The Top Five Stories of 2007

In a recent taping of Power and Politics, I was asked by Jim McQueeny to list the top five political stories of 2007.  I invite readers to share with me their lists.

In reverse order, the top five political stories for 2007 were:

5. Monetization, later dubbed fiscal restructuring.  Although the infamous secret report commissioned by the governor remains a mystery, the story never seemed to go away form the time its existence was first leaked through the Republican suit to have it released.  This became a campaign issue in several districts, most notably in South Jersey, where both Democratic and Republican candidates vowed never to allow the state's toll roads to be sold.  This story will take on new legs next week, when the governor finally reveals the details and takes the show on the road in a series of town hall meetings.

4. Political Corruption.  2007 was another banner year in terms of public officials being indicted and convicted.  U.S. Attorney Chris Christie's victims included the "Monmouth 11", two state senators and two assemblymen among others.  Even the threat of indictment was enough to force at least one incumbent from seeking re-election.  In my view, despite these indictments and convictions, the real story was the lack of public outrage.  The seemingly endless parade of corrupt officials would normally result in a "throw the bums out" sentiment among voters however, as my number two story indicates this was not the case.

3.  Corzine-Katz.  Whether it was email exchanges, the failure to disclose gifts given and received, or jobs and money provided to family members, the ongoing relationship between the governor and Ms. Katz always seemed to take on a new twist.  The press's fascination with this relationship has never been matched by the public, which seems to consider the issue a private affair.  Indeed, there seems to be a sentiment that the governor is free to spend his money as he sees fit.  This may change if the email exchange between the two is released and any conflicts of interest are revealed.

2.  The legislative elections.  Despite the huge turnover in membership (especially in the state senate), this was largely a status quo election with each party gaining a seat in one chamber and losing a seat in the other.  Perhaps the biggest development is a change in the Republican's senate leadership.  This new generation of party leaders is attempting to assert themselves and may be courted by the governor if he is unable to get Democrats to fall in line.

1. The accident.  The top story of the year was the governor's near fatal car accident in April.  The accident hospitalized the governor for several weeks and knocked him out of commission for several more.  The accident also derailed the governor from pursing his agenda at a point in his term when he could be most effective.  Thus, the monetization plan was not unveiled for this year's budget and other significant reform initiatives were delayed.  Many speculated that the real casualty of the accident may have been the governor's political ambitions and his zest for politics.   At the time, some even questioned whether he would run for re-election. 

Those are my top five.  I look forward to reading yours.