Lonegan gears up for lawsuit against Corzine/State of New Jersey

By Max Pizarro | July 15th, 2008 - 2:54pm
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Former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan said he is finalizing the lawsuit he intends to file in Bergen County Superior Court against the State of New Jersey next week, attacking Gov. Jon Corzine’s decision to borrow $3.9 billion to build new schools.

"We’re going into court and we’re attacking the facts," said the Republican. "First, the schools are not crumbling. The Oliver School (in the Ironbound, where Corzine signed the borrowing bill) is a beautiful building.

"Second," he said, "we’re going after the assertion that these towns can't afford to pay anything for schools. They can afford taxes."

The lawsuit would be Lonegan’s fourth against the State of New Jersey since 2000.

"We haven't seen the lawsuit, but Governor Corzine has been consistent in his belief that there is a legal and moral obligation to ensure every child in New Jersey has a safe, clean, healthy environment to learn in without any further delay," said governor’s spokesman Sean Darcy. "We also believe it is imperative to begin to get shovels in the ground as quickly as possible to create jobs in New Jersey in the face of this national recession."

But Lonegan claims the plan is an error of first principle.

"The whole schools construction program they put together is a disaster," he said of the New Jersey Supreme Court. "The court is leading the state down a path of fiscal disaster."

A possible challenger for governor in 2009, the hard right Lonegan, moreover, said the new Schools Development Authority represents no significant change from the discredited and now-defunct Schools Construction Corporation.

"There’s definitely union pressure, that’s definitely part of it," he said of the governor’s decision to green light schools construction statewide. "The other part of it is a general philosophical belief in the centralized control of everything."

One of the authors of the bill signed last week ago by Corzine, Assemblywoman Grace Spencer (D-Newark) predicted then that criticism of the $3.9 billion borrowing measure would provoke harsh criticism, but argued that the measure is justified. Specifically, she addressed the Oliver Street School.

"On the outside, yes, it is a beautiful building, but on the inside, it’s not viable for our kids to thrive in this community," said Spencer. "No matter how glamorous it is on the outside, it’s overcrowded on the inside. We’re talking about paint peeling off the wall and classrooms in closets."

Finally, somebody has sanity to stand up for taxpayers.

Gov. Corzine's illegal act of borrowing without voters' approval must be exposed. No more borrowing for spending.

Not illegal.

Its not illegal.

The NJ Supreme Court said the state couldn't borrow to pay for normal operating expenses and to fill gaps in the yearly budget.

Borrowing for large capital construction projects is exactly the point of a bond initiative.

Duh?

You can disagree with Corzine's policy decision to float a bond itiative in this economic time (and I think that's a pretty valid argument to make, by the way), but its pretty idiotic and false to call the School Construction bond issue "illegal."

$40 billion debt of NJ not illegal?

Mr. Democrat, Gov. Corzine gave us lectures a few months ago about NJ debts. He wanted to sell NJ higways to incurr more debts. However, he mentioned that he will not increase spending nor take more debts. There are initiatives to limit state borrowing through constitutional amendments, etc. However, if we add $38 billion and $3.9 billion presently taken by Gov. Corzine that will give us $40 billion in debts. That's illegal in my opinion. No taxpayer would approve that kind of debt. Even you, Mr. Democrat. Unless, it is done by Democrats? Yes, No?

Go Get 'Em!!!

Go get 'em, Steve!  Give 'em hell and save us from more debt!

 "I figure people drift toward liberalism at a young age, and I always hope that they change when they see how the world really is.”
- Johnny Ramone

Waste of His Time and Money..

Something former Mayor Loneganuts is verrrry good at it..

 

Will he hire illegals to represent him in court? Or how about Dennis Oury? I hear he's very popular these days..Steve had no problem teaming up with him in the past..

Every "taxpayer" should welcome this lawsuit

Why should a 3 or 4 year old child of working parents who pay taxes not get free pre-school, free busing, free lunches. That's because they get up every morning and go to work. At night they read to their children and engage them in learning. Opps, I better stop because then someone may call me a bigot or a racist!!!!

By the way, my town has some very old school buildings and they don't have state of the art science labs and auditoriums, can't we get some out of the billions spent by School Construction??? Hoboken has more million dollar condos and BMWs then 90% of NJ towns, let them pay for their own school buildings.

Lonegan the reformer.

He'll never get the credit, but his ethics complaints to the legislature was the genesis of Christie's investigations.

It was Lonegan who stopped Corzine's stupid road sale debacle.

It was Lonegan who has shrewdly used the courts to stop Corzine's big government at any cost, socialist agenda.

Lonegan the conservative is really Lonegan the reformer.

Ironic.

Vote Column - All the way!

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