, R-Scotch Plains, said Monday that he expects to have a meeting Wednesday with Carson Dunbar, a special agent at the FBI who is believed to be Gov. Christie Whitman's top choice to head the State Police. DiFrancesco also said that he did not anticipate any problems getting the governor's nominee through the state Senate. "Anybody that she fully supports will get this job," DiFrancesco said. "It would be highly unusual for us not to move with the governor's choice." Whitman spokesman Peter McDonough said he agreed with DiFrancesco that Senate confirmation of Whitman's appointee would likely come easily. "From the beginning there has only been one senator who has been steadfastly insistent that a candidate come from inside the state police," said McDonough. State Sen. Ray Zane, D-East Greenwich, has said Whitman must appoint a current trooper. Media reports have repeatedly indicated that DiFrancesco and other Republican Senate leaders have also been pressing Whitman for an inside appointment but DiFrancesco denies that is true. "I've said I could support Dunbar, I could support Buccino, I asked her to meet with him," DiFrancesco said. "But I could also support any of several other candidates." Robert Buccino, a deputy investigator in the Department of Law and Public Safety, has the backing of several minority leaders including Assemblywoman Nia Gill, D-Montclair, and Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo, D-South Orange. DiFrancesco said he had asked Whitman to meet with Buccino on their behalf and also at the request of the Rev. Reginald Jackson, head of the Black Ministers Council. Buccino was scheduled to be interviewed Monday by Attorney General John Farmer. McDonough would not confirm DiFrancesco's appointment with Dunbar, but said that Whitman had always intended to make sure the Senate president was involved in the selection process. "From the beginning we wanted to make sure that Don was comfortable with whomever we chose," McDonough said, "not only because he will likely be the next governor but also because he's got to schedule the vote and get us senatorial approval here." Tue, Jul 27, 1999 SHERRY REMEMBERS ALAN KARCHER Toward the end of his life, Alan Karcher spent a lot of time telling the truth. Not that he had ever been indirect or dishonest, but politicians often have to speak to the public in parables to keep all the bases covered. Alan didn't like doing that and he finally stopped. Not long after he was diagnosed with cancer, he called me aside at a big Democratic party and told me, matter-of-factly, that my long hair didn't look good on television and it was distracting when I was doing political commentary. His book, "Multiple Municipal Madness," released late last year, was a more important result of that same kind of in-your-face honesty. Alan knew, like all New Jersey politicians know, that politics in the Garden State is driven by the public contracts that are delivered by politicians at the local level. Because there are so many towns and municipalities in the state, taxes are enormous and they will stay that way until there are massive consolidations. Alan had been determined to get that message out over the last year. He was determined that New Jersey elected officials bite that bullet of truth because without acknowledging it, nothing much will change. I didn't know Alan when he was Speaker of the New Jersey Assembly or when The New York Times called him "New Jersey's most brilliant and charming politician." By the time I began covering politics in Trenton, Alan was the Mercer County Democratic chairman and a guy I could count on to give me a straight answer about what was really going on. He loved the game of politics, but was worried about what it was turning into. The big money problem, as Alan saw it, was that aggressive fund raising had caused politicians to stop fighting about the important things. For Alan, being a Democrat meant a commitment to economic and racial justice. He believed in fighting for jobs and senior citizens and all the things that keep working people from being tyrannized by the wealthy. There was no one more loyal to his party than Karcher, but that didn't mean he was blind. He once told me that he thought state Sen. Don DiFrancesco, a Republican, would become the state's next governor. He said DiFrancesco's calm and inclusive style was something the public would likely crave after two very controversial governors. Which doesn't mean that Alan wasn't a strong supporter of Jim McGreevey, the Democrat he backed against Gov. Christie Whitman in 1997 who may face DiFrancesco in 2001. But it does mean that he valued the ability to create good laws, a skill that he mastered and that he saw in DiFrancesco. DiFrancesco said Monday that he had "learned a lot" from Karcher when he was Assembly speaker and DiFrancesco led the minority opposition against him. "I credit him with making the Legislature more equal to the executive branch," DiFrancesco said. "He believed we should implement policies, not just pass bills that come down from the governor. Alan believed we should always have a plan." DiFrancesco called Karcher "brilliant." Gov. Christie Whitman called him committed and eloquent. U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli called him "a Renaissance man" and a dedicated leader. In the end, he may have also been the state's most honest politician. The fact that he may be among the last worried him. Fri, Jul 23, 1999 DECISION MADE? Insiders: Gov likes Dunbar for State Police head Thursday brought more fast-flying rumors and speculation regarding Gov. Christie Whitman's selection of a new head for the New Jersey State Police. Some insiders say Whitman has already decided on Carson Dunbar, a special agent for the FBI, and that an announcement could come anytime. Dunbar has been the candidate leading in media coverage since last week when Lt. Col. Andre Parker, a