Wilson to governor: let the people decide

By Max Pizarro | January 12th, 2009 - 3:00pm
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Calling the ruling an “affront to open and honest government,” State Republican Party Chairman Tom Wilson this afternoon personally responded to a state appeals court judgment that Gov. Jon Corzine doesn’t have to release his email transmissions with former girlfriend and labor leader Carla Katz. 

Wilson’s suit had sought the opposite ruling, but he vowed to fight on if the governor doesn’t comply with what Wilson said is simply the right of the public to know. 

“From the outset, Jon Corzine hasn’t been honest about his relationship with Carla Katz and today’s ruling makes it clear that Katz and Corzine did, in fact, talk about the contract negotiations despite Corzine’s claims that he didn’t,” said Wilson of the governor’s emails with the former local president of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) who negotiated a state workers contract with Corzine's administration.  

“This matter comes down to the right of the people to decide for themselves whether or not the back channel communications between Katz and Corzine inappropriately influenced Corzine’s actions,” Wilson said. “This matter comes down to transparency in government, to accountability, and to integrity.   

“Today's decision is an affront to open and honest government,” he added. “It guts the Open Public Records Act and allows the Governor to conduct his business - the people's business - in total secrecy, free from scrutiny.  It reverses the basic premise of OPRA, which is that transparency in government is the standard and exceptions are made only when government can provide a good reason why the public shouldn’t get to see how their business is conducted.” 

Taking Corzine’s central counter argument that the governor's appeal was for the right to protect executive privilege for himself and future governors and not an attempt to hide what Wilson described as “back-channel communications with Carla Katz,” then today's decision frees him to release the emails, the chairman said. 

“Today, I renew my offer of compromise to Governor Corzine giving him a way to uphold his often spoken commitment to transparency and honest government, while still protecting the executive privilege he claims to be to be fighting for,” Wilson said. “If the Governor agrees to turn over the documents which were ordered by Judge Innes to be produced, then I will forego an appeal of this matter. If Corzine refuses to disclose the emails and prove that this fight was about anything more than protecting his political interests, then I will appeal today's decision to the Supreme Court.”

Tags:

Waaaaaah, Wwwwwaaaaaaahhhhhhhh

Submitted by FormerlyAnonymous on January 12, 2009 - 3:19pm.

Good lord, what a baby. YOU took it to the courts, and that means accepting the results. You lost, and now you want to change the rules.

No wonder you lose so much.

Get over it WIlson

Submitted by DemocratDiaz on January 12, 2009 - 4:06pm.

Seriously, most of New Jersey does not care about these emails.

Give up Tom

Submitted by SewarenScoop on January 12, 2009 - 4:07pm.

You should have been announcing your resignation today for failing to run a political party for four years and wasting your time on a non-issue no one cares about.

Can these committee members grow a spine and dump this guy?

I wonder how much this cost "The Wizard of Wall Street"

Submitted by edmac on January 12, 2009 - 4:10pm.

I wonder how much this cost "The Wizard of Wall Street"

All right!

Submitted by TheBullhorn on January 12, 2009 - 4:39pm.

Gee, I thought I was the only person who saw this whole non-issue issue as a proverbial tempest in a teapot.

I'm really happy to see that at least a few others don't give a rat's patoot about whether Corzine had some alleged conflict of interest with the head of a state employee workers' union.

The GOP should simply concentrate on getting rid of large portions of the existing state government apparatus . . . then we wouldn't have all these worthless, counterproductive, state employees to worry about, now would we?

But nooooooo . . . the state GOP leadership thinks they can embarass the governor or catch him in some kind of conflict. But even if they did, the Dems would simply switcheroo Corzine for some other collectivist/statist/fascist/ socilaist moron . . . just like they always do. The last time the GOP ran this kind of scheme, the Dems simply resurrected a blithering old washed out dingbat who can't string a subject and predicate together, and they still beat GOP's Doug Forrester.

I swear, it seems sometimes like the NJGOP leadership are just a bunch of Dem moles . . . they can't find their butts on a sunny day with a mirror and a flashlight.

Amen

Submitted by willmonk on January 12, 2009 - 6:17pm.

The GOP lost freeholder seats in Burlington County for the first time in 27 years, we lost the clerk's office for the first time in 39 years, and (in 2006) we lost the surrogate's office for the first time in 40 years. We can blame it on the Obama tidal wave, or we can take a good long look at how the party is wasting precious resources on attacks and attacks and still more attacks that simply do not work. When will the party come up with a message that goes beyond empty phrases? When will someone in authority sit down with Tom Wilson and tell him to knock off this juvenile nonsense?

Message to Chris Christie

Submitted by SewarenScoop on January 12, 2009 - 7:26pm.

I think its time that grassroots Republicans stand up here. If you want real change from the party, and think that Chris Christie is that (Im not sure he is), please join with me in demanding him to stop this madness and send Tom Wilson packing. Otherwise hes just another Forrester-Estabrook-Unanue-Zimmer empty suit.

I'm with

Submitted by republikyle on January 12, 2009 - 7:50pm.

you sewarenscoop. He is part of the problem, not the solution.

Posted by the bullhorn -

Submitted by nj_politics_2008 on January 12, 2009 - 9:56pm.

Posted by the bullhorn - "Corzine for some other collectivist/statist/fascist/ socilaist moron."

Tom Wilson should go but I would suggest that the idiocy presented in your above post is not the type of rhetoric that will win votes. I get that the GOP is frustrated but pouting as you do will accomplish nothing.

I love Republicans...

Submitted by ImWithStupid on January 13, 2009 - 7:41am.

who spend more time trashing other republicans than democrats - especially the ones who are paid democrat consultants. Focus the hate on Corzine and Codey - they suck and they are more deserving of attack.

Wilson still heads the Republican Party!?

Submitted by Mom in Law on January 13, 2009 - 9:53am.

Shame on the Republicans for having such a ridiculous leader in these chaotic economic times. ITS THE ECONOMY STUPID!!!! Have you learned nothing from the recent national election?

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Submitted by blogcu on March 3, 2009 - 5:14am.

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