10-12-07 Coach Corzine's tactic to win the game? Punt
STAR LEDGER 12-12-07 Tom Moran's column 'On Politics' ......"Two months before legislative elections, Democrats are doing all they can to make sure the campaign is as dull as possible....They have a suitcase full of big plans on all the key issues -- crime, school funding, ethics, housing and the enormous state debt...But they won't reveal them until the election is over, when all those pesky voters have gone home and stopped paying attention. ....The governor denies that this lucky timing (of discussing tough issues during this Fall's legislative campaigns) has anything to do with politics, and you can believe that if you want....But it fits a pattern. He's also punted on school funding, an issue that's bound to be explosive be cause the state's lack of funds means there will be winners and losers...And after Democrats have won a race that will be remembered as the Seinfeld campaign of 2007 -- a contest about nothing."
Coach Corzine's tactic to win the game? Punt Friday, October 12, 2007 Two months before legislative elections, Democrats are doing all they can to make sure the campaign is as dull as possible. They have a suitcase full of big plans on all the key issues -- crime, school funding, ethics, housing and the enormous state debt. But they won't reveal them until the election is over, when all those pesky voters have gone home and stopped paying attention. We saw this strategy at work yesterday in Camden, where Gov. Jon Corzine refused to take a stand on the mandatory prison sentences that are stuffing our jails with thou sands of nonviolent drug offenders. Corzine recognizes that our reli ance on mandatory sentencing is dumb, and to his credit, he ad mitted that much yesterday. But when asked how he'd fix it, he punted. "I want to be thoughtful," he said. So the governor has appointed a distinguished task force to examine the issue, even though that was done just two years ago. And he's asked the new task force to present a plan on Dec. 1 -- three weeks after the election. The governor denies that this lucky timing has anything to do with politics, and you can believe that if you want. But it fits a pattern. He's also punted on school funding, an issue that's bound to be explosive be cause the state's lack of funds means there will be winners and losers. He's punted on affordable housing until after the election, so there will be no talk of building low-cost housing in the suburbs during the campaign. And he's punted on ethics reforms. The mother of all punts, though, is his plan to lease state highways, known as asset moneti zation. His aides, when promised anonymity, say it will include a stiff toll hike. But we won't get the numbers for a few more months. "Everything's being pushed off until after the election," says Assemblyman Joe Malone (R-Burlington), the ranking Republican on the budget committee. "The politics is obvious. The Democrats have made a political decision that avoiding discussion of serious is sues is the way to stay in power." Yesterday's visit to Camden was a classic case. The governor had a bunch of good ideas, though many are still in the half-baked phase. He wants to smooth the transition from prison to civilian life for the 14,000 or so adult inmates we release from prison each year. He'd improve job training, provide temporary hous ing, and make it easier for non-violent offenders to eventually ex punge their criminal records. Given the fact that two-thirds of released offenders wind up getting arrested again, the need is obvious. But how about putting fewer non-violent offenders into prison in the first place? The worst of the mandatory sentence laws concerns drug offenders caught within 1,000 feet of a school. It sounds sensible in theory. But the zones are so large that some cities, like Newark and Camden, are almost entirely covered. So the effect is to send thousands of low- level offenders to prison on manda tory three-year terms, even though the cases rarely involve students. There is a gigantic racial injus tice behind this, too. Roughly 96 percent of those arrested in school zones are African-American or Latino. White dealers in the suburbs, where school zones cover only a small fraction of the land, don't face the same mandatory terms. It's no mystery how to fix this. Two years ago, a task force stocked with judges, prosecutors, and legislators suggested trimming the zones to 200 feet, and giving judges discretion on sentencing. More offenders would be diverted to drug treatment instead. Corzine is pretending this needs more study. But here's the safest prediction of the year: He will endorse a reform that looks almost exactly like this one after the election. And after Democrats have won a race that will be remembered as the Seinfeld campaign of 2007 -- a contest about nothing. Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or (973) 392-1823.