trooper with the Illinois State Police, withdrew his name from the competition. Both Dunbar and Parker are African-Americans, causing some speculation that Whitman is determined to appoint a minority. But Thursday, in a surprise move two Democratic lawmakers, who are also minorities, announced that they were supporting Robert Buccino, the current deputy chief of investigation in the organized crime and racketeering unit of the New Jersey Dept. of Law and Public Safety. Buccino is white. Assemblywoman Nia Gil, D-Essex, and Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo, D-Essex, issued a statement along with Assemblyman Neil Cohen, D-Union, urging Whitman to "consider and appoint" Buccino to the top trooper job. They are the first lawmakers to go on record in support of any candidate for state police superintendent, although several state senators have indicated privately that they support the current Acting Director of the State Police, Lt. Col. Michael Fedorko. Caraballo said he believes Buccino could "regain the trust and support of the minority community" and Gil said she was convinced Buccino would "take immediate steps to address many of the systemic problems at the State Police agency." But State Sen. Shirley Turner, D-Lawrenceville, a member of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, said Thursday that she did not know Buccino and had not been contacted by the Assembly members. Turner also said that the Caucus met earlier this week and discussed the state superintendent appointment but did not back any candidates. "It's hard to see how the caucus could support any candidate. We've not been consulted," Turner said noting that she would scrutinize the resumes of Whitman's appointees to make sure he or she demonstrated a "commitment to diversity" and the experience to "practice law enforcement in a non-biased fashion." Cohen said that Buccino has a wide range of support in the legislature, including other minority lawmakers and Republicans. Whitman insisted Thursday that she had not made a final decision regarding the appointment. Her spokesman Pete McDonough said that media reports regarding the state superintendent have been largely inaccurate, but he said Dunbar may ultimately be the candidate Whitman chooses. "Dunbar wasn't on the media's list, but he's always been in the mix," McDonough said. McDonough said that Whitman was not concerned about reports that Dunbar may have been responsible for some of the mixed reviews of the FBI investigations of the TWA Flight 800 bombing and the World Trade Center bombing. "He's been promoted since then," McDonough said. "Besides Louis B. Freeh [head of the FBI] has great things to say about him." But McDonough didn't dismiss Buccino's candidacy either, saying Whitman would keep the lawmakers' recommendation in mind. "She's always interested in legislative input," McDonough said. Whitman has maintained throughout the five-month search for the superintendent that she will make the decision independently, consulting only with Sen. President Don DiFrancesco, R-Scotch Plains, who must get Senate approval for her appointment. Fri, Jul 23, 1999Recent poll shows Christie's lead widening The election to decide who will replace Frank Lautenberg in the U.S. Senate is still 16 months away, but Gov. Christie Whitman's lead against former governor Jim Florio appears to be growing, according to a Quinnipiac College Poll released Thursday. Fifty-two percent of New Jersey registered voters say they would vote for Whitman compared to 35 percent who say they would vote for Florio if the election were held today. Whitman also trounces Jon Corzine, the former Goldman-Sachs CEO who is also running for the Democratic nomination and Bob Grant, a radio talk show host who is considering an independent run for the seat. Whitman beats Corzine 56 percent to 22 percent. Whitman would get 46 percent of the vote if Grant were in the race. Grant would capture 11 percent of the vote and Florio would get 32 percent. Ninety percent of voters say they don't know Corzine but his co-campaign manager, Steven Goldstein, said the poll was good news for his candidate in the Democratic primary race. "When 45 percent of New Jersey voters are not supporting a candidate like Gov. Florio, who has been seeking office for 30 years, that certainly indicates an opening for someone else to carry the party's banner against Christie Whitman," Goldstein said. But Whitman spokesman Peter McDonough said the poll looked bad for all Democrats. "It looks like the Democrats have got a race between somebody who nobody likes and somebody who nobody knows," McDonough said. He also said that while the Whitman camp did not put much stock in polls this far in advance, it was clear that the "people are responding to the new Jim Florio in the same way that they responded to the old Jim Florio." According to Quinnipiac College Polling Institute Director Maurice Carroll, "Whitman wins no matter who is on the ballot against her." "New Jerseyans think highly of their current governor," Carroll said. "They don't think highly of her predecessor. Florio spokesman Steven Asque said the former governor was not concerned about the poll numbers. "The only poll that counts is on Election Day," Asque said. Goldstein also noted that early polls were misleading. "A year before the election in New York, Chuck Schumer was at 10 percent," Goldstein said. "Now he's a U.S. Senator." Wednesday, July
