In what could be the brush fire that ultimately engulfs an entire forest, New Jersey voters turned out in surprising numbers yesterday to defeat proposed school budgets throughout the state.  With reported turnouts of more than double the previous year, New Jerseyans gave a resounding “No” to more than 55% of all proposed budgets statewide.  In some counties, such as Somerset and Hunterdon, virtually all proposed school budgets were defeated.

In a typical year, voters approve approximately 70% of all school budgets.  This year, however, concerned by escalating property taxes (among the nation’s highest) and a continuing economic downturn, voters eschewed the pleas of local school boards and officials.  Additionally, the election results send a clear message to elected officials at the local, county, and state levels that the New Jersey populace agrees with Governor Chris Christie that it is time to tackle the heretofore untamed monster of rising salaries and costs associated with providing benefits and pensions to educators and government workers that threatens to rob future generations of their American dreams.

Pension and health insurance obligations for retirees from school districts, police departments, municipalities, and county and state government loom as drags on future economic growth and shackles on future taxpaying citizens of New Jersey.  To make matters worse, many of these same people may choose ultimately to leave the State after they retire, selecting for their residences low-tax states that have been more fiscally responsible and have not mortgaged their futures on unfunded pensions and other liabilities.

When the bill on these future liabilities comes due, the taxpaying residents and businesses of this State – if there are any – will certainly be less than happy that decades past of elected, appointed, and hired officials and leaders have squandered tens of billions of taxpayer dollars for fear of being branded as anti-education, anti-law enforcement, anti-environment, or any of a number of other “sacred cows” that have been created in this State and elsewhere.  Those future residents will wish that previous holders of the public trust had taken on the unions and entrenched interests that too often dictate policy in our State, reduced expenditures, eliminated excesses, and funded mandates.

The reality is that there is but a tenuous connection between dollars spent on taxpayer-funded programs and results.  If spending money could produce results, the schools in Newark, Elizabeth, and Camden, to name but a few districts, would be producing world-class scholars.  Sadly, taxpayer dollars are to those who spend them nothing more than “other people’s money.”  A significant proportion of school budgets past have been spent on infrastructure including artificial turf playing fields and other athletic facilities that rival those in professional sports.  While such facilities may be desirable, their impact on student education is dubious.  School administrators and government officials at all levels need to treat such expenditures as if the funds used were their own.  Were that the case, we would surely witness a level of fiscal responsibility heretofore unseen in our State.

And so, as taxpayers we can hope with some justification that the 2010 school budget elections may provide the spark to help us begin to retake control of our shared financial destiny.  Sweeping changes are needed, as well as leaders with the fortitude to propose and oversee them.  It is not, however, easy or painless to oppose a “sacred cow,” much less the herd with which we are faced.  If we as a State do not seize this opportunity, however, many of us will be among the retired teachers, police officers, and New Jersey government employees who relocate to Delaware, North Carolina, or another state that has been more diligent with its taxpayers’ money. 

The fat guy wins!!!

In a victory for all calorically-challenged people everywhere, New Jerseyans elected Chris Christie the 55^th Governor in the State’s history.  Overcoming negative attack advertising from incumbent Governor Jon Corzine’s campaign questioning Christie’s fitness to serve on the basis of prior alleged legal and financial improprieties as well as his weight, Christie won election by 4 percentage points despite being outspent by former Wall Street executive Corzine by two or three to one (depending upon the source you consider most accurate) and in a State renowned for its well-oiled Democrat machine and influential labor unions.

Now, lest you think I am mocking the Govenor-elect, allow me to assert that I myself am a fat American.  The real point is that when an incumbent politician feels the need to sink to the level of criticizing an opponent based upon appearance, that candidate reveals himself as completely devoid of substance and accomplishment upon which to base his own candidacy.

And, I believe that the New Jersey electorate took notice and the State’s great mass of Independent, politically-moderate voters were left with a choice:  Christie, the Republican, or Daggett, the Independent.  In the final analysis, the vast majority of these swing voters cast their ballots for Christie, not – I surmise – through any particular fondness or allegiance to Christie, but rather through their collective desire to witness a change in the State’s political and economic direction.

