GOVERNOR’S REMARKS ON ETHICS REFORM PACKAGE

 GOVERNOR’S REMARKS ON ETHICS REFORM PACKAGE 

TRENTON – The following are Governor Jon S. Corzine’s prepared remarks from today’s ethics reform press conference.

“Good Afternoon -

Welcome to all here who join in the call for comprehensive ethics reform and seek to restore the public’s trust in their state government.

These are momentous times for our nation and our state.  Fundamental and historic change is occurring across many aspects of everyday life – in our economy, our financial institutions as well as in the public arena.  Rightfully, the public is anxious about their family’s future and mad as hell about the role special interests and self-interest have played in creating the current crisis. 

At a time when the government of the people should be credible in stabilizing markets, home values and people’s anxieties, the public questions government’s motivations and intent.  The public understands all too well the intersection of money and politics is bad for their pocket books.  Watching the sad saga of recent history – be it Enron, Halliburton, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or the recent implosion of large financial institutions who lobbied audaciously for less government regulation – the public has had it.

Close to home, watching the same sad story of indictments and conviction of public officials and the breakdown of notable development projects involving public money, the New Jersey public has had it.

Today, with bipartisan support and public involvement, New Jersey can end the sad saga at home and begin the process of restoring trust in the institutions of government.

Of course, today’s initiatives can’t eliminate all bad actors, but it seriously advances our efforts to promote efficient and ethical government.  It is a program that seeks to prevent bad actions by people who put self-interest and special interests above the public’s.  And while today’s executive orders and legislative proposals go to the fundamentals of ethics in government, they also address fiscal responsibility and saving taxpayer dollars.

On this front, New Jersey has taken important steps.  We’ve made great strides.

We’ve put the state on the path to fiscal stability: we’ve cut the budget; reduced the payroll; eliminated departments; and stopped the gimmicks and one shots; we have taken down the Christmas tree and we’re finally matching current revenues with current expenditures.

We’ve also taken big steps to increase accountability of how our tax dollars are spent: we’ve created a State Comptroller; banned pension padding; re-created the Office of Public Advocate, and restricted no bid contracting.

But there is still much more we can do – and much more that I promised to do -- when I ran for governor in 2005.

And so we are here today to take bold action.  To finish what we’ve started: to end the insider deals, influence peddling and self interest of the old politics.  To end pay-to-play once and for all – at all levels of government. And to ban wheeling.

In a few moments, with the stroke of the pen, I will eliminate the financial influence of state vendors and contractors and ban pay-to-play on all state redevelopment contracts by executive order.

And today I am proposing legislation to eliminate all of the loopholes and finally ban pay-to-play at every level of government once and for all.  Senate President Codey and Speaker Roberts spoke in support of these types of proposals earlier this year.  I commend them for that and urge swift passage by the legislature.

Senate President Codey and Speaker Roberts also included a wheeling ban on the reform agenda they announced earlier this year, and it is included in today’s package.

When our system of campaign contribution limits was instituted 15 years ago, New Jersey was hailed as a model for other states to emulate, but as sure as the passage of time, it has been undermined by those seeking, finding and utilizing loopholes to influence decisions with their campaign dollars.

We have reached a point where New Jerseyans have come to believe that instead of government of, by and for the people, we have a government of, by and for political contributors.

Today, that era ends. Today, we set the stage for New Jersey to once again be a model for others.  The great people of this state deserve nothing less - I will settle for nothing less.”