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Enron Mail |
WHITMAN TO SCHUNDLER: CLEAN UP YOUR ACT
TRENTON - Former Governor Christine Todd Whitman has had plenty to say about Republican gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler. She just hasn't had much to say lately. But in the past, she and her top advisors have been scathing critics of Mr. Schundler. So as she prepares to stand by his side tonight, we thought it was time for a trip down memory lane. Whitman vs. Schundler, the greatest hits Schundler's Payroll Tax The bloom was off the rose by December 21, 1995, when Governor Whitman told Schundler she planned to block his attempts to enact a payroll tax in Jersey City because it was a really bad idea: * "(Jersey City's) growth and progress will be jeopardized by the enactment of a payroll tax. Such a tax represents a substantial portion of the net income to a number of Jersey City's corporations. The tax could very well result in the departure of these companies from the city. In addition to stifling the growth of such businesses, such a tax would also hinder the State's and Jersey City's ability to compete for various other enterprises that are presently considering relocations to the city. Accordingly, the payroll tax could result in a contraction of Jersey City's tax base, rather than its expansion." [letter from Whitman Chief of Staff Peter Verniero to Schundler, 12/21/95, attached] Of course, Schundler went ahead and enacted his payroll tax anyway. A court ruled his tax was illegal and ordered him to refund Jersey City businesses the $2.85 million he had improperly collected. Schundler waged a court battle for two years to defend his illegal tax for two years, until the state Supreme Court finally turned him down. Whitman slams Schundler's management of the city It was all downhill from there. By late 1999, Governor Whitman took the gloves off and took her anti-Schundler message directly to the people of Jersey City. In a letter to Jersey City residents, she explained that she would recommend a 60 percent increase in Distressed Cities aid to Jersey City, but that the city had some serious management problems: * "In its four-month review, the state Distressed Cities team has uncovered numerous instances of wasteful and inefficient spending in Jersey City's budget - expenses that cannot be justified with state aid. I can assure you there is no need for the type of draconian actions being threatened by Mayor Schundler. If the mayor acts responsibly, the city will be largely unaffected by the proposed reductions. [letter from Gov. Whitman to Jersey City residents, 11/24/99, attached] Whitman administration accuses Schundler of wrong doing When Whitman put her key advisor, DCA Commissioner Jane Kenny, on the Schundler attack, it got even worse: * "In addition to possible irregularities in accounting practices and instances of non-compliance with statutory and regulatory law, it is problematic that the elected officials would spend over a million dollars on personal charitable projects, given the City's significant financial problems and need for additional State aid annually to close its budget gap. Our staff has been aware of the City's practices for a short while and, during that time, has been researching and compiling data to substantiate our concerns on the legality and propriety of utilizing public funds in this manner." [Letter from DCA Commissioner Kenny to Jersey City resident, 5/12/00, attached] * "We are keenly aware of the City manipulation of revenues and expenditures and what may be misrepresentations in its annual financial statements. These issues will be factors in our consideration of special aid to the City for its SFY2000 budget." [Letter from DCA Commissioner Kenny to Jersey City resident, 10/12/99, attached] * "In the first phase of our review, which was limited to an analysis of salary and operational costs, our staff immediately found glaring examples of frivolous spending: an example of which is taxpayer dollars buying specialty coffees for the Mayor's offices.... There are several reasons why the City has been able to hold increases in local real estate taxes to an amount less than the increase in inflation. The major factor is the use of one-shot revenues and new laws, adopted to assist the City, which permitted bulk lien sales and accelerated tax sales. In addition, State aid to the City has increased from $66.9 million in FY 1995 to $77.3 million in FY 2000. That does not include an additional $30 million in special aid or millions of additional dollars in housing, social services, transportation and public safety grants. You state that spending in the City also increased at a rate less than the increase in inflation during the current City administration. Unfortunately, this is an irrelevant issue because this was possible primarily as the result of shifting costs from the City's budget to other governmental agencies. For example, the City shifted $8 million in solid waste costs from the operating budget to the Municipal Utilities Authority." [Letter from DCA Commissioner Kenny to Hudson County Board of Realtors, 11/22/00, attached] Whitman says Schundler is out of step with mainstream New Jersey Even after she left the Statehouse, and left New Jersey, Whitman kept up her assault: * "'I don't know that his positions are compatible with, on some issues, most of New Jerseyans,' who Whitman said 'tend to believe in a woman's right to choose, at least in the case of rape and incest, which he does not.'" [Washington Post, 7/27/01] _________________________________________________________________________ Democratic candidates across the state are unified under the 2001 Victory Statewide Coordinated Campaign. Volunteer opportunities are available in each of our field offices in every county in the state. For more information, please reply to this email. You have been sent this email because you or someone you know registered with our email distribution list. If you have received this message in error, please reply with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the subject line using the email address you wish to remove. -PAID FOR BY NEW JERSEY DEMOCRATIC STATE COMMITTEE/ 2001 VICTORY-
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