Did Special Interests Influence LD-13 Assembly Member Declan O'Scanlon To Vote 'Yes' On Gas Tax?

The following snippet was posted on the Marlboro Patch. If you haven't read it, it will raise an eyebrow and my provide some insight into the politics behind last year's gas tax hike.

By Monmouth Watchdog
May 15, 2017

Organizations Benefitting From Gas Tax Increase Contributed Heavily Towards Assemblyman's Campaigns; Bumpy Road To Election Seen Ahead

On Decmber 9, 2016, Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon,(R-Monmouth), a staunch Chris Christie ally, and former member of Christie's Presidential Leadership Team, announced a bid for the senate seat being vacated by long-time representative, state Senator Joe Kyrillos.

In O'Scanlon's bid for the senate seat, he said, " I am running for the Senate. I am looking forward to the opportunity to double the value of my vote and volume of my megaphone...I have a history of bringing people together...I have allies in reform communities and labor..."

Well, it may be those very "allies" in labor that may be Mr. O'Scanlon's undoing to represent LD-13. Legislative District 13 is comprised of 16 municipalities--including the largest town in Monmouth County: Middletown.

Middletown is home of Democrat Sean Byrnes, who is the Monmouth Dems choice to run against O'Scanlon. Compounding O'Scanlon's woes is his vote for the very unpopular 23 cent a gallon gas tax, in a state that has the highest cost per mile to construct a roadway: two-million dollars per mile. This expenditure is 12-times the national average on other state controlled and operated roadways, and now brings New Jersey's gas tax ranking to number 7 nationwide--up from the near bottom. Add to that O'Scanlon's mind boggling public safety voting record in the Assembly, and you have a candidate that may have his political career in jeopardy.

For drivers of New Jersey, a near quarter increase in a gallon of gas is indeed a steep hike. And with today's announcement from the oil ministers of Saudi Arabia and Russia agreeing to extend production cuts until March of 2018, the pain could even worsen for the state's drivers.

O'Scanlon's "allies" contributed mightily to his campaign--- These organizations consist of unions, political action committees, and companies dealing with state-wide road construction projects. They would benefit greatly from any legislator's "YES" vote and subsequent passage. On October 7, 2016, Declan O'Scanlon did indeed vote for the gas tax.

According to NJ Election Commission reports, The Utility and Transportation Contractors Association PAC, Constructors for Good Government, gave him $7,600 on Nov. 07, and the NJ State Laborers PAC ponied up $8,200 as did Operating Engineers Local 825, which sent $8,200. The road paving company J. Fletcher Creamer, whose khaki trucks are a fixture on Jersey’s TLC-desperate roads, sent $2,600, joined by companies like George Harms Construction, Earle Asphalt Company, Northeast Remsco Construction, and the NJ Asphalt PAC....

Continue reading on Patch

NJ Watchdog: Highway robbery? Bill seeks probe of state road costs

Why does New Jersey spend more on its highway system than any other state?

On the heels of reports by New Jersey Watchdog, a state senator is introducing legislation today to create a task force to address that question.

“When we’re spending two or three times more per mile than any other state, it’s extremely likely that significant savings can be found by the task force,” said Sen. Mike Doherty, R-Washington Twp., the bill’s sponsor.

New Jersey pays in excess of $2 million a mile per year – more than 12 times higher than the national average – to maintain 3,338 miles of state-administered roads, according to a Reason Foundation study.

State transportation commissioner Jamie Fox responded by calling the study “inaccurate and unfair.” However, Fox did not offer alternative figures, nor did he dispute that New Jersey has the costliest roads in the country.

“Some may quibble over how much more New Jersey spends on our highways than other states, but nobody disputes that we do spend more than everyone else,” said Doherty. “With New Jersey drivers already shouldering such a heavy tax and toll burden, it’s imperative that we find out why millions we spend on our roads get us so little in return.”

That weight will only get heavier if lawmakers pass a proposed 25 cents a gallon hike in the state gas tax. According to its proponents, the state must to raise $2 billion a year to fund its transportation projects.

The full story is online at http://watchdog.org/204570/new-jersey-highway-robbery/.

NJ Watchdog: Christie plays offense on NJ pension reforms

Backed into a fiscal corner, a defiant Gov. Chris Christie went on the offensive by proposing an ambitious reform to freeze existing New Jersey state pensions, create new replacement plans and eventually turn over control of the retirement system to labor unions of public workers.

