In The Lobby

THE MAN OF JERSEY CITY

Sept. 2, 2010

The movie, ”The Man of LaMancha,” is based on Miguel de Cervantes 17^th Century masterwork, “Don Quixote,” the would-be knight who traveled Spain, fighting windmills that he thought giants, and sheep that he believed advancing armies.

At one point in the movie, Quixote sings the following from the now-classic song, “The Impossible Dream:”

“This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far

To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star”

And so we are left to ponder what we are told is the last word Bret Schundler has to say on the Race to the Top debacle.

Saying he would not be “defamed” by Gov. Chris Christie, who called him a liar, Schundler laid out his case that he had not told Christie that he had verbally corrected the $400 million error.

I accept the Governor’s right to fire Commissioners with or without cause. And I have subsequently learned that I made an editing error which contributed to New Jersey not winning a $400 million grant. I could accept being fired for that. But I will not accept being defamed by the Governor for something he knows I did not do. The Governor called me a liar this week. That was the last straw. I have no choice now but to defend my name through this chronology of facts and the attached evidence.

The evidence, including Schundler’s narrative chronology of events, lays out his side, and frankly, he makes a good case. It also includes a series of e-mail exchanges with Maria Comella, Christie’s deputy chief of staff for communications; Schundler’s initial letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan; Christie Chief of Staff Rich Bagger’s rewrite; and a second rewrite

You can read them and draw your own conclusions.

Now Democrats are hoping to bring Schundler in and turn this into a political star chamber, where the fired ex-commissioner would lay out the case against Christie.

It would be the Democrats’ dream come true.

But Schundler, in his e-mail to reporters, seemed to indicate that his chronology would be his last statement on the episode.

"I am sick of this thing and will let the governor have the last word," he wrote.

And the irony is, if he holds to that, he strengthens his case. A man who appears out for a vendetta loses credibility, whether it be in politics, or in life. But a man out to clear his name, regardless of cost?

They tend to get noticed.

For their part, the Christie administration has thrown the full weight of their scorn at Schundler. And while Christie has been more generous to Schundler than his spokespeople, he also called Schundler a liar.

Unfortunately, there is no video as to what Schundler said he said to Christie prior to the press conference, so there is no objective way to tell the truth. And there is no way of knowing what Comella or Bagger told Christie, or what he knew.

It’s not unheard of for staff to try and shield the boss. Just like it’s not unheard of for people who have been fired to try and redirect blame.

It’s possible that the truth lies somewhere in the middle of all these accounts. We’ll never know.

All we can hope is that if Christie learned that he had made a mistake, even a public one like his rant at the Obama administration, he would have owned up to it, and let the chips fall where they may.

That would be, as our governor likes to say, “honest and refreshing.”

There’s an old saying about how integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is looking.

In government, everyone is looking, every day. And the tendency is to want to avoid embarrassment, avoid mistakes, at all costs.

Leaders, however, resist that temptation.

There is so much to admire about what Christie has done to date in Trenton that you have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But there’s no denying that we’re left with a sorry episode, in which there are no winners, and the gloss on the Christie administration is a little less shiny.

Just like there’s no denying that Schundler is acting like a man who has been wronged, and is fighting for the right to clear his name, consequences be damned.

Kind of like he is tilting at windmills.

NEW JERSEY�S $400 MILLION GAFFE PROVIDES A LESSON FOR LAWMAKERS

Sept. 1, 2010

By RICHARD A. LEE

When a clerical error seemingly costs a state $400 million in federal education funding, there are plenty of lessons to be learned.

Some of those lessons are obvious. As I learned in my very first newspaper job, you can never proofread an item too many times. Secondly, if you plan to make a bold public statement, make sure the facts are on your side, especially in today’s environment where advanced technology makes it possible to keep permanent electronic records of communications that previously were left to the frailness of the human brain.

In New Jersey, the value of each of these lessons was illustrated when the state missed qualifying for a federal Race to the Top grant in August. New Jersey lost points on its grant application by reporting budget figures for the wrong years in one section of the form. Had that question been answered correctly, the state would have had enough points to be awarded the $400 million grant. Hence, we have an expensive lesson in the value of proofreading.

