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Daily Record - Chatham fund manager aims at NJEA with ads
Star Ledger - Looming vote over public worker benefits highlights rift between N.J. Democrats
Nj.com-Statehouse Bureau - Looming vote over public worker benefits highlights rift between N.J. Democrats
Daily Record - Chatham fund manager aims at NJEA with ads
Star Ledger - Looming vote over public worker benefits highlights rift between N.J. Democrats
Nj.com-Statehouse Bureau - Looming vote over public worker benefits highlights rift between N.J. Democrats
Daily Record - Chatham fund manager aims at NJEA with ads
6:43 AM, Jun. 18, 2011 |
Two wealthy North Jersey hedge fund managers and a Newark school choice advocate have formed a nonprofit group designed to counter the New Jersey Education Association’s air campaign against Gov. Chris Christie.
Better Education for Kids (B4K) went on the air Thursday with a $1 million TV ad campaign touting “bipartisan reformers” like Christie and questioning the NJEA’s motives.
“President Obama supports education reform. Gov. Christie too,” the announcer says. “So why is the teachers union spending millions attacking Christie and bipartisan reformers?
”It’s time to stop special interests’ domination of education, reform tenure, reward teachers with merit pay, and bring accountability to our schools.“
Hedge fund managers David Tepper, a Democrat, and Alan Fournier, a Republican, are the trustees and funding sources for B4K. Executive Director Derrell Bradford left Newark-based E3 (Excellent Education for Everyone) last week to run the new organization.
Asked how long B4K had been around, Bradford laughed and said, “a day.”
Tepper, a billionaire, is well known for having bet on the federal government’s 2009 rescue of Wall Street. His firm, Chatham-based Appaloosa Management, made nearly $8 billion as a result.
Bradford pointed to Tepper’s and Fournier’s history of philanthropy when asked to explain their interest in New Jersey public education.
”What they saw is there is just no one speaking up in the court of public opinion or in the media in a way that was comparable to what the status quo was doing,“ Bradford said. ”The launch of the campaign is about giving visibility and sensibility to policies that put great teachers in front of kids and make our system more transparent and accountable.“
Tepper’s philanthropic interests include Rutgers University and the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Carnegie Mellon University’s business school is named for him. Fournier also has ties to New Jersey SEED (a Newark-based educational non-profit), the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newark, and TEAM Charter Schools of New Jersey.
Public education advocates expressed alarm at B4K’s insertion into the New Jersey schools debate.
”The people behind this are hedge fund operators,“ said Steve Wollmer of NJEA. ”
“These are people who see education as an investment opportunity,” said Steve Wollmer of NJEA.
Wollmer also disputed B4K’s claims of bipartisanship.
”That’s an obvious ploy. I don’t think Obama and Christie see eye to eye on many things,“ Wollmer said.
Obama administration official Juan Sepulveda told the Courier-Post in March that both the president and Christie had been unfairly accused of attacking public school teachers in their push for reform.
”We’re not against the unions,“ Sepulveda said. ”This is about what does the 21st century compact look like between us and the teachers?“
Nonprofit advocacy groups classified by the IRS as 401(c)(4) do not have to disclose their donors even while engaging in political activities. Such groups have become significant players in recent elections, drawing scrutiny from lawmakers in Washington.
Deborah Howlett, a former Corzine official who runs the progressive New Jersey Policy Perspective, was suspicious about B4K.
”It’s one of dozens of these groups that are now popping up to push an agenda,“ she said. ”They’re no different than a lobbyist for any other special interest group except the new rules allow for much greater latitude in who can give and not much transparency up front.“
B4K’s ads hit the air the day after the NJEA targeted Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and unofficial party leader George E. Norcross III. Norcross, who prefers a low profile when it comes to politics, spoke out against the NJEA on Wednesday alongside Newark Mayor Cory Booker and former Gov. Jim Florio at a Cinnaminson press conference.
”I am not involved nor have I made any contributions“ to B4K, Norcross said Thursday.