“We don’t need any court to tell us we have a serious problem,” declared Christie in his annual budget address today, one day after a judge ruled the governor unlawfully chopped $1.57 billion from this year’s contribution to the pensions. “No one branch of government can wish, or order this problem away.”

Christie spent nearly nine-tenths of his 28-minute speech talking about pensions to the near-exclusion of the rest of the budget and other economic problems facing New Jersey.

“I was shocked to hear what we heard today,” responded Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-West Deptford. “I was hoping to hear something about moving forward and actually creating jobs in this state.”

The governor briefly announced a $33.8 billion budget with no new taxes for fiscal 2016. He made no mention of the state’s nearly bankrupt Transportation Trust Fund, which is already $17 billion in debt. He vowed to contribute $1.3 billion to the pension funds in 2016 -- less than half of the amount required by statute -- but said nothing about where the state will find the extra $1.57 billion to pay this year.

“I was so underwhelmed with this so-called budget address,” added Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck. “When he got to the end, I thought there were going to be some paragraphs of substance, but there was nothing.”

Instead, Christie offered sketchy details on what he touted as a “national model” for public pension reform – and bragged about an “unprecedented accord” with his longtime nemesis, the 195,000-member New Jersey Education Association.

According to the Christie, NJEA agreed to the framework of a proposal by the governor’s Pension and Health Benefits Study Commission. But after the speech, the teachers’ union quickly backed away from Christie’s claims.

The story is online at http://watchdog.org/202213/christie-pension-reforms/.

CURRIE: THE STATE OF THE STATE IS... NEGLECTED

Christie’s Ethical Scandals, Policy Failures Linger In State He Abandoned

(Trenton) – In anticipation of Governor Chris Christie's State of the State address, New Jersey Democratic State Committee Chairman John Currie is outlining some of issues that deserve the governor's attention -- many that Chris Christie said he would support; that is, before he changed his tune and left the state for all or part of 137 days last year.

When presidents and other executives deliver their annual assessments on the state of affairs, they often confidently proclaim that conditions are strong or getting stronger. If reality serves as a guide, that will not be the case in New Jersey. In fact, the governor's frequent absences and preoccupation with Republican politics -- not to mention the myriad scandals he created -- beg the question: how would Chris Christie know the true state of the state when he is so often elsewhere?

During last year's address, Christie sidestepped questions about his involvement in the apparent political payback scheme that shut down lanes on the George Washington Bridge, threatening public safety. And, since that time, he has fought efforts to obtain basic information about his administration's operations, continued to bully constituents and members of the media, and unrepentantly abused the powers and resources of his public office.

"Governor Christie has been an unmitigated disaster for our state. While he wastes taxpayer dollars in a shameless effort at self promotion, his policies trample the hopes and dreams of New Jersey families. In the wake of his hypocrisy, Sandy survivors have been left out in the cold and pensioners were robbed of funds they were promised. Meanwhile, his economic record is one of repeated credit downgrades, increased property tax burdens, and stunted job growth," said Chairman Currie. "The true state of the state is vulnerable and neglected and, for this reason, the governor should really strike an apologetic tone."

Currie outlined a few steps the governor should take during his state of the state address to restore the state's shattered sense of trust:

• Encourage Republican state legislators to vote their conscience on the upcoming override of his veto of meaningful reform of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which passed the Statehouse with unanimous support.
• Promise to revisit the Sandy Bill of Rights he vetoed, so that storm survivors may obtain information about the status of their claims, people have greater rights to appeal if they’re denied funding, and regulators can clearly see how funds were allocated.
• Offer a realistic plan for funding the $2.4 billion in pension payments that the governor promised but then withheld -- a plan that does not include more cuts, more finger-pointing at his predecessors, or other excuses that put the priorities of Republican presidential primary voters ahead of New Jersey's interests.
• Restore funding to the Transportation Trust Fund, which would allow desperately needed improvements to roads and bridges, as well as other new projects that would stimulate New Jersey's sputtering economy.
• Commit to responsibly lowering property tax burdens on New Jersey families, which actually increased nearly 19 percent under Christie.
• Pledge to stop the arrogant and potentially illegal abuses of power and resources that have embarrassed the state and tied up legal and legislative channels with ethical scandals, investigations and litigation.