FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Gregory Andres

March 9, 2007 973-909-4490

NJ to Guv: Tell the Truth

As the Governor ducks questions about his personal spending,
NJ’s taxpayers still suffer under the highest property taxes in the nation

(MONTVILLE, NJ) – As news of “new� gifts to CWA Boss, and former Corzine girlfriend, Carla Katz continue to surface, 26th District Assembly candidate Larry Casha issued the following statement concerning the Governor’s unwillingness to tell the truth and its effect on the taxpayers of New Jersey:

“Governor Corzine rode into office on the heels of a campaign pledge to change the way business is done in Trenton and to finally rid the Capital of the unseemly underbelly of greed and corruption. Clearly, he has failed. Rather than allow the Legislature to include pension reform in the Tax Reform Package, the Governor whisked it off the bargaining table and promised that he, personally, would take care of it – with the State’s best interests in mind. As if that wasn’t enough, the person with whom the Governor then negotiated was none other than his former girlfriend, CWA Boss Carla Katz. “Carla Katz, lest we forget, is the same former Corzine girlfriend that received an interest-free “loan� of $470,000 from the Governor that was abruptly forgiven during as the 2005 campaign for governor heated up. At the time, Corzine stated that there were ‘no additional gifts outstanding.’

“Unfortunately, it seems that was just the tip of the iceberg. Corzine admitted last week that in fact there had been additional monetary gifts given. Although he declined to specify what they were and for how much, Katz, still the CWA President with a yearly salary of approximately $100,000, recently purchased a condo in Hoboken for the staggering price of $1.1 million directly above Giants quarterback Eli Manning and, not so ironically, in the same building where the Governor himself resides. Adding insult to injury, Katz is also putting a 3,200 square foot ‘addition’ on her Hunterdon County farmhouse – the same farmhouse that the Governor paid for in 2005!

“All of this while at the same time residents of the Garden State are being forced out of their homes by escalating property taxes, higher sales tax, and a host of other new taxes introduced by the Governor last year. These new taxes simply reflect that the Governor, along with the Democrats in Trenton, insist on creating new taxes, rather than cutting state spending.

“Enough is enough! While this may not seem significant to the Governor, the people of New Jersey have to wonder how effectively he can fight for their best interests when he is financially involved with his counterpart in the negotiations. Even Senate President Codey has said ‘it’s not a good situation’.

“I decided to run for the Assembly to bring my proven fiscal record of lower property taxes, accountability, and honesty to Trenton. I, like many of the taxpayers of the 26th District and all over New Jersey, am sick and tired of politicians taking advantage of our trust and serving only their own interests.

“I call on the Governor to come clean and let the citizens of New Jersey know how much personal money he has given the President of one of our largest public employee unions. We deserve nothing less than the truth, and it’s about time we got it.�

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www.CashaforAssembly.org

Paid for by Casha for Assembly, Rich Clawson, Treasurer