WATSON COLEMAN WELCOMES ANNOUNCEMENT
OF LISA JACKSON AS GOVERNOR'S CHIEF OF STAFF

(TRENTON) - Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman today applauded Governor Jon S. Corzine's naming of state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson to be his new chief of staff, saying the administration is tapping one of its "brightest and most-capable minds."

ROBERTS: JACKSON A 'TALENTED MIND AND STEADY HAND'
TO LEAD GOVERNOR'S OFFICE

(TRENTON) - Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. today released the following statement regarding Governor Jon S. Corzine's selection of state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson to be his Chief of Staff:

"With many tough challenges facing the state, Governor Corzine has chosen the right person in Lisa Jackson to lead his staff -- she is a talented mind and a steady hand."

Charles Kuperus is expected to resign his cabinet post as New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture.  A Republican, he was serving as a Sussex County Freeholder when Democrat James E. McGreevey appointed him after the 2001 gubernatorial election.  Kuperus is the lone Republican in Gov. Jon Corzine's cabinet, and since Corzine pledged during his 2005 campaign that he would make bi-partisan cabinet appointments, its possible that he'll pick a Republican for Secretary of Agricuture, or to replace Lisa Jackson at the Department of Environmental Protection.  

For the record, Corzine doesn't actually appoint the Secretary of Agriculture.  In New Jersey, Governors make recommendations to the State Board of Agriculture, who actually votes on the cabinet post.

Lisa Jackson will become the first African American to serve as Chief of Staff to the Governor of New Jersey.  She is Jon Corzine's third Chief of Staff since he took office in January 2006.  Expect other staff changes over the next few months.  It is anticipated that Deputy Chief of Staff Maggie Moran will leave the front office to manage Corzine's re-election campaign, and insiders say that Deputy Chief of Staff Patti Nelson McGuire and Policy Director Adam Zellner are also expected to leave by January. 

Gov. Jon Corzine's new Chief of Staff, Lisa JacksonGov. Jon Corzine will announce today that Lisa Jackson, the state Environmental Protection Commissioner, will be his new Chief of Staff.  Jackson will succeed Bradley Abelow, who will be staying on as an advisor to the Governor.

Editor's note: Corzine will not make an announcement regarding Jackson's appointment today, but will do so in the very immediate future.

Corzine will need to nominate someone to replace Jackson in his cabinet.

Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson remains the leading candidate to become Jon Corzine's Chief of Staff when Bradley Abelow leaves.  Speculation of Abelow's departure has persistsed for the last six months, but sources close to the administration say the former Goldman Sachs partner will most certainly be gone by the end of the year.  Democratic insiders say that Maggie Moran, Corzine's politically savvy Deputy Chief of Staff for the last four years (and State Director when he was in the Senate) will leave state government to become manage the Governor's re-election campaign. 

Sources say that the Department of Law and Public Safety is not expected to file criminal charges against Jeff Pillets, a Pulitzer-nominated investigative reporter at The Record, after reviewing a report from the Department of Environmental Protection that Pillets removed public documents.  David Wald, a spokesman for Attorney General Anne Milgram, had no comment on the Pillets matter.  Written statements from Elaine Makatura, a spokesman for DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson, and Pillets, are essentially the same -- except on one point: the DEP says Pillets initially denied having the missing files, while Pillets says he was a model of cooperation.

The following is a written statement from Makatura, send to PolitickerNJ.com yesterday and today:

The Record reported on Thursday that the Corzine administration has missed a June 30 deadline for a report outlining New Jersey’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% over the next four years – something that could affect Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson’s chances to become the Governor’s next Chief of Staff.  Jon Corzine, with former Vice President Al Gore at his side, signed the Global Warming Response Act one year ago yesterday.  A DEP spokeswoman told The Record that the report is still a few months away. 

There’s some buzz from the front office that Lisa Jackson, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, could wind up as Governor Jon Corzine’s new Chief of Staff.    Bradley Abelow is expected to leave after the budget is passed, and sources say that Michellene Davis, Corzine’s Appointments Counsel, is also a possible candidate for the top staff post.

WHELAN AND JACKSON UNVEIL NEW FEE FORMULA FOR RESIDENTIAL DOCK OWNERS

ATLANTIC CITY – At a news conference today at the Atlantic City Convention Center, State Senator Jim Whelan and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Lisa Jackson unveiled a new licensing fee formula designed to introduce fairness for residential dock owners who’ve been hit by soaring tidelands licensing fees.