Joe Pennacchio

Senate Budget Chair Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen)

TRENTON – The glare of the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) as a gubernatorial election year issue today forced state Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joe Doria to challenge Republicans asking for his help in scrapping it outright.

“You can’t kill COAH,” snapped Doria at the Senate Budget Committee hearing, wading into terrain treaded frequently by GOP Primary campaign trail candidates, the most recognizable of whom argue for the demolition of the community affairs division responsible for ensuring fair and affordable housing in New Jersey.

Bad idea, said Doria.

“You need to simplify it in a way that will meet court muster,” he argued. “If we don’t do that, we’re back at the beginning again. If we kill COAH, a builder’s remedy takes effect, and the courts come in with any development they want. They can come in and ask for a change in zoning.  COAH was created to protect the towns from builder’s remedy.”

Former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan on the Statehouse steps.

TRENTON – Pat Benatar’s “Hit me with your Best Shot” blared out of speakers then died – but only defiantly - as a 101.5 radio personality built up Steve Lonegan, a long coat-clad GOP gubernatorial candidate and the state’s movement conservative in chief, who came out of the rain to stand under the pillars.

Lonegan stepped up to the mike at the podium on the front steps of the State Capitol with the crowd stretching across West State Street.

“You heard them talk about ‘Yes, we can’ last year and what that turned out to mean was apologizing to Europe for the greatness of America, it meant “Yes, we can” create more government,” yelled Lonegan, who faced a rain-spattered 300 here on a 101.5 SOS to protest high taxes, even as the Senate Budget Committee crouched inside and considered Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine’s proposed $29.8 billion budget.

American flags waved.

Up the block in front of the Annex and nursing their own anti-Corzine issues, leaders of CWA Local 1033 huddled in their van behind closed doors, apparently recognizing that for the moment it would be futile to try to compete with the self-styled Tom Paines and Patrick Henrys who dominated in blue jeans, parkas and baseball caps.  

Senator Repeats Call for Transparency in Government Act

Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris/Passaic) was disgusted, but not surprised by reports that appointees of the Corzine administration refused to tell the Record newspaper of Hackensack how much money state entities make from fees charged by Ticketmaster.

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Senator Joseph Pennacchio, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee said this after hearing State Treasurer David Rousseau testify that the Corzine administration has “finally brought property taxes under control.”

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Senator Joseph Pennacchio, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement after the committee chair denied him his right to question the state Treasurer about why he has refused to provide a full accounting of the state’s disastrous losses on an ill-advised investment in now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers:

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Senators Joseph Pennacchio and Bill Baroni are drafting legislation that would create a bipartisan commission to investigate the state's handling of its depleted $59 billion pension system and come up with a plan to restore it to solvency. The Senate Resolution would create a bipartisan panel of senators with the power to issue subpoenas.

In response to the state’s lawsuit against former Lehman Brothers executives and directors over $118 million in pension fund losses, State Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-Montville) said that the legal action was “long overdue” but not enough.

Pennacchio would like to hold legislative hearings on state investment decisions.  

"This lawsuit doesn't provide the answers that taxpayers and retirees need to be certain that the state is competently managing the billions of dollars of hard earned money that is being placed in its care,” Pennacchio said yesterday in a press release. “I again call for immediate legislative hearings to determine whether the procedures governing state investment decisions are sound.”

The state's suit against Lehman Brothers will not provide the answers that taxpayers and retirees need to be certain that the state is competently managing the billions of dollars of hard earned money that is being placed in its care.

At-Large Councilman Peter Cammarano, left, and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton)

SOMERSET – The influx of federal stimulus money dominated much of the conversation here Saturday night at the Garden State Equality dinner, with some Democrats privately terrified by the prospect of misspent money ballooning into a crippling headline just in time for the gubernatorial election.

As there are just two gubernatorial contests nationwide this year, New Jersey becomes the de facto frontline for President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan, and what most anticipate will be a Meadowlands charm offense by the president on the eve of the election could boomerang badly for Democrats if they mismanage the historic infusion of cash. 

After meeting a week ago with Obama, who told governors to pay particular attention to ensuring stimulus transparency, Gov. Jon Corzine said New Jersey would receive $17.5 billion from the  federal aid package, or $7.5 billion in tax benefits, and $10 billion for Medicaid, and investments in highways, roads, bridges, mass transit, and healthcare information technology.

Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris Plains)

MOUNTAIN LAKES – Chris Christie’s two-day bus tour comes to an end in his home county of Morris, and if there are any hard feelings from past primary campaigns, they’re heavily layered over with food and drink and some early and undeniable GOP adrenaline in the banquet hall here at the Zeris Inn.

“Phenomenal,” deadpans Steve Lonegan campaign spokesman Rick Shaftan when told of the overflow crowd come to pay homage to the local boy made good. 

“I hope there were 1,000 people there – and plenty of booze,” adds the anti-GOP establishment Shaftan. “Meanwhile, we were out there pounding on doors and organizing.”

Although no one reports seeing Morris County Freeholder John Murphy among Christie’s Republican ranks – the man who unseated Christie in their bitter 1997 contest – the place is jammed with recognizable faces, including state Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-Morris), Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany), state Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Morris), Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris Plains), Freeholder Director Gene Feyl, Freeholder Jack Schrier, Freeholder Margaret Nordstrom, Freeholder Doug Cabana, Clerk Jane Bramhall and others.