CHRISTIE CAN'T COMMIT TO KIM IN 2013; LT GOV SAYS NO COMMENT

I've been wondering about this myself lately in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and Christie's huge new approval ratings.

For Immediate Release: 
December 3, 2012

Faced with scandal, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie may be ready to dump Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno as his running mate in 2013.

When he announced plans run for a second term, Christie said he was unsure whether Guadagno would be on the ticket. The governor claimed he had yet to discuss it with her.

Guadagno subsequently told reporters she has no comment about her future plans.

What looms over Guadagno is a $245,000 pension controversy that followed the lieutenant governor from her tenure as Monmouth County sheriff.

False statements by Guadagno in 2008 enabled her chief officer, Michael W. Donovan Jr., to collect nearly $85,000 a year in state retirement pay in addition to his $87,500 annual salary. The story was first reported by New Jersey Watchdog in 2010.

In May 2011, a state pension board requested a criminal investigation of the Donovan matter. The Attorney General has refused comment on the case.

Meanwhile, New Jersey Watchdog has been winning battles in a legal war over records gathered during a state Treasury review of the Donovan-Guadagno pension controversy.

A state appellate judge denied a motion last month by the Attorney General seeking to stop the Government Records Council, another state agency, from reviewing Treasury files requested by the investigative news site.

As a result, Treasury officials must comply with a GRC order to turn over 26 documents for inspection. After review, the Council will determine which documents, if any, should be released to New Jersey Watchdog under the Open Public Records Act.

For the full story, go to New Jersey Watchdog at http://newjersey.watchdog.org.