It not really about the “generous gift beneath the tree” as the Ledger headline suggested in its story about State Senator Ellen Karcher’s property being assessed as farmland (Oct. 5, 2007). It’s really about so much more.

Let’s start with the issue of Farmer Ellen’s incomplete financial disclosure: $515 in annual farm income may not be much to make hay about. That’s all the gross agricultural sales it takes for a seven acre property to qualify for the property tax reduction under State tax law. Still, the legislature’s financial disclosure statement does require all income be reported.

Former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman today announced her support of a group of GOP legislative and local candidates who have been endorsed by the Republican Leadership Council. Whitman co-chairs the group with former U.S. Senator John Danforth and former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele, and says the RLC will help the candidates with financial contributions and volunteer activity over the next few weeks.

“New Jerseyans are forced to deal with daily reports of corruption and fraud – if ever there was a time that our state needs the core Republican values of fiscal restraint and local control, now is that time,” said Whitman. “These candidates and incumbents are the kinds of leaders New Jersey needs to get our fiscal house back in order.”

In New Jersey, politician farmers and opponents with opposition researchers aren't always perfect togther.

Last week, Republican State Senate candidate Jennifer Beck criticized Democratic incumbent Ellen Karcher for taking a farmland tax credit on her 8-acre Marlboro home, where she grows Christmas trees. Beck said Karcher only sold six trees, but it seems her campaign misread the paperwork. It wasn't six trees, it was six acres of trees.

PoliticsNJ.com readers, in a highly unscientific survey that asks if Jon Corzine would rather be Governor of New Jersey or the U.S. Ambassador to Italy, say by a 2-1 margin that the Hold Me Accountable man would rather be in Rome than Trenton.  Even Corzine's friends suggest that he's not loving life as Governor.  Between problems with the Legislature, issues within his administration and personal life, and serious injuries suffered in a automobile accicdent last spring, it's not surprising that Corzine isn't having fun.

BUH-DUM-BUMP: THE PEOPLE'S COURT
IS BACK IN SESSION
He's Tanned, Rested & Ready: Let's Ask Judge Wapner
To Decide on Assembly GOP's Claims

(TRENTON) -- Even with last night's retreat on their threatened lawsuit to block property tax reform, Assembly Republicans have left their door open for a legal challenge to more than $2 billion in property tax cuts, with the Assembly Minority Leader intoning, "I guarantee somebody's going to file a lawsuit" (Star-Ledger, January 31).

The potential impact of today's Republican primary for United States Senate in Rhode Island on New Jersey politics: if incumbent Lincoln Chafee loses the GOP primary to conservative Steven Laffey, both parties will view the seat as already won by the Democratic nominee, Sheldon Whitehouse. That will allow both national parties to drop Rhode Island from their target list -- which means more money to spend on the U.S. Senate race between Bob Menendez and Tom Kean, Jr. If Chafee wins renomination, both parties will spend heavily to win this seat in a state where campaigns don't cost nearly as much as they do in a state split between the expensive New York and Philadelphia media markets.

GUSCIORA: CHRISTIE WHITMAN OWES GROUND ZERO RECOVERY WORKERS AN APOLOGY
Assemblyman Denounces Whitman Attempts to Deflect Blame to New York Officials; One in Ten Responders Suffering From Respiratory Problems

(TRENTON) -- Assemblyman Reed Gusciora today said former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman owes all of America an apology for her actions after the 9/11 terrorist attacks five years ago, when she stated the air around the former World Trade Center site was 'safe to breathe."

Two of the last three Republican Freeholders from Bergen County have been denied party support for re-election to a second term. In 2004, Louis Tedesco lost his bid for a second term amidst allegations that he had been arrested twice on domestic violence charges. Yesterday, Lisa Randall, elected to the Board of Freeholders in 2003 after serving in Governor Christie Whitman's cabinet as Commissioner of Banking and Insurance and as a State Assemblywoman, lost the Republican primary. Democrats have a 7-1 majority on the Freeholder Board.