21 In his first interview on the issues, corzine leveled a blast at both Gov. Christie Whitman and former Gov. Jim Florio for what he described as a "lack of leadership" in handling the racial profiling issue. He also laid out what he described as "pro-active" positions on such issues and education reform and taxation while trying to distance himself from Democratic Party infighting. Even as Florio was telling the media Corzine has not engaged in a "free-wheeling conversation with the press," Corzine gave an exclusive interview to The Trentonian on Tuesday. Corzine insisted he is not trying to buy the Democratic nomination. "At this point in time, I'm a Wall Street banker," Corzine said. "But I've got a history like everyone else and I'm interested in getting things done." Florio, who is also running for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, charged yesterday that Corzine is trying to buy "the soul of the Democratic party." Corzine, whose networth is estimated at about half a billion dollars, says that he doesn't want to "debate the history of Jim Florio, but instead wants to reframe the debate on a number of issues from gun control to education. "Society is not debating this in the right universe. This may anger the gun control people, but I don't want to approach this issue incrementally," Corzine said. "I believe you should require that every gun have a license and everybody who has a gun should have it registered." Corzine also believes health care and education are suffering from "incremental approaches." "What you have are conservatives who want to tear up the educational system and go to vouchers. But that would be a denial of the American promise," Corzine said. "Education should be more of a national issue and not so fragmented." Corzine also dismissed charges that he is a pawn of the powerful north Jersey Democratic bosses. "The people of New Jersey can expect me to be a strong advocate for pro-active, accountable government," said Corzine. "The ideas you wrap yourself in are not about party leaders. Ultimately you have to produce. I was determined to do this whether or not I ever bumped into Ray Lesniak or George Norcross." Lesniak, a former state Democratic chairman and a state senator from Union County, was one of Corzine's early backers along with State Sen. John Lynch, D-Middlesex. Lesniak and Lynch were the team who shepherded Jim McGreevey in the 1997 gubernatorial campaign that almost upset Gov. Christie Whitman in 1997. Whitman is expected to be the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate next year. Norcross is the Camden County Democratic leader who is backing Florio who is perceived to be the front-runner in the race. In laying out the fundamentals of his platform, Corzine indicated that, unlike McGreevey, he will not adhere to the general New Jersey Democratic party line. "I have some sympathy for [Senator] Torricelli's tax cut proposal to reduce the tax burden on the lower 15 percent, but I think where we should put the surplus is in education and health care."
"Society ought to set high expectations," Corzine said. "We are close to some incredible breakthroughs in health, for example, and we ought to be funding that research." Corzine's extensive statements on public policy, including a strong stand against relying on property tax for educational funding, did not silence Florio. "What I'm for is a matter of public record," Florio told the Trentonian yesterday. "What I've have said is there. What I have done is known. I'm troubled that others are not commenting." Florio, who called Corzine's campaign "a hostile Wall Street takeover" specifically noted that the Summit investment banker didn't show up for a session with the Sierra Club last week to discuss environmental issues. But Corzine dismissed Florio's charge that money was overtaking politics in the campaign. "Florio seems to be running against something instead of for something. I'd like to not be in that mode," Corzine said. However, Corzine had no trouble criticizing both Whitman and Florio for what he described as a "lack of leadership" on the issue of racial profiling in the state police. "She has to take it to the state police barracks and another former governor should have taken it to the barracks," Corzine said. "You just have to change the essence of the organizational culture. It doesn't happen without leadership." Whitman spokesman Pete McDonough quickly dismissed Corzine's criticism. "If Jon Corzine starts voting and then wins an election, then he'll have a race with Christie Whitman," McDonough said. "There's not anyone in New Jersey who believes the governor hasn't demonstrated leadership here. Whitman is the first person to take this on since Jon Corzine moved to New Jersey." The soft-spoken Corzine said he is not intimidated by the verbal attacks that have been directed at him by Florio or by the potential race with Whitman. But he also said he "would let no stone go unturned" in responding to the attacks that Florio has directed against him. Tom Byrne, the other candidate in the Democratic race, said yesterday this might work in his favor. "If Florio and Corzine get too negative, I could win," Byrne said. John-John believed in the power of media When Senator Robert Torricelli
spoke with John F. Kennedy Jr. about running for the U.S. Senate seat in
New York earlier this year, Kennedy apparently told him no. But
Torricelli, always in search of winning talent in his role as the chair
of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, was reportedly
heartened by the fact that John John didn't rule out the possibility of
a Congressional run in the future.
In the three-day "all Kennedy all the time" media show that
has followed the disappearance of Kennedy's plane, there's been lots of
speculation about what the heir to Camelot might have become, had he
entered politics.
There seems to be a belief that if the son of JFK had joined up and
gone for Patrick Moynihan's Senate seat in New York or Bradley's here in
New Jersey, he could have carried on the family tradition of using the
power of the Kennedys' personal charisma to make things better in
society.
What's ironic about those discussions is that John John himself
seemed to understand, in ways that the pundits who are talking about him
now don't, that he'd already taken the path to power. He'd become part
of the media.