As for the second lesson: First a video released by the U.S. Education Department contradicted New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s statement that the state attempted to provide the correct information after the error was discovered, but the federal agency refused to accept it. Then, after Christie fired state Education Commissioner Bret Schundler for misleading him about what had transpired, Schundler produced emails that seem to show that the information he provided to the Governor’s Office was accurate.

It will take a while to sort all of this out, and we may never know which version of what is being said is correct. The simple lesson here is to speak honestly at all times. In the real world of partisan politics, however, the lesson is to look before you leap and be cognizant of the fact that videos, emails and other electronic records – which may contradict your version of the facts – are easily retrievable today.

But there is an even more important lesson to be learned from this debacle – and it comes from the reaction of our public officials, Democrats as well as Republicans.

(For more on the Christie-Schundler dust-up, read the rest of Rich Lee's column here.)

CHOOSING THE BEST ALTERNATIVE TO POWER NJ

Sept. 1, 2010

By MICHAEL DRULIS, NJ SEED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

As New Jersey focuses on developing public policies that help spur investment in our infrastructure as well as increase energy efficiency, the Susquehanna Roseland Transmission Project remains at the forefront. The proposed power line, with a projected service date of late 2013, follows the path of an existing power line for more than 90 percent of its 101-mile distance in Pennsylvania. PSE&G is hard at work building New Jersey’s portion of the line, fulfilling our state’s commitment to the region’s power needs.

Although the route has been approved by both the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the National Parks Service has decided to consider alternative routes as part of their Environmental Statement Impact process. Despite the proposal of various routes, NJ SEED believes Alternative 2, the previously approved route, is not only the best option but in reality is the only option.

Alternate Route 2 has been approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities after vigilant consideration and providing ample opportunity for opposing views to be expressed. The National Park Service’s proposed alternate routes possess the potential for unforeseeable environmental impacts in communities where there have been no transmission lines. Developing routes that avoid parklands will cause additional delays, including requiring another review by both the NJ Board of Public Utilities and the NJ Highland Council.

Simply put, New Jersey cannot afford the cost or risk the compromising of the network that is associated with such delays.

(For more on power alternatives, read the rest of this guest column here.)

NO HEROES

Aug. 31, 2010

Having read Bret Schundler’s acceptance of the fact that he’s the one that made the original $400 million mistake on the Race to the Top application, can we all agree that this is one sorry episode.

There are no heroes in this debacle.

And those that will suffer the most will be New Jersey’s schoolchildren, if the proposed reforms are delayed in any way because of a lack of funds.

There’s plenty of blame to go around.

It was uncomfortable watching how Schundler’s star has not only fallen, but crash-landed. We all understand the natural tendency to want to defend yourself, and yet, it’s all sort of unseemly at the same time.

On the other hand, those e-mails he released certainly do raise questions about who knew what when:

From: Schundler, Bret
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 5:01 PM
We did not, as the reviewers note, provide Fiscal Year 2008 budget data.
We supplied data relating to Fiscal Years 2009 and 2010, and the Governor's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2011 cumulatively representing the most up-to-date financial information on our education spending but we did not provide budget information relating to Fiscal Year 2008.
We did not realize the error in advance, and the competition rules did not permit fixing of the error post-facto. Bret

From: Maria Comella
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 5:12 PM
When did we realize the error? Did we not notify DOE of the error before we did our in person presentation?

From: Schundler, Bret
Sent: Tue 8/24/2010 5:14 PM
We didn't let the DOE know we had made the error because we didn't know we had made it not until a panelist asked us about the Fiscal Year 2008 budget data.
When we were asked us about it, we checked our appendices. All we could do was confirm that we had erred the 2008 data was not included.
We had instead given them FY 2010 vs FY 2009 data, when what they sought was FY 2009 vs FY 2008 data.

It’s certainly legitimate to wonder when Christie was told that Schundler gave the information to the feds during the presentation, or if Comella ever forwarded those e-mails to the boss.

Just like it’s legitimate to wonder why no one from the state thought to have the 2008 information e-mailed to his or her Blackberry while the presentation was ongoing,

And like it’s legitimate to wonder why union buy-in was so important to the feds, or just what role politics played in the awarding of the grants in the first place.

There’s more than enough blame to go around. And no heroes in sight.