Norcross said his support for school choice - he is building new charter schools in Camden - was based on high respect for teachers and anger about failing schools systems like one in Camden.
”Over the past 18 months the actions of the NJEA union leaders, and in particular President Barbara Keshishian, would seem to suggest that they are really plants from the Republican administration,“ Norcross said.
”Their actions are so stupid and so arrogant that they must have been planted here because they’ve made Gov. Christie a national political figure overnight.“
The NJEA spent nearly $7 million last year combating Christie’s education policies. But Tepper is a billionaire, Norcross pointed out.
”(The NJEA’s) money has bought them a lot in the last two decades,“ Norcross. ”But their money is pocket change compared to folks that have net worths in the billions that are prepared, like this fellow apparently is, to spend money to effect change.“
Bradford acknowledged the formation of B4K signaled the school choice movement in New Jersey was professionalizing its efforts.
”This is the necessary evolution of the backbone of the movement,“ he said. ”We started with policy and advocacy and we worked forward.“
Bradford, a Democrat, did not dispute his kinship with the state’s Republican governor on the issue.
”We’re all part of the same school reform family,“ Bradford acknowledged.
”What’s more important is that kids, great teachers, the taxpayers, and reformers have not had an equal voice in the public because the NJEA in particular is able to spend so much of their members’ money on advertising,“ he continued.
Marie Corfield, a Flemington teacher running for the Assembly in the 16th district, said she had no complaints about how the NJEA was spending her annual dues.
”Once you introduce private sector reforms into education you lose a certain measure of accountability and it becomes a for-profit program,“ she said, fresh off addressing a crowd of public workers at a rally in Trenton.
”When you couple that with dismantling collective bargaining rights, it becomes an all-out attack.“
”When they use the term status quo they’re just talking about Camden and Newark,“ said Wollmer of NJEA. ”The status quo somehow has resulted in New Jersey having some of the best public schools in America.“
Reach Jane Roh: 856-486-2919 or jroh@gannett.com
Star Ledger - Looming vote over public worker benefits highlights rift between N.J. Democrats
Published: Monday, June 20, 2011, 6:00 AM Updated: Monday, June 20, 2011, 9:13 AM, by Chris Megerian, StatehouseBureau
TRENTON — Trenton’s streets were dark Wednesday night as union leader Hetty Rosenstein headed back to the Statehouse for yet another meeting with Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver.
With the door shut, they went toe-to-toe one last time over a plan to cut public worker benefits. Even though Gov. Chris Christie had already announced a deal with lawmakers, Oliver (D-Essex) was still holding out hope for a compromise with the union.
But the talks stalled. Rosenstein, state director for the Communications Workers of America, wanted details of a low-cost health plan written into the final bill instead of leaving it up to a new state panel composed of union workers and state managers, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.
There was no deal, and Oliver was done talking. When Rosenstein left her office, Oliver was ready to push forward on the most controversial issue in Trenton — without the support of any union or the majority of her caucus.
Today that behind-the-scenes drama will play out in full public view as the 124-page pension and benefits bill is vetted by the Assembly Budget Committee. It will also put Oliver to the test as she confronts disgruntled members of her own party and the public employee unions that have helped keep Democrats in power.
Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Cryan (D-Union) blasted the bill as a betrayal of party principles, and unions have threatened to remember at the ballot box who crossed them.
Oliver said she’s unconcerned with any backlash and is focused on what she calls the big picture — the pleas of mayors grappling with bursting budgets and the widening hole in the state’s pension system.
"Leadership is having the courage to swim upstream when the current is going the other way," she said. "I know it’s the right thing to do."
The bill, which will also be voted on by the full Senate today, would force public workers to pay more of their salaries toward their pensions, which would no longer include cost-of-living adjustments. Retirement ages for new employees would be increased, and all public employees would pay more for their health benefits.
In response, unions say the bill restricts their collective bargaining rights, and they accuse politicians of unfairly blaming them for the state’s budget problems.
