Carla Katz

Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee John Adler today accusing him of caving into political pressure and watering down a call for an investigation into Gov. Corzine's relationship with Rocco Riccio, the brother-in-law of his ex-girlfriend/paramour/companion Carla Katz.

But Senate Democrats say that Wilson's letter is based on a misconstrued premise.

On Monday, news outlets originally reported that Adler called on the Attorney General Anne Milgram to investigate the $15,000 gift Corzine made to Riccio after he was forced out of Turnpike Authority job by the Corzine administration. This took place at the confirmation hearing of comptroller nominee Matthew Boxer, who was present at a meeting with Riccio. But Adler's letter to the Attorney General sent later that day only asked for an investigation into whether Riccio illegally looked into tax records, and news acocunts amended accordingly.

Like many families, our Thanksgiving tradition is to go around the table before we eat and each say what we are thankful for. Each other, our friends, good health, music, amazing food and laughter inevitably top the list. My son added J.K. Rowling to his list this year. Traditions are an essential part of the glue that binds us as 'families', and as Americans, in an otherwise chaotic, over scheduled and stressed out world.

Traditions, like the three decades-long granting of an extended Thanksgiving holiday for public servants, are worth fighting for. This year, Governor Corzine broke with the tradition honored by his gubernatorial predecessors, Democrats and Republicans alike, and did not grant his employees off on the day after Thanksgiving. The Governor's action has made national news and touched a nerve in the public discourse.

PolitickerNJ.com is pleased to welcome our two newest columnists: Michael Patrick Carroll and Carla Katz. Carroll, a Morris County Republican, was re-elected to his seventh term in the State Assembly last week. Katz is the President of the Communications Workers of America Local 1034; with over 16,000 members, Local 1034 is the largest CWA Local in the nation.

Some CWA Local 1034 members are circulating a petition to recall Jonathan Berg from the Executive Board, where he is Vice President of the Higher Level Supervisory Unit. Berg has spoken out against union president Carla Katz,  who appears popular among her union membership for her toughness and political clout.

Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson's statement on Superior Court Judge Paul Innes' ruling:

“Today’s decision from Judge Innes is a victory for open government and a defeat for Jon Corzine, New Jersey’s Secret-Keeper-In-Chief.  Governor Corzine’s attorney’s agreed today that they’ve not complied with Judge Innes’ order and now must enter into a consent order forcing them to do a thorough search for communications between the administration and Carla Katz and provide specific details about that search proving the search was comprehensive.  If, as the Governor claimed today after the decision, he was thorough in his search, why didn’t he just give the court the detail he was ordered to provide months ago? Governor Corzine isn’t just stonewalling me, now he’s stonewalling the court.  The fact is he didn’t do a thorough search and he doesn’t want people to see the backchannel communications with Katz and the influence she has over his public actions.

Did you catch the glam shot of Carla Katz in the Ledger last Saturday ("Corzine's ex-love wants union bigs to stay out of suit")?   Posed on a staircase in a smart, dark suit-dress with her pearly whites stretching ear to ear for the camera, it looked more like a pic to accompany a business section story about a confident exec reaching another rung up the ladder. Of course it was just another episode in the Jon and Carla soap opera.

In the wake of a Quinnipiac University poll in which a majority of voters say Gov. Jon Corzine should make public his financial dealings with Rocco Riccio, Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance again called on Attorney General Anne Milgram to investigate Riccio’s role in a government job.

The brother-in-law of state workers union leader and former Gov. Jon Corzine girlfriend, Carla Katz, Riccio apparently quit his government post after Corzine’s people told him he should leave instead of turning into a political flash point. Corzine later admitted to giving Riccio money, a move the governor’s detractors say occurred after Corzine’s people couldn’t get Riccio the private sector job they said they’d secure for him.

New Jersey voters polled by Quinnipiac University said Gov. Jon Corzine’s financial ties to Carla Katz’s brother-in-law, Rocco Riccio, should be a matter of public record and necessitate an independent investigation.

The results released today show that 55% of those in both parties polled believe the matter should be made public and should be independently examined, compared to 39% who say they believe it is a private matter.

By a five-to-four margin (49%-38%), likely voters say New Jersey is on the wrong track, but that’s not their opinion of Governor Jon Corzine.

According to the latest survey by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind, 54% of voters say they approve of the job Corzine is doing as governor while 25% disapprove, a 2:1 ratio in his favor that has been fairly steady throughout his two years as governor.