STAR LEDGER 12-12-07 Tom Moran's column 'On Politics' ......"Two months before legislative elections, Democrats are doing all they can to make sure the campaign is as dull as possible....They have a suitcase full of big plans on all the key issues -- crime, school funding, ethics, housing and the enormous state debt...But they won't reveal them until the election is over, when all those pesky voters have gone home and stopped paying attention. ....The governor denies that this lucky timing (of discussing tough issues during this Fall's legislative campaigns) has anything to do with politics, and you can believe that if you want....But it fits a pattern. He's also punted on school funding, an issue that's bound to be explosive be cause the state's lack of funds means there will be winners and losers...And after Democrats have won a race that will be remembered as the Seinfeld campaign of 2007 -- a contest about nothing."
Coach Corzine's tactic to win the game? Punt Friday, October 12, 2007 Two months before legislative elections, Democrats are doing all they can to make sure the campaign is as dull as possible. They have a suitcase full of big plans on all the key issues -- crime, school funding, ethics, housing and the enormous state debt. But they won't reveal them until the election is over, when all those pesky voters have gone home and stopped paying attention. We saw this strategy at work yesterday in Camden, where Gov. Jon Corzine refused to take a stand on the mandatory prison sentences that are stuffing our jails with thou sands of nonviolent drug offenders. Corzine recognizes that our reli ance on mandatory sentencing is dumb, and to his credit, he ad mitted that much yesterday. But when asked how he'd fix it, he punted. "I want to be thoughtful," he said. So the governor has appointed a distinguished task force to examine the issue, even though that was done just two years ago. And he's asked the new task force to present a plan on Dec. 1 -- three weeks after the election. The governor denies that this lucky timing has anything to do with politics, and you can believe that if you want. But it fits a pattern. He's also punted on school funding, an issue that's bound to be explosive be cause the state's lack of funds means there will be winners and losers. He's punted on affordable housing until after the election, so there will be no talk of building low-cost housing in the suburbs during the campaign. And he's punted on ethics reforms. The mother of all punts, though, is his plan to lease state highways, known as asset moneti zation. His aides, when promised anonymity, say it will include a stiff toll hike. But we won't get the numbers for a few more months. "Everything's being pushed off until after the election," says Assemblyman Joe Malone (R-Burlington), the ranking Republican on the budget committee. "The politics is obvious. The Democrats have made a political decision that avoiding discussion of serious is sues is the way to stay in power." Yesterday's visit to Camden was a classic case. The governor had a bunch of good ideas, though many are still in the half-baked phase. He wants to smooth the transition from prison to civilian life for the 14,000 or so adult inmates we release from prison each year. He'd improve job training, provide temporary hous ing, and make it easier for non-violent offenders to eventually ex punge their criminal records. Given the fact that two-thirds of released offenders wind up getting arrested again, the need is obvious. But how about putting fewer non-violent offenders into prison in the first place? The worst of the mandatory sentence laws concerns drug offenders caught within 1,000 feet of a school. It sounds sensible in theory. But the zones are so large that some cities, like Newark and Camden, are almost entirely covered. So the effect is to send thousands of low- level offenders to prison on manda tory three-year terms, even though the cases rarely involve students. There is a gigantic racial injus tice behind this, too. Roughly 96 percent of those arrested in school zones are African-American or Latino. White dealers in the suburbs, where school zones cover only a small fraction of the land, don't face the same mandatory terms. It's no mystery how to fix this. Two years ago, a task force stocked with judges, prosecutors, and legislators suggested trimming the zones to 200 feet, and giving judges discretion on sentencing. More offenders would be diverted to drug treatment instead. Corzine is pretending this needs more study. But here's the safest prediction of the year: He will endorse a reform that looks almost exactly like this one after the election. And after Democrats have won a race that will be remembered as the Seinfeld campaign of 2007 -- a contest about nothing. Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or (973) 392-1823.