So we hope, going forward, that the state double- and triple-checks its applications in the future. And that Christie have a firmer set of facts in hand before he goes off on a riff before the press corps assigning blame.

He can get away with blaming the underlings once. Twice? Not so much.

KEEP AN EYE ON EARL

Aug. 30, 2010

With all the talk about political waves, we can't forget the danger from hurricane fueled waves. Hurricane Earl, a Category 4 storm with winds of 135 mph, is roaring through the Atlantic, and its forecast track takes him dangerously close to New Jersey.

Here's the forecast track, courtesy of the EnviroGuy blog:

GALLUP: REPUBLICANS HAVE HISTORIC LEAD

Aug. 30, 2010

Looking for more proof that a wave is building?

Gallup's generic ballot gives Republicans their highest ever 10-point advantage over Democrats. Republicans also have a 25-point lead on the enthusiasm scale.

Maybe Soledad O'Brien knew what she was doing today.

Anyway, here's the Gallup chart:

CNN INTERVIEWS PALLONE, LITTLE TODAY

Aug. 30, 2010

Well, this is interesting.

CNN's Soledad O'Brien, who was last in New Jersey for a documentary focusing on the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens and the Rev. Deforest B. Soaries, is back again.

But this time. O'Brien is here to interview 6th District GOP challenger Anna Little and incumbent Rep. Frank Pallone.

We thought Pallone was considered a safe Democrat seat.

Or could that recent Little poll, which showed Little trailing Pallone by just six points, 40-34, turned some heads?

That result (hat tip MoreMonmouthMusings) even got the race noticed by the Daily Kos website:

NJ-06: Is longtime Dem endangered? GOP internal poll says he is
If this internal poll is to be believed (and the standard caveats, of course, apply), then the climate for Dems in this cycle might be even worse than has been often projected. A new internal poll, by National Research, for longshot Republican candidate Anna Little claims that she might not be a longshot, after all. The poll shows longtime Democratic incumbent Frank Pallone leading Little by just six points (40-34). This would be a stunning result, if true, in a district where Barack Obama won by 60-38 and where Pallone has won every election since 1992 with at least 57% of the vote.

This analysis ignores that Gov. Chris Christie won the 6th District in his race against Jon Corzine last year. Not to mention the Tea Party-fueled voters who gave Little the upset victory in the June primary.

But make no mistake -- if Pallone is defeated, that Republican wave began right off the Jersey Shore.

CHRISTIE FIRES SCHUNDLER

Aug. 27, 2010

And so the Race to the Top has become The Race to Point Blame.

Seven months into his term, Gov. Chris Christie has fired Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, for having “misled” the administration.

At some point in any circular firing squad, the guns find a target.

And Schundler has had a target on his back ever since he made a deal with the NJEA on the Race to the Top application that gutted many of the reforms that Christie wanted. And so Christie publicly chastised him, and rewrote the application.

And now that application has once again become Schundler’s undoing.

"I was extremely disappointed to learn that the videotape of the Race to the Top presentation was not consistent with the information provided to me," Christie said in a press release. "As a result, I ordered an end to Bret Schundler’s service as New Jersey’s Education Commissioner and as a member of my administration."

Don’t get us wrong. Christie had no choice. What started out as a reported clerical error had become an issue of Christie’s credibility.

Christie has built his reputation on being “honest and refreshing.” He went before the cameras Wednesday and accused the Obama administration of well, basically being bureaucrats.

He said that one mistaken piece of paper had been submitted as part of the 1,000-page Race to the Top grant application. Instead of providing data for 2008 and 2009, they gave answers for 2010-11.

And then Christie said Schundler had verbally provided the correct answer during the grant presentation in Washington. And Christie let loose with a classic Christieism, saying:

You’re not going to grant the award to New Jersey because of a mistake, a clerical mistake, on one piece of paper? That’s the stuff that drives people nuts about government and that’s the stuff the Obama administration should answer for. Are you guys just down there checking boxes like mindless drones, or are you thinking? Because what you want to have happen is a firestorm of reform of our education system in New Jersey and across the country. Obviously, the answer is they just want to check the boxes. We’re the victim of that now and our administration bears responsibility for that because we put the wrong piece of paper in. The money that was supposed to be being spend on education, was being spent on education and it should have gotten us five points on that, the people of New Jersey paid for that. When the president comes back to New Jersey, he’s going to have to explain to the people of the state of New Jersey why he’s depriving them of $400 million that this application earned. Because one of his bureaucrats in Washington couldn’t pick up the phone and ask a question, couldn’t go on the Internet and find information, or wouldn’t accept the verbal representation of Commissioner Schundler when they were down there.