In launching George Magazine, JFK Jr. repeatedly made the case that
the world of politicians and pundits has been turned upside down. In his
role as editor of George, Kennedy was one of the first people to
acknowledge that the political media actually have much more influence
over public policy and public opinion than politicians do.
As a lawyer with a political pedigree who seemed to take up
journalism as an avocation, Kennedy was able to make this point without
appearing to be self-congratulatory or self-serving.
None of us regular media types would ever point out that we
frequently have more sway over the direction of public debate than any
of the politicians that we cover. Such a move would seem conceited.
Besides, the politicians we work with like it better if we act like they
are the ones who are running the show.
But JFK Jr. had no qualms about calling the media the way he saw
them. Last year, in his regular column in George Magazine, Kennedy
described the media as the "powerful architects of popular
opinion."
"They have as much to do with how you feel about politics as do
politicians themselves," Kennedy wrote. "The proliferation of
media means that power has shifted away from elected representatives to
unelected commentators."
Which is not to say that Kennedy believed that the media was doing a
better job at keeping the public engaged than politicians have done. In
fact, he said that with so much media noise, "regular folks have no
option to address that change other than just tuning out."
Kennedy joined the media instead of going into politics because he
didn't want people to tune out. He frequently said that he wanted George
Magazine to cover politics the same way that Sports Illustrated covered
sports. But he also believed that you couldn't really talk about
politicians without talking about the media because the press has so
much influence in the political process.
"Whether it's Robert Novak's truculent policy prognostications
or George Stephanopoulos's steps to get out of you-know-who's shadow and
cast one of his own, it's useful to know something about the heavies of
this new ruling class and how they use their power," Kennedy wrote.
"Then you can hold accountable those who have the power to
persuade."
Kennedy's persistent belief in the healing power of the media is
particularly ironic in view of the awful way the worst of us dogged him
throughout his life and into his death. He would have been disgusted but
not surprised by the "journalist" who called Caroline Kennedy
Schlossberg's house on Sunday night to ask "what is the mood
there?" He would have known there would be at least one reporter
like the guy from MSNBC who complained because the Kennedy family kept
reporters outside all day Sunday without making a statement.
But he was able to overlook the journalistic bottom dwellers because
he believed that the press, like politicians, could actually change
things.
"They're not all that different from the people they
observe...," Kennedy wrote.
"Regardless of their frailties, we owe these luminaries a debt
of gratitude for keeping politics interesting. For without them,
politics would be just...well, politicians."
John F. Kennedy Jr., was much more than that. New Jersey has been without a state police superintendent for almost
five months and a new leader has yet to be identified to take over the
job of ridding the state police of racial profiling practices while
rebuilding trooper morale.
So far, the search process has sprung dozens of leaks and created a
minor sniping war between Gov. Christie Whitman and state Senate
President Don DiFrancesco, R-Scotch Plains.
The leading candidate for the job dropped out of the competition last
week and the acting superintendent has been damaged because of clumsy
remarks. The process has also been hard on Buster Soaries, Whitman's
secretary of state, one of the state's African-American leaders who has
born some of the brunt of the criticism Whitman has received from the
Black Ministers Council of New Jersey.
The next shoe to drop appears to be the news that the emerging top
contender, Special Agent Carson Dunbar of the FBI, may have had his job
experience misrepresented by his boss.
Whitman spokesman Peter McDonough has said repeatedly that the leaks
surrounding the search process are "largely fiction." He said
Sunday that the search was proceeding with four or five final
candidates. He said interviews will likely be finished this week.
But a source close to the search process says that Attorney General
John Farmer, who is heading up Whitman's search team, is pushing Dunbar,
who was described by retired New York FBI Director James Kallstrom, who
was his supervisor at the FBI, as an "integral part" of the
FBI's investigation into the crash of TWA Flight 800 over Long Island.
But a review of the reports of that investigation as well as
questions to sources who are knowledgeable about the crash indicate that
Dunbar did not have much involvement in the investigation.
Dunbar was also reportedly involved in the follow-up investigation of
the World Trade Center bombing, an action which got mixed reviews from
many law enforcement leaders including some inside the New Jersey
Attorney General's Office.
Roger Shatzkin, spokesman for Farmer, said last Friday that the
resumes of all the candidates for the State Superintendent job were
screened by staff in the Governor's Counsel's Office, when Farmer worked
there and by some in the Attorney General's Office. Shatzkin said
Assistant Attorney General Paul Zoubek, the author of the state police
report on racial profiling, has been overseeing the resume review.
Shatzkin had no comment on questions regarding Dunbar's background
but he said that all the resumes had been "checked
appropriately."
McDonough insisted that there was no leading candidate yesterday and
also stressed that DiFrancesco would be closely involved in the final
trooper selection.
