Assemblyman John Rooney says he may retireAfter serving in the Legislature since 1983, Republican Assemblyman John Rooney calls himself the Dean of the Assembly, having been there longer than any other current member.

But a combination of health issues and weariness of the way he says business is done in Trenton today has led Rooney to consider retirement, even after he won a solid victory in last month’s hotly contested election. Rooney, who at 68 is the youngest of the three 39th district legislators, will evaluate his political future after undergoing hip replacement surgery later this month. Depending on how his recovery goes, he may decide to retire early or not to seek another term in 2009.

Reflecting on his legislative record over the last 25 years, Rooney admitted that the current state of Trenton politics had him dispirited. And he had already been dealt a painful blow in 2006, after a well-funded Democrat tossed him out of the Northvale’s mayor’s office – a seat that he had held from 1979-1986, and again from 1991 until his defeat.

Today’s Valerie Huttle Chutzpah Award is Republican Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk, who is suddenly against the government borrowing money without taxpayer approval, despite her vote in support of a 1997 $2.75 billion pension bond borrowing plan. Vandervalk has written an Op-Ed criticizing Governor Jon Corzine’s asset monetization plan.

Back from Portugal, Governor Jon Corzine has added four extra stops to his schedule today – all in the 39th district, where Democrats think they have a shot at ousting three longtime Republican legislators.

Corzine, who was in Bergen County earlier this morning for a Bergen County Democratic Organization breakfast and two labor rallies, will return at 4:15 PM for stops in Northvale, Old Tappan, Emerson and Demarest.

CARDINALE, ROONEY & VANDERVALK WARN VOTERS WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW WILL HURT THEM AFTER THE ELECTION

State Sen. Gerald Cardinale, Assemblyman John Rooney and Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk, the Republican legislative team representing District 39,  cautioned voters today that what they don’t know will hurt them financially after the election – and that’s the way the Democrats have planned it from the very beginning of the campaign.

“It’s no secret that Governor Corzine and the Democrats have kept two different plans to hike tolls under wraps until after the election,” said Cardinale. “It has been reported that top Democrats in the Legislature asked the governor to keep the details of his plan to raise tolls annually on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway hidden so they couldn’t be used against their candidates during the campaign. Now this week we learned a separate plan to raise tolls at the Port Authority’s bridge and tunnel crossings was also held back until after the election at the request of Democrats.

“There’s an old saying that goes ‘what you don’t know can’t hurt you.’ Just the opposite is true in this case. What the voters haven’t been told during this campaign will definitely hurt them financially once the votes are counted.”

ROONEY & VANDERVALK TO CORZINE: ‘JUST SAY NO’ TO PROPOSED POST-ELECTION PATH TOLL INCREASE

Reacting to a published report that the Port Authority is planning a huge toll increase on its Hudson River crossings and higher fares for passengers of the PATH rail line right after the November election, Republican Assembly members John Rooney and Charlotte Vandervalk urged Governor Corzine to use his veto power to block the move.

“When will the madness end?” asked Rooney, R-District 39. “Many Bergen County residents commute to New York every day. A $2 or $3 toll increase would be devastating.”

“Corzine should just say no,” added Vandervalk, also R-District 39. “It’s bad enough the governor and the Democrats are planning to raise tolls annually on New Jersey’s toll roads. A whopping increase in PATH fares and river and bridge crossings just adds insult to injury.”

ROONEY & VANDERVALK ACCUSE FERRIERO OF LYING ABOUT ENCAP ON TELEVISION SHOW

Republican Assembly members John Rooney and Charlotte Vandervalk demanded an apology from Bergen County Democratic Boss Joseph Ferriero for “brazenly lying” when he accused them of sponsoring legislation that was supposedly responsible for the EnCap debacle in the Meadowlands.

On the “New Jersey Now” public affairs program broadcast by WWOR Channel 9 on Sunday, Ferriero tried to deflect blame for the failed EnCap project that has cost the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and inflicted severe environmental damage on the Meadowlands. He falsely pinned the blame on Rooney and Vandervalk.

“EnCap was a pet project of three Democratic administrations, starting with former Governor McGreevey,” noted Vandervalk, R-District 39. “It was under their watch that rules were bent to move this residential development and golf course ahead. Now that the project has failed, leaving the taxpayers millions of dollars in the hole, I find it incredulous that Ferriero would go on television to try to pin the blame on us when it was his political party that has been calling the shots since day one.”

ROONEY & VANDERVALK SAY DEMOCRATS REFUSAL TO DEAL WITH PROPERTY TAX AND ETHICS REFORM SHOWS WHY INITIATIVE & REFERENDUM IS ESSENTIAL

The abject failure of Democrats who rule the State House to give any serious consideration to meaningful property tax, budget and ethics reforms demonstrates the need to embrace initiative and referendum (I & R) and place more power in the hands of the people say Assemblyman John Rooney and Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk.

Rooney and Vandervalk, the Republican team representing the 39th Legislative District in the Assembly, said the people should have the ability to force change if their elected representatives refuse to act.

ROONEY & VANDERVALK SAY REPORT ON HIGH SCHOOL ‘DROPOUT FACTORIES’ IS ANOTHER REASON TO DEMAND GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY FROM ABBOTT DISTRICTS

A report prepared for the Associated Press and released today that classifies 13 high schools in New Jersey, most located in Abbott Districts, as “dropout factories” is just another reason why the state must demand greater accountability for its massive investment in these special needs school districts, say Assemblyman John Rooney and Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk.

“Before the Legislature begins its post-election debate on the Corzine administration’s still secret school funding formula, steps must be taken to ensure the gross waste of taxpayer dollars in Abbott funds is halted and that the money is directed where it belongs – the classroom,” said Rooney, R-District 39. 

“After the investment of billions of dollars in the Abbott districts, the children are still not getting the education they deserve,” added Vandervalk, also R-District 39. “This report shows students are not being given a good enough incentive stay in high school and graduate, a decision that can be ruinous to their future.”

ROONEY & VANDERVALK SAY REPUBLICAN PLAN FOR PERMANENT PROPERTY TAX CUTS WILL HELP BERGEN TAXPAYERS WEATHER ‘PERFECT STORM’

Assemblyman John Rooney and Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk, Republicans representing the 39th Legislative District, said today deep, constitutionally-guaranteed property tax cuts will help Bergen County homeowners weather the ‘perfect tax storm’  that one Rutgers University profession predicts is fast approaching New Jersey’s shores.

The District 39 Republican team said a recent news report broadcast by Millennium Radio (NJ 101.5-FM) offered more powerful evidence that New Jersey is becoming unaffordable for a greater multitude of middle class families every day. Richard Harris, a professor of political science and public policy at Rutgers-Camden, said taxpayers are being squeezed harder they have ever been. He said “a broken property tax system” is one major reason why.

The Record has endorsed Democrat Joseph Ariyan for State Senator over GOP incumbent Gerald Cardinale and backed Democrat Esther Fletcher for Assembly over incumbent Republican John Rooney. They endorsed GOP Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk. READ