| Public Deserves to Know Whether Gornernor Corzine Illegally Campaigns at Taxpayer Expense |
| Assembly Members Handlin & Rible Want Investigation of Memo Urging Cabinet to "Be Creative" With Corzine's Employment Record |
Republican Assembly members Amy H. Handlin and David Rible requested today an Ethics Commission investigation into a memo obtained by the Star-Ledger that suggests Governor Corzine's administration is illegally functioning as campaign staff at taxpayer expense.
"We are three weeks away from a gubernatorial election that will likely determine New Jersey's future. With the stakes high, the public needs to know that whoever wins next month does so fairly and without a trace of impropriety," Handlin, R-Monmouth and Middlesex, said. "The public deserves the assurance that can only be provided by an independent ethical arbiter.
"And that assurance must come before the election so voters will know for sure whether the governor has abused his office for political gain or whether he can stand for reelection unclouded by these ethical questions," Handlin added.
Handlin, along with Assemblyman David Rible, R-Monmouth, sent a letter today to the Governor and State Ethics Commission requesting an immediate investigation of whether a memo by one of Corzine's deputy chiefs of staff broke ethics laws by urging cabinet members to "be creative" and stage events focusing on Corzine's job-growth record. The legislators' letter asks the governor to convene the ethics commission immediately.
"This revelation is disturbing on so many levels," Rible said. "Not only does it question whether the Governor and his staff adhere to the New Jersey's ethics laws, it suggests that the Governor and his staff are more concerned about their 'message' than the fact that unemployment is approaching 10 percent under their watch.
"For an administration whose boasts of job growth in July were undermined by statistics, the only surprise is that officials needed a memo telling them to be creative," Rible added. "This administration has not had a problem remembering to be creative with the facts. Its problem has been with being creative with jobs and economic growth."
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