"John Farmer sat down and gave him a complete briefing when he
got back last week," McDonough said.
DiFrancesco had been traveling in Europe but he said Thursday that
the governor had not consulted him regarding the trooper search although
he acknowledged that he had been asked to meet Lt. Col. Andre Parker,
the Illinois trooper who was a leading candidate until he dropped out.
"This is basically a gubernatorial appointment, but Don will be
brought in to see if he is comfortable wit the appointment,"
McDonough said. "We want Don to be comfortable because he's got the
big senatorial courtesy here and also because he may be the person who
must deal with re-appointment if he becomes governor."
DiFrancesco has not openly backed any of the candidates for the job,
although he has gone on record "preferring" a New Jersey
candidate. In addition to Dunbar, the contenders are believed to be
Fedorko, Robert Buccino, a Deputy Chief Investigator in the Attorney
General's Office, Capt. Kenneth Wondrack, and Holsey Moorman, a
brigadier general with the National Guard.
Fri,
Jul 16, 1999 Christie Whitman's top financial contributors to enter the lucrative world of bloodless heart surgery. With only one dissenting vote the HCAB approved the "Bloodless Surgery Demonstration Project" which would ostensibly will initiate hospital research into the field of "bloodless cardiac surgery," allowing the New Jersey Dept. Of Health to evaluate the process. But critics say there is no need for the state to research such a project since "bloodless Seventeen hospitals who opposed the demonstration project told the HCAB yesterday that they were willing to conduct a wide-ranging review of the procedure for free if the state would abandon the demonstration project. A spokesman for the opposing hospitals said they believe the demonstration project is a smokescreen created to allow Englewood Hospital, in north Jersey, to begin doing bloodless cardiac surgery without going through the standard certification process. Englewood applied for a "Certificate of Need" from the HCAB last year, but were turned down. Almost immediately following their failure to get a license, the state drew up plans for the demonstration project which would allow participating hospitals to practice bloodless cardiac surgery without obtaining HCAB approval. Ellsworth Havens, vice president for corporate development at Englewood, has been a financial contributor to Gov. Christie Whitman for a number of years. He was one of the business people who accompanied her on a South American trade mission this spring. HCAB Board member Bruce Schragger said yesterday that the Dept. Of Health is moving faster than is necessary with the demonstration project. "We have a committee appointed by the governor which is reviewing the Certificate of Need process," Schragger said. "Why can't we await the outcome of that report before opening up cardiac surgery?" Schragger says the demonstration project effectively deregulates the cardiac surgery industry, a move which most experts in the field believe is bad for patients. "Mortality rates have skyrocketed in states where bloodless cardiac surgery has been de- regulated," said Tom Terrill, president of University Health Systems, which represented the hospitals opposing the demonstration project. Health experts assert that it is necessary to do a high volume of bloodless cardiac surgeries in order to maintain minimum surgical standards. New Jersey already has twice as many cardiac surgery hospitals than are needed. Terrill said that yesterday's actions by the HCAB have eliminated the public involvement in monitoring the cardiac surgery industry. "Expedited reviews are not an open process," Terrill said. "This decision will take place in the Commissioner's office without public comment." Twenty-six hospitals are eligible to apply for the demonstration project, but Terrill said most people assume Englewood will be selected because of Havens' close ties to Whitman. Havens served on the fundraising committee of Whitman's first major fundraiser for her U.S. Senate campaign last month. About a million dollars was raised. Both Havens and Whitman's office attribute the controversy to competition between hospitals. "This is an industry where there is a fierce and competitive market," McDonough told the Trentonian recently. "They all have their scalpels out and are stabbing each other all the time. They go for the juggler." The state will begin taking applications for the demonstration project immediately. Two
Fri,
Jul 16, 1999 "Vernon Jordan is a long time friend of Jon's," said Steven Goldstein, co-chairman of the Corzine campaign. Goldstein released a list of 36 (thirty-six) campaign committee members including several Democratic lawmakers and party leaders. Susan Estrich, who managed Michael Dukakis' Presidential campaign in 1988 and former State Sen. Gordon MacInnes are also on the list. Jordan was thrust into the national spotlight early last year when it was learned that he had helped Monica Lewinsky find a job and a lawyer after she was subpoenaed to testify before Kenneth Starr's grand jury. The attorney that Jordan recommended assisted Lewinsky in preparing a deposition which asserted that she had not had a sexual relationship with the president. Jordan said that he did not know Lewinsky had been romantically involved with