Daggett, despite a strong showing in the Gubernatorial debates, could not overcome the skepticism of the average voter regarding the electability of independent and minor party candidates.  Viewing a vote for Daggett as a benefit to the incumbent, most of his potential supporters ultimately pulled the lever for Christie.

In the end, I believe that both Corzine and Christie were humbled by the election results.  Corzine, having lost election in a solidly-blue state, appeared bewildered by the magnitude of the defeat but nonetheless demonstrated grace in his concession speech and pledged to fully support the transition to the new Christie Administration.  Christie, greeting his supporters to the beat of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” seemed surprised and deeply grateful for the opportunity provided him by the electorate.

Vowing – in his victory address – to get right to “work” and “turn Trenton upside down,” Christie, no doubt, delighted his supporters and sent a shudder down the spines of the leaders of the State’s employees’ unions and the NJEA, labor organizations that vehemently opposed Christie’s election and that many have blamed for the State’s runaway spending and bloated budget.

But, to achieve anything, Christie will have to build bridges and work cooperatively with a State legislature still firmly controlled by the Democrats.  That work will certainly begin during the transition.  If, however, partisan politics rears its ugly head during the early days of this new Administration and threatens efforts to solve our State’s problems, it is incumbent upon we, the State’s citizens, to provide the political pressure to both Governor and legislature alike to assure progress toward our State living up to its moniker as the “Garden State.”

In an election with national repercussions, New Jerseyans will go to the polls tomorrow to elect a Governor.  Many view the New Jersey race, along with the Virginia gubernatorial election and a Congressional election in New York state, as a referendum on the year-old Obama presidency and Democrat control over Congress.

As a not-quite impartial observer, I, as I am sure many of the State’s residents, have been amused by the nature and tone of the campaigns.  If you watch and accept as true his commercials, incumbent Democrat Governor Jon Corzine has done a fabulous job over the past four years – reducing property taxes, protecting the environment, improving access to healthcare, bolstering education, fighting unemployment, and leading an affirmative response to the recent economic downturn that has saved the State from disaster.  Of course, if you believe the ads of his Republican challenger, former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, Corzine’s term of office has been a total disaster and Christie has the answers and expertise to solve the State’s problems.  Then, there is independent challenger Chris Daggett.  A former Regional Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection under Republican Governor Kean, Daggett represents somewhat of a wildcard in the campaign.  His candidacy could potentially benefit Governor Corzine by siphoning votes from his challenger, Chris Christie, and has led some critics to assert that that is precisely his motive in the race.

As the campaign has unfolded, the mudslinging has intensified, including apparent attacks by the Corzine campaign on Christie’s weight (yes, Chris – if not yet married – could have been the bachelor on More to Love).  It seems that candidates will do or say anything to get elected; only to renege on campaign promises once elected.

In this vein, I have collected and below present some advertisements by the candidates.  Unfortunately, independent Chris Daggett’s campaign had fewer resources, making his advertisements harder to find.  Yet, I feel that the ads below are a fair sampling of what the candidates were saying about themselves and each other.  I will attempt to caption them according to their content.

The following ad is a Corzine commercial targeting one of his core constituencies – liberal women concerned about women’s health issues and the right to choose:

The next ad is an anti-Corzine message distributed by the Christie campaign, appealing to his more conservative Republican base:

The next ad is a Corzine attack ad:

Our next advertisement is a Christie attack ad amateurishly mimicking Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone:

The next ad impugns challenger Christie by implying that he is fat:

The following example is a form of testimonial in which former Governor Tom Kean praises and endorses Republican candidate Christie using the famous “perfect together” expression that Kean had use in various state promotional advertisements:

Finally, this last ad is independent Daggett’s. It uses footage from a gubernatorial debate to suggest that he (Daggett) is, in fact, the favorite of both of his rivals:

I hope that you have enjoyed these ads and that they have enhanced your confusion as to whom you will support in tomorrow’s election. Whomever you are supporting, be sure to vote!