Sports Authority

Senator Gerald Cardinale, senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was appalled, but not surprised that lame-duck Governor Jon Corzine's nominee for a seat on the New Jersey Sports Authority didn't bother to prepare for serious questions during his confirmation hearing. Cardinale said he was just as shocked by reports that the candidate, Middlesex County Sheriff Joseph Spicuzzo, admitted he sought advice on his confirmation from a convicted felon, former Democrat Senator John Lynch.

Senator Kevin O'Toole asks why Governor Corzine seems to be  concerned only about horse racing when the state's entire sports entertainment industry is in trouble. 

There is only one way to clear up the questions about potential conflicts of interest in the Xanadu bailout negotiations: Gary Rose must give a full accounting to the public.

Jeff Tittel leads one of New Jersey’s largest environmental groups, but sometimes it seems that he’d be happier working at Common Cause.  Tittell told The Record that state government’s allotment of Super Bowl tickets would go to the people with the best political connections. 

"This is New Jersey," Tittel said. "I know people who can call up at the last minute and get tickets from the Sports and Exposition Authority.

Senate Minority Leader Thomas Kean, Jr. today called for a moratorium on spending – “at least until Governor (Jon) Corzine’s budget address” on at the end of next month – because Corzine says the state is in a financial emergency.  One Democrat asked a simple question: does that include the six-figure golden parachute, pension-securing job for John Samerjan at the Sports Authority?  Kean declined to rehire Samerjan as Senate Republican Executive Director when he took over as Minority Leader this month.