Corzine is a scumbag. He should buy a very fast sports car, have a few stiff drinks, hit the open road and neglect his pledge to wear seatbelts.

Corzine snubs Christie, names scores for posts

Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Josh Margolin and Claire Heinin
Star Ledger

Political warfare between the outgoing and incoming governors escalated last night as Gov. Jon Corzine nominated dozens of people to coveted posts on state boards and commissions, over the objections of Gov.-elect Chris Christie.

Only minutes after Corzine and Christie parted company at the Newark swearing-in ceremony of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, Corzine's office released more than 180 names for direct appointments and nominations to paid and unpaid posts.

The list was heavy with key Democrats, including labor leader Ray Pocino, campaign operative Patricia Mueller and the current and former chiefs of staff to Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex).

More than four dozen nominations -- including to the Sports and Exposition Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, key government agencies with large budgets or regulatory authority -- must be approved by the state Senate before the current legislative session ends Jan. 12. Christie, however, had previously threatened to use his allies in the state Senate to block as many of the nominations as he could.

The nominations came after two weeks of intense behind-the-scenes negotiations between top aides to Christie and Corzine failed to resolve the impasse. The dispute began when Corzine -- without warning to the Christie team -- submitted the name of his chief of staff, Ed McBride, for a judgeship in South Jersey. Christie balked and sent word that McBride would face public scorn if Corzine didn't compromise on other posts.

"He really means what he says. He doesn't talk in political-speak," Sen. Kevin O'Toole, the Essex County Republican chairman, said last night. "There's some concern that we're trying to jam every nominee through the pipeline in the last few weeks of a lame, lame-duck session."

The Corzine and Christie camps declined to comment last night. Earlier yesterday, Christie said negotiations were ongoing and he was still hoping for a "successful resolution."

"If I ever got to the point where I felt like that was a lost cause, then you could be sure you would hear from me," Christie said at a news conference in New Brunswick.

While departing governors typically install allies at various state agencies on their way out the door, Corzine's list is longer because of a backlog in nominations that was already built up before the governor lost his re-election bid.

Pocino and Sports Authority chairman Carl Goldberg, who was renominated last night, are prominent supporters of Corzine and his two Democratic predecessors, former governors Codey and James E. McGreevey, and were appointed by Democrats.

Other prominent Democrats named by Corzine last night include elected officials, such as former Hudson County Freeholder Maurice Fitzgibbons to the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission and Newark Councilman Ronald C. Rice Jr. to the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission. Others have worked closely with Corzine: former driver and adviser Scott Kisch to the Motor Vehicle Commission; campaign political director Phil Alagia to the Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey board of directors; deputy chief of staff Al Alvarez to the Lottery Commission; and Corzine and Obama operative Mueller to the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. Nominations also went to Codey and McGreevey allies, as well as labor union leaders and key Democratic donors.

Claire Heininger may be reached at (609) 989-0273 or cheininger@starledger.com. Josh Margolin may be reached at (609) 989-0267 or jmargolin@starledger.com.