Yudin: Carroll wrong guy to represent Corzine

Bergen County GOP Chairman Robert Yudin says he can't understand why Democrats would pick Bergen County Freeholder James Carroll to launch attacks on GOP gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie.  After Christie visited Bergen County yesterday to link Gov. Jon Corzine to recent unemployment numbers, the Democratic State Committee released a statement from Carroll saying that Christie has never created new jobs.

 "The only jobs Jim Carroll has created and is trying to create are the government jobs he created for himself and his family at the Bergen County Utilities Authority," Yudin said.  "Carroll has excelled only at using taxpayer money to give big paydays to his political supporters, such as PMK Associates - which so far has been paid $6.7 million for the Overpeck Park boondoggle that is now costing taxpayers more than $70 million and counting."

Yudin suggests that if Carroll is truly interested in creating jobs, he can "explain what happened to the 20,000 jobs that were supposed to be created at Xanadu and the $100 million in yearly sales tax revenue that was supposed to be generated by the mega-mall that Mr. Carroll and the all-Democratic Bergen County Freeholder Board strongly backed."

"So far Xanadu has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and all they have to show for it is an empty building and a taxpayer subsidized train service for an empty mall," said Yudin. "Carroll is the same freeholder who has been silent about the EnCap boondoggle in the Meadowlands that is now under federal investigation, because the state refused to investigate the failings of its own project."

 Carroll, Yudin alleges, voted to raise taxes in Bergen County by $45 million over the last two years.  "When it came time to stand up and fight for Bergen County residents against Gov. Corzine's economic plans, Freeholder Carroll was silent as Gov. Corzine cut $3.2 million in state aid from Bergen County this year," Yudin said.

"If anyone is looking for reason why taxes are on the increase in Bergen County and why jobs are disappearing it is because of Corzine's supporters in Bergen County who have raised county taxes and sat silently as Corzine's administration increased state mandates and decreased state aid," said Yudin.