Well, it sounded good.

So good, in effect, that Christie’s rebuttal was well on its way to becoming viral, and the talk of political blogs.

But then the White House reminded everyone that they can play politics too. Thursday night, they released a video showing that Schundler had not answered the question. He did not give the reviewers the correct answers, as Christie said.

Oops.

What YouTube giveth, YouTube can also taketh away.

And that video was in danger of taking away Christie’s credibility,

On NJ101.5 last night, Christie said he would be disappointed if it turned out that he was misled.

But you knew that disappointed was the polite word.

Seething was the phrase that actually came to mind.

Christie’s a smart man. He knows as well as any one that no one politician can survive if he loses the trust of the people.

And the videos – Christie’s comments Wednesday, and the Obama response Thursday –made Christie looked like a fool, or worse yet, a liar.

And while people will forgive a politician who trusted the word of his staff, they won’t forgive someone who looks them in the eye and lies to them.

Especially not someone whose brand is that he’ll be honest, direct and blunt.

(Bill Clinton had built his brand on being a lovable rogue, so he could survive a lie. Christie could not.)

And so Schundler had to go.

Now they’ll be plenty of calls for investigations, and the Democrats and the NJEA will have a field day.

But barring any further revelations, Christie stopped the damage, and probably learned a lesson or two.

Including a couple of things about the Obama administration.

And something tells us, he's not going to forget it.

RACE TO THE BOTTOM

Aug. 25, 2010

Plenty o’ caterwauling out in the Statehouse today over the fact that the Christie administration submitted a wrong piece of paper that cost the state 4.8 points in its Race to the Top application – enough, apparently to doom the state’s bid for $4400 million.

The Star Ledger trumpeted the mistake in its pages today. Democrats and the NJEA leapt on the error, looking to bash Gov. Chris Christie with it.

Here’s our question: How many points did the NJEA’s refusal to sign on to the proposal cost the state?

Perhaps, instead of accusing Christie of harboring an “irrational, ideological hatred of (the) NJEA,” the NJEA could explain its irrational, ideological hatred of merit pay and tenure reforms.

We’re just saying.

Meanwhile, there’s no denying that the administration made a stupid mistake. In reading the question and answer, it almost reads as if the administration felt that it had to justify its school aid cut of $820 million, instead of answering the question.

Q: The extent to which— (i) The percentage of the total revenues available to the State (as defined in this notice) that were used to support elementary, secondary, and public higher education for FY 2009 was greater than or equal to the percentage of the total revenues available to the State (as defined in this notice) that were used to support elementary, secondary, and public higher education for FY 2008

A: (i) EDUCATION SPENDING AS A PERCENTAGE OF STATE SPENDING
In fiscal year 2011, despite huge budget strains, the Governor is proposing an increase in state revenue-based support for education by 2.2% ($238 million). As proposed, preschool-12 education spending as a percentage of the state budget will be 35.4%. Federal ARRA funding will not be available to school districts in FY 2011, but the Governor and the executive team remain committed to funding education even as state revenue-based support for most other areas of state spending has been cut. This demonstrates that, despite severe fiscal challenges, the leadership in the state of New Jersey remains committed to education.

But Christie is also right that the fact that the government wouldn’t allow the application to be amended is government bureaucracy at its worst.

But it is what it is.

And New Jersey came in 11^th, and lost out on $400 million.

Christie rightly put the blame on his shoulders.

Christie decried the partisan nature of the response to the mistake, but said he understood that the error was going to give people an opportunity to "jump on my back."
"Have a party," he cracked.

But here’s what we’ve learned about Christie’s character.

He’s not hanging some midlevel education staffer, the one who made the mistake, out to dry.

"If you think for a minute I'm going to fire some mid-level person ... then you don't know me," Christie said today.

Good on him.