Overhauling pension and health benefits for public workers has been a signature issue for Christie. But in recent weeks the crucial players have been Oliver and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), the ironworker labor leader who has sought to curtail public employee benefits for years. With the normally bullish governor largely watching from the sidelines, Oliver and Sweeney went to work building support within their own party and trying to win over wary union leaders.
On June 13, Sweeney, the bill’s architect, headed to Atlantic City to meet with international and state union leaders at the Borgata hotel and casino. Democratic sources described the talks as initially productive but ultimately in vain. Sweeney later accused labor leaders of dishonesty in rejecting compromises.
"What they did to their membership is despicable," he said. "They lied to their members."
Oliver, who said she was able to win key changes to improve the bill for workers, kept negotiating through Wednesday.
At that point, Oliver said, the governor’s press release Wednesday night left enough breathing room for lawmakers to introduce Sweeney’s bill or another proposal in the Senate Budget Committee the next day.
Democrats were still hoping to stave off protests scheduled for Thursday, but the unions didn’t bite.
"I started out at 5 o’clock that morning and got home at 11 o’clock at night," Oliver said. "I was tired and went to bed."
Rosenstein later said Democrats never presented a deal worth accepting, and Thursday morning the Statehouse was flooded with thousands of union protesters denouncing Oliver and Sweeney.
Inside the Statehouse, Sweeney testified on the bill as public workers in the audience hissed. When he finished, he took a seat at the committee table and listened for hours as union leaders blasted him and the proposal.
"I knew they weren’t going to say nice things," Sweeney said later. "But I still owed them the respect of listening to them."
With the help of four Democrats, the committee passed the bill 9-4.
"He’s put his neck on the line," Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Morris) said of Sweeney. "It’s hard to tell people you have to take bad medicine."
Meanwhile, union members unloaded on Democrats, as well as Christie. Georgianna Gonzer of Stanhope, a 44-year worker at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, said Democrats "stabbed us in the back."
"Labor helped them get where they are," she said. "And instead they vote against us."
Despite union opposition, the bill is poised to pass the Assembly committee today. Some Democrats said they hope to reopen negotiations.
"It’s not over yet," Assemblyman Tom Giblin (D-Essex) said. "It’s a work in progress."
Still, party sources insist they have enough votes to send the bill to Christie’s desk. Democratic votes for the bill are expected to come primarily from those allied with South Jersey power broker George Norcross and Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo — the same two people credited with orchestrating the 2009 coup that brought Sweeney and Oliver to power in the Legislature.
"It’s all about who your political boss is versus what’s the right thing to do," said Bill Lavin, president of the state Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association.
Oliver rejected that notion, saying, "I’m not even going to entertain that discussion."
Unions are scheduling more protests this week as well. Lavin said his members will be at the Statehouse, but he wasn’t optimistic.
"There are some backroom negotiations and overtures being made," he said. "But at this point, I don’t put any faith in them."
Staff writer Jarrett Renshaw contributed to this report.
Nj.com-Star Ledger - Looming vote over public worker benefits highlights rift between N.J. Democrats
Published: Monday, June 20, 2011, 6:00 AM Updated: Monday, June 20, 2011, 9:13 AM
night as union leader Hetty Rosenstein headed back to the Statehouse for yet another meeting with Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver.
With the door shut, they went toe-to-toe one last time over a plan to cut public worker benefits. Even though Gov. Chris Christie had already announced a deal with lawmakers, Oliver (D-Essex) was still holding out hope for a compromise with the union.
But the talks stalled. Rosenstein, state director for the Communications Workers of America, wanted details of a low-cost health plan written into the final bill instead of leaving it up to a new state panel composed of union workers and state managers, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.