Clinton The Corzine campaign also released their first campaign finance report filing which indicates that Corzine has loaned himself $546,140 for his campaign so far, all of which has been spent on campaign consultants and operations. Penn, Schoen & Berland received the largest payment from the Corzine campaign, $114,479 for a poll they conducted last month. Penn, Schoen and Berland also poll for Clinton. Goldstein said that despite the fact that the report lists no contributors, Corzine has attracted many potential supporters. "There are a considerable number of contributors who have contacted Jon," Goldstein said. "They are telling him that he is the best Democratic candidate and the only one who can beat Christie Whitman." Whitman is expected to be the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate next year. Fri, Jul 16, 1999Donnie denies Parker snub State Sen. President Don DiFrancesco, R-Scotch Plains, denied Thursday that he had made any move to block the appointment of Lt. Col. Andre Parker to the New Jersey State Police Superintendent job. The Senate leader said he was also stunned to learn that Parker, an Illinois State Trooper who was being considered for the position in New Jersey, said the Senate President had been disrespectful during an interview. "We talked about East St. Louis, we talked about racial profiling and his job in the state police." DiFrancesco said "I asked him about his background, about his kids, where he went to school, just to break the ice." DiFrancesco said his meeting with Parker "was not an interview and was not intended to be." The Senate President said he had been asked to meet Parker on a Sunday at his office by Attorney General John Farmer. Farmer did not provide DiFrancesco with Parker's resume or any written background information about him. Parker wrote a letter to Whitman last week withdrawing his name from consideration for the top trooper job for what he described as "personal reasons." However, Parker told reporters that one of the reasons he had declined to pursue the state superintendent job was that he perceived a lack of support from the Senate leadership. Parker said that during his conversation with DiFrancesco the only job related questions the Senate President had asked him were his age and whether he had a college education. Rev. Reginald Jackson, Executive Director of the lack Ministers Council of New Jersey, told The Trentonian that he believed Whitman would have appointed Parker if DiFrancesco had been supportive. "You would think the Senate President would ask more probing questions than how old he was and did he have a college degree," Jackson said. "Col. Parker felt he was dismissive." Parker reportedly also was angered to read in a newspaper story that DiFrancesco said he would not agree to automatically re-appoint Parker if Whitman is elected to the U.S. Senate and the Senate President assumes the role of Acting Governor. But DiFrancesco said he "never stood in the way of anybody she has proposed, but she hasn't proposed anyone." DiFrancesco also said that Whitman did not ask him for an assessment of Parker's suitability for the job and that neither Farmer nor the governor had asked him about a contract for Parker or a commitment to reappoint him should Whitman leave the governor's office early. Whitman spokesman Peter McDonough said that "no one ever indicated to me that Don said this is dead.'" McDonough said he was "quite concerned" about the conflicting reports that have been surfacing regarding the search for next state police superintendent. "Much of this stuff is fiction," McDonough said. "I believe Rev. Jackson is hurting his own cause with this. His credibility is racing to the bottom." Friday, July 9, 1999 Last week after a couple of towns tried to ban 18 wheelers from Route 31, pro-truckers (along with some state and federal officials) argued that huge tractor trailers can't be stopped from raging through the countryside because it would interfere with the trucker's constitutional right of interstate commerce. That's basically the same kind of crazy thinking the pro-gun lobby uses to insist that the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees citizens the rights to self-defense, means that everyone is entitled to have a flame thrower or a bazooka in their home. Certainly companies have the right to use public roads to do business. But that does not entitle any business to drive pollution belching, megaton trucks that double as a lethal weapons into small towns and communities. A majority of folks in New Jersey have come to believe that the right to bear arms does not preclude strong controls on assault weapons and other huge guns. But the trucking lobby still has a lot of sway among lawmakers who act as if there's nothing they can do to force business in general and the trucking industry in particular to abandon the huge trucks that are destroying communities and killing lots of people. