Carla Katz

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. 

Gov. Jone Corzine dodged a bullet with an appellate court ruling that halts the release of his e-mails.

Jon Corzine's chances to win re-election got a little better today when a state appellate court ruled that he won’t have to release personal e-mail exchanges with his former girlfriend, CWA leader Carla Katz.  The case could get appealed to the state Supreme Court, but Republican strategists thought their best chance was to have the appellate level uphold Superior Court Judge Paul Innes’ ruling last May that Corzine.

State Democratic Party Chair Joe Cryan

State Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Cryan today celebrated a state appeals court ruling that Gov. Jon Corzine doesn’t need to release his email transmissions with former girlfriend Carla Katz, former president of Communications Workers of America Local 1034. 

“I expect Tom Wilson and the Republican Party will be reimbursing the taxpayers of New Jersey,” said Cryan, referring to the State Republican Party Chairman’s suit to gain access to the emails. 

Wilson feared a conflict as Corzine and Katz participated in negotiations for a new state workers’ contract in 2007.

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Gov. Jon Corzine will not be forced to release his e-mail correspondence with Carla Katz, a former girlfriend and a powerful union leader, according to a state appeals court ruling.

A state appeals court ruled today that Gov. Jon Corzine will not be compelled to release e-mails exchanged with his former girlfriend, union leader Carla Katz, according to a Star-Ledger report. "We hold that the Governor properly asserted executive privilege and plaintiff did not articulate or identify a sufficient reason to overcome the privilege," the judges wrote.

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Former union leader and ex-gubernatorial girlfriend Carla Katz will do a one-on-one with Michael Aron this weekend on On the Record, airing Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., and on Monday morning at 6:30 a.m. They’ll talk about the ongoing email saga, union politics and Katz’s life in general.

Tonight at 7:00, I’ll be on Reporters Roundtable with Ben Dworkin, Director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics. The show, also hosted by Aron, will air again on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

Senator Gerald Cardinale (R-39) responded to reports today that Governor Jon Corzine has paid a huge settlement to prevent the public disclosure of the unusual circumstances under which Rocco Riccio was dismissed from a string of patronage positions in which he was placed. Riccio was reportedly paid $362,500 in late-September after threatening to sue Corzine and make public the terms of his employment and eventual termination from a pair of taxpayer and tollpayer funded positions.

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Gov. Jon Corzine likes Joe Hayden, one of New Jersey's best criminal defense attorneys, for U.S. Attorney. Corzine also likes Sen. Frank Lautenberg's choice, Paul Fishman, and Attorney General Anne Milgram.

Gov. Jon Corzine is meeting with President-elect Barack Obama next week (along with several other area Governors) and could bring up his short list of three candidates for U.S. Attorney: the Governor likes Paul Fishman and Joseph Hayden, and Attorney General Anne Milgram.  And there are two names -- both former federal prosecutors -- sources say, that Corzine opposes to replace Republican Christopher Christie: Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow and Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin.   

It's possible that none of Corzine's three picks will get the job: Milgram would be opposed by some serious Democratic players, and Hayden has some pending legal matters -- he's the attorney for Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero who is under federal indictment and awaiting trial.  Fishman, who reportedly has the backing of U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, is an interesting pick for Corzine: he's representing labor leader Carla Katz, the Governor's former girlfriend, in a lawsuit about private emails between the two. 

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According to pubished reports, Gov. Jon Corzine is a possible candidate for U.S. Secretary of the Treasury in Barack Obama's administration

President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team has asked potential administration officials to fill out a 63 question form, according to a report in the New York Times.

Question 13: "If you have ever sent an electronic communication, including but not limited to an email, text message or instant message, that could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-elect if it were made public, please describe."