There was no deal, and Oliver was done talking. When Rosenstein left her office, Oliver was ready to push forward on the most controversial issue in Trenton — without the support of any union or the majority of her caucus.
behind-the-scenes drama will play out in full public view as the 124-page pension and benefits bill is vetted by the Assembly Budget Committee. It will also put Oliver to the test as she confronts disgruntled members of her own party and the public employee unions that have helped keep Democrats in power.
Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Cryan (D-Union) blasted the bill as a betrayal of party principles, and unions have threatened to remember at the ballot box who crossed them.
Oliver said she’s unconcerned with any backlash and is focused on what she calls the big picture — the pleas of mayors grappling with bursting budgets and the widening hole in the state’s pension system.
"Leadership is having the courage to swim upstream when the current is going the other way," she said. "I know it’s the right thing to do."
The bill, which will also be voted on by the full Senate today, would force public workers to pay more of their salaries toward their pensions, which would no longer include cost-of-living adjustments. Retirement ages for new employees would be increased, and all public employees would pay more for their health benefits.
In response, unions say the bill restricts their collective bargaining rights, and they accuse politicians of unfairly blaming them for the state’s budget problems.
Overhauling pension and health benefits for public workers has been a signature issue for Christie. But in recent weeks the crucial players have been Oliver and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), the ironworker labor leader who has sought to curtail public employee benefits for years. With the normally bullish governor largely watching from the sidelines, Oliver and Sweeney went to work building support within their own party and trying to win over wary union leaders.
On June 13, Sweeney, the bill’s architect, headed to Atlantic City to meet with international and state union leaders at the Borgata hotel and casino. Democratic sources described the talks as initially productive but ultimately in vain. Sweeney later accused labor leaders of dishonesty in rejecting compromises.
"What they did to their membership is despicable," he said. "They lied to their members."
Oliver, who said she was able to win key changes to improve the bill for workers, kept negotiating through Wednesday.
At that point, Oliver said, the governor’s press release Wednesday night left enough breathing room for lawmakers to introduce Sweeney’s bill or another proposal in the Senate Budget Committee the next day.
Democrats were still hoping to stave off protests scheduled for Thursday, but the unions didn’t bite.
"I started out at 5 o’clock that morning and got home at 11 o’clock at night," Oliver said. "I was tired and went to bed."
Rosenstein later said Democrats never presented a deal worth accepting, and Thursday morning the Statehouse was flooded with thousands of union protesters denouncing Oliver and Sweeney.
Inside the Statehouse, Sweeney testified on the bill as public workers in the audience hissed. When he finished, he took a seat at the committee table and listened for hours as union leaders blasted him and the proposal.
"I knew they weren’t going to say nice things," Sweeney said later. "But I still owed them the respect of listening to them."
With the help of four Democrats, the committee passed the bill 9-4.
"He’s put his neck on the line," Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Morris) said of Sweeney. "It’s hard to tell people you have to take bad medicine."
Meanwhile, union members unloaded on Democrats, as well as Christie. Georgianna Gonzer of Stanhope, a 44-year worker at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, said Democrats "stabbed us in the back."
"Labor helped them get where they are," she said. "And instead they vote against us."
Despite union opposition, the bill is poised to pass the Assembly committee today. Some Democrats said they hope to reopen negotiations.
"It’s not over yet," Assemblyman Tom Giblin (D-Essex) said. "It’s a work in progress."
Still, party sources insist they have enough votes to send the bill to Christie’s desk. Democratic votes for the bill are expected to come primarily from those allied with South Jersey power broker George Norcross and Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo — the same two people credited with orchestrating the 2009 coup that brought Sweeney and Oliver to power in the Legislature.
"It’s all about who your political boss is versus what’s the right thing to do," said Bill Lavin, president of the state Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association.
Oliver rejected that notion, saying, "I’m not even going to entertain that discussion."
Unions are scheduling more protests this week as well. Lavin said his members will be at the Statehouse, but he wasn’t optimistic.
"There are some backroom negotiations and overtures being made," he said. "But at this point, I don’t put any faith in them."
Staff writer Jarrett Renshaw contributed to this report.