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, trucks were involved in almost half a million crashes last year, killing 5,355 people and injuring 133,000. Although large trucks account for only 3 percent of all road traffic, they are involved in 13 percent of all accidents. And most often, the trucker walks away without a scratch. Of the fatalities that resulted from crashes with large trucks, 78 percent were occupants of another vehicle and only 13 percent were occupants of the truck. Like the pro-gun lobby, truckers will tell you that's not their problem. Trucks don't kill people, they say, people kill people. The trucking industry stands behind official traffic statistics which indicate that a little over half the accidents involving trucks are not result of the truck driver's error. The fact that most folks drive in cars that are defenseless against the mega-ton monsters on the roads makes no difference. Forget to signal a lane change and you're dead. Over the past several years, I've received hundreds of letters from irate truck drivers who patiently explain that it is we puny little car drivers who are causing the trouble. They complain that we don't seem to understand how much distance is required for them to stop and how difficult it is for them to control their big rigs. You would think that would make truckers want to slow down, but it hasn't. New Jersey is one of the few states which allows big trucks to travel at the same speed as cars. But last year when the State Legislature was debating the speed limit change, the trucking lobby blocked a lower limit for them by testifying that the best way to prevent accidents was to make sure all traffic was moving at the same speed, as if a zippy Toyota Camry is the same threat to public safety as a speeding tractor trailer. Last summer, the New Jersey Turnpike instituted a economic incentive program with reduced tolls to lure big trucks off roads like Route 206 and 31 which can't accommodate them. The Turnpike has also reduced diesel fuel costs and improved services for truckers. It didn't work. Rep. Rush Holt, D-Hopewell has been working with local officials, including State Sen. Bill Schluter to get some action. Last week, Holt and Senator Bob Torricelli got Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater to admit that New Jersey has the power to ban trucks, at least from Route 31, if they want to. New Jersey Dept. Of Transportation spokesman, John Dougarian, says the trucking industry will sue if there's a ban. But Holt says "the state should be willing to stand up to special interests who threaten to "This is a hazardous situation," Holt said. "People are running the risk of getting killed by these big trucks everyday." Before they left for vacation, the New Jersey Senate passed a "childproof gun" bill in the name of public safety, even though gun makers threatened a lawsuit. NJ DOT needs to do some of the same kind of thinking. Wed, Jul 07, 1999FAVORITE SON? Byrne battling for Senate seat For weeks, Tom Byrne, the former governor's son who lives in Princeton, has been one of the darkest horses in the Democratic scramble for the right to run for Sen. Frank Lautenberg's seat. But Byrne's chances improved last week when Monmouth County Congressman Frank Pallone dropped out of the race because he couldn't get the backing of the north Jersey party bosses. "All the guys who said they were in it for the long haul are gone now," Byrne said Tuesday. "I never said that." Byrne believes he can be the alternative to former governor Jim Florio who has been the front-runner in the race since the beginning. Jon Corzine, the former CEO at Goldman-Sachs, who brings almost a half-billion dollar bank account to the race, is widely viewed as Florio's strongest challenger because he can finance his own campaign. But after three months, Byrne had raised about as much campaign cash as Florio, demonstrating that it's not a two-person race yet. Byrne, a former State Democratic Chairman, is the only Mercer County candidate in the race. But unlike Florio and Corzine, Mercer Democratic Chairman Shirley Turner has not rushed to endorse him as a home county favorite. Turner insisted Tuesday that Mercer Democrats can't be distracted from the County Executive race where Freeholder Jim McManimon is mounting a strong challenge against Bob Prunetti who is a Republican. "Once we win the county executive prize, we can help him or whomever in that race," Turner said. "We can't have people fragmented regarding the Senate race." Turner notes that there are Mercer Democrats who also support Florio and Corzine, but Byrne says he expects to do well in the county convention which will be held next March. "Coming in third doesn't interest me at all," Byrne said. "I think I have a good chance to win, but I'll only stay in as long as the contributions keep coming and the response is strong." Meanwhile, Corzine is working to prove to Democrats that he is not trying to buy the nomination with his own money. His campaign announced Tuesday that he has retained Barbara Kultenbach as his national fund-raising director and Omkari Williams to do regional fund-raising. Williams worked for New York Sen. Chuck Schumer last year. "There is an increasing base of support from people who believe that he [Corzine] would be the strongest Democratic candidate against Whitman," said Steven Goldstein, Corzine's co-campaign manager. Corzine also has hired Patti McGuire-Nelson, a field organizer who formerly worked with Rep. Robert Menendez, D-Hudson. Turner says that the early interest in the Senate race has made it harder for Democrats to raise money for local races, particularly in Princeton. "Many voters there are more focused on national issues and candidates, Turner said.
