LATEST ARRESTS SHOW FAILURE OF GOVERNOR CORZINE AND DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATORS TO FIX ETHICAL ABYSS

THE MULTITUDE OF CORRUPTION ARRESTS RESULT OF STATE LEADERS ALLOWING SYSTEMIC CORRUPTION TO PERVADE NEW JERSEY

    The magnitude of last week’s FBI sting is a symptom of Governor Corzine and the Democratic Legislature’s continual failure to adopt systematic ethics reform to give New Jersey taxpayers the honest government they deserve, Assemblymen John Amodeo and Vince Polistina, said today.

    “I commend federal officials for their efforts to protect us from unscrupulous public officials, but law enforcement should not be our only weapon against corruption,” Amodeo said. “Last week’s arrests of legislators, mayors and local officials, as well as the resignation of a key Corzine cabinet member, show how foolish the Democrats who control Trenton have been in ignoring our calls to impose stringent ethics laws on public officials to fight back against the corruption they have allowed to fester in New Jersey.”

    Some of the ethics legislation sponsored by Amodeo and Polistina, both R-Atlantic, would:

•    Bar legislators from working in the executive branch for two years after their term ends. (A-2648, introduced May 2008)
•    Eliminate pension and health benefits for part-time appointees to state or local government agencies, boards, commissions or authorities. (A-2727, introduced May 2008)
•    Bar state grants to nonprofits that has a governor or legislators on its governing board. (A-3015, introduced June 2008)
•    Allow voters to amend the state Constitution to impose term limits on Legislators. (ACR-223, introduced March 2009)
•    Reduce the number of paid political appointees on the Casino Control Commission from five to three. (A-4066, introduced June 2009)

    All measures have lingered in committee without legislative consideration. The first four have stalled in the State Government Committee; the latter is in the Tourism and Gaming Committee.

    “These are just a few of the common sense ethics reforms Governor Corzine and his legislative allies have ignored while New Jerseyans have watched parades of perp walks over the years,” Polistina said. “Those officials who have done nothing to stop the rampant corruption in this state are almost as culpable as those who have accepted wads of cash.

    “Governor Corzine and legislative leaders should feel shame for their inaction every time we see another public official led away in handcuffs,” Polistina added.