This may not be a shock to those who regularly read this blog, but when I go into that voting both tomorrow morning I will cast my ballot for the incumbent Governor, Jon Corzine.
What may surprise you is that I seriously considered voting for the independent candidate, Chris Daggett. Daggett is a man with an idea that just could work as far as reducing the $8 billion budget gap that is anticipated this year. But the reality of the situation is, Daggett is stuck at around 10% of the vote- his chances of winning are next to non-existent.
Chris Christie, the Republican challenger to Corzine, was a stellar federal prosecutor; one of the best our region has ever seen. I think he's a good and decent man- but I don't believe in his agenda for fixing New Jersey's problems. What's even more problematic for me is I don't believe that Christie believes in the very solutions he's offering. Its the old Republican recipe of "I'll reduce government and cut taxes"...only government never gets reduced under Republicans in New Jersey, taxes are cut usually- and then there is a deficit to be dealt with by the next administration.
As far as the mantra that Christie will reduce property taxes....how? Its up to the municipalities to do that. He can make suggestions, but no governor can overtly interfere in the affairs of a municipal government; its unethical, and may be illegal.
Which gets us back to Jon Corzine. He had an agenda to get New Jersey back on its feet economically in his first term- he didn't get it done. But much of that can be attributed to 300 years of New Jersey's reliance on home rule; municipalities need to merge and/or share services. The economic crisis of 2008 was the other shoe that dropped. It didn't help a shakey situation in the Garden State.
Hopefully a second term under Corzine, where he wouldn't have to be concerned with running for re-election, can accomplish some things that need to be done, mainly a radical restructuring of government services on local, county, and state levels that would reduce the tax burden on New Jersey's property owners, which is among the nation's worst.
If there's one thing that you'll notice in this post I hope its this- I refrain from the idiotic and vitriolic name calling and labeling that too often goes on blogs of a political nature. I have friends and family who are light years away from me in my politics- but relationships cannot be based on politics alone. To hate and repudiate someone because of their political stance is as wrong and pig headed as to hate because of religion, skin color, or sexual orientation.
Tomorrow, the next governor of New Jersey will win with something in the neighborhood of 40% of the vote, give or take. If Corzine wins, some will crow that this is an endorsement of the Obama administration. If its Christie, the "usual suspects"- mainly right wing media gas bags- will see this as a reudiation of Obama and his policies.
To either side who tries this, I'll say it right now....its a load of crap, plain and simple. Its about what's going on in New Jersey, not DC, or in Virginia..its not referendum on anyone or anything outside of the confines of this state.
And don't allow anyone to tell you otherwise, because of they do they're either stupid, or they're lying.
And to the winner, to whom ever that may be...the people will have spoken.
Our next governor will be a man whom as many as 60% of the voters did not vote for.
Hopefully the best man will win.
No comments:
Post a Comment