Sat,
July 3, 1999 The sequel is never as good as the original, so it's probably inevitable that the "Report of the Special State Police Review Team: Part Two" would disappoint. Part One, released in April, was difficult but riveting reading. It finally confirmed what most people already knew -- that State Police officers, in too many cases, used race as a way to determine which stopped motorists should have their cars searched for drugs. But Part Two, released yesterday, focused on recruitment of officers, promotion, training and internal affairs. It doesn't have many exciting parts. No names were named. No heads rolled. "This isn't an internal affairs investigation," said Whitman spokesman, Pete McDonough. "It was not intended to be the Knapp Commission." The Knapp Commission Report on police corruption in New York City resulted in the terrific cop movie, "Serpico." Any previous Attorney General in New Jersey will tell you that it has been absolutely impossible to exert much control over the State Police and this report sets up a process to change that and truly establish civilian oversight. But the change will be a slow process that won't be immediately visible. It will never make a great movie. Rev. Reginald Jackson, Executive Director of the Black Ministers Council, who has been eagerly awaiting this report, gave it a thumbs-down minutes after it was handed to him. "I checked the table of contents and there is no section that deals with leadership," Jackson said. Jackson, who has been leading the charge against the State Police for months, says that everything from racial profiling to the embarrassing absence of minorities in the state police command structure results from bad management. "New Jersey State Police reached the condition it's in today because of a failure of leadership," Jackson said. His prescription continues to be a new State Police Superintendent who has never worked for the New Jersey force. But Whitman has made it clear that she won't let herself be pushed around on this issue. She said yesterday that she has been waiting for the report before she makes her decision on the new superintendent, but now that she's seen it, she still sees nothing that would force her to go to an outside candidate. But in the next breath, she insists that she'll pick an outsider if she wants. The trouble with this strategy is that it looks like she's going to get caught with another difficult fight in the state Senate trying to get whomever she appoints confirmed. Senate President Don DiFrancesco, R-Scotch Plains, said yesterday that he and his lawmaking colleagues have been left out of the loop again. "I would have a lot of questions but they're handling this internally," DiFrancesco said. "We've not been brought into the process. They don't want to talk to us." DiFrancesco is no doubt even more frustrated by Whitman's closed-door approach because he's also getting lots of heat from Jackson. Yesterday, Jackson said the Senate leadership, which includes DiFrancesco and Senate Judiciary Chairman Bill Gormley, R-Mays Landing, "do not believe it's a priority to end racial profiling" because they aren't insisting on an outsider for the State Superintendent's job. McDonough says the legislative leaders will be brought in when the decision is made and cautioned against "a litmus test." "Rev. Jackson has a litmus test for an outsider, some senators have a litmus test for an insider," McDonough said. "This report will probably support the firm belief of whatever litmus test they've got." Jackson says Part Two "is a nice way of saying what we've been saying all along." But, he charged that it was "not candid, not frank and does not admit discrimination." There will undoubtedly be another sequel. Friday, July 2th Is Senate President a Hero? Before yesterday's vote on the "Childproof Handguns" Senate Minority Leader Richard Codey, D-West Orange, read the names of all thirteen teenagers who were killed at Columbine High School. Senate President Don DiFrancesco, R-Scotch Plains, cited the shocking study which found that the average handgun trigger can be pulled by 25 percent of three year olds and 70 percent of five year olds. Codey opposed DiFrancesco's Childproof Handguns bill, which passed the State Senate yesterday, because he said it doesn't go far enough to make sure safer guns are mandated. DiFrancesco insisted that without the compromise he put forward, all childproof gun legislation would be doomed. After the smoke cleared on the party line vote, it was difficult to tell if DiFrancesco is a hero or a political opportunist. It was also not easy to see if Codey is as sincerely devoted to the issue as he seems, or simply demonstrating once again that he is a masterful minority leader. What is clear, regardless of the motivation of the legislative leaders, is that the childproof gun war has become a public relations battle of political spin. Both Democrats and Republicans are desperately trying to catch the polling wave that followed the tragic school shooting in Littleton, Colorado. Polls in New Jersey show that 71 percent of all New Jerseyans want some kind of gun control.More importantly, they show that women voters are almost unanimous in their conviction that almost any kind of gun control is better than nothing. And women voters win elections, usually for Democrats. Republicans in Washington demonstrated last month that trying to take a moderate position on gun control is political suicide. Guns have become a litmus test issue that divides folks with common sense from crazed weapons freaks. In an effort to separate himself and his party from the crazed GOP last week, DiFrancesco used his own PAC money to buy full page newspaper ads pushing his childproof gun bill. When asked yesterday if he'd buy more media to make his point, DiFrancesco said, "stay tuned." But he denied that he'd put out a childproof gun bill "to get anybody elected or not elected." However, sources close to the Senate President say he plans to send direct mail regarding his childproof handgun bill to women voters around the state. Meanwhile, Codey said he expected Democrats would put the issue on the front burner in the November elections. Democrats have raised record amounts of cash in their attempt to regain the Assembly and guns could be the issue that moves Democratic voters to oust Republican Assembly incumbents. Al Quinlan, from Greenberg Quinlan, a Democratic polling firm, says that guns have now become a "top tier" issue for many voters, something that can make or break a candidate. "There's an urgency about it, especially among suburban, swing women voters," Quinlan said. But Republican pollster Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, says that Democrats are overplaying the
gender card on the new gun "If you ask a thumbs up, thumbs down question on guns, you get yes," Fitzpatrick said. "Since Columbine, everybody is in shock." But Fitzpatrick said women voters also believe that the Littleton shooting was the result of a variety of social factors that gun control does not address. "Women want to focus on the architects of Littleton, rather than the instruments," Fitzpatrick said. But its easier to get a gun in an ad than to go after a cultural target. Democrats have the harder spin job. They must get those targeted women voters to believe that something called the Childproof Handguns bill is actually a bad thing. Republicans have to overcome their bad reputation on gun control. But the fact that the National Rifle Association is outraged at DiFrancesco over the childproof handgun bill will surely help. Like the Senate President said, "stay tuned." |
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Copyright©1999 Sherry
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