VOTE FOR THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS
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15 years 3 weeks ago #1
by lioneltrainguy
VOTE FOR THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS was created by lioneltrainguy
Corzine revisits turnpike proposal
TRENTON — Gov. Jon S. Corzine said Thursday that a scaled-back version of his financial restructuring plan, which flamed out last year, could be revived in a second term. But he said the toll-road monetization portion would not be included.
Corzine, who is locked in a close re-election battle, said after a ceremonial bill-signing event in Edison that his administration has been examining "ideas for additional resources" from the New Jersey Turnpike.
He said that would include things such as increased signage or leasing the rights-of-way for commercial development.
Corzine said it would not include a return of the first plan's cornerstone, a toll hike on the turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway of 800 percent by 2022, with the proceeds used to cut state debt and fund transportation projects.
"We are not going back to that plan," he said.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Corzine had said in an interview he may revisit his plan to lease the turnpike to raise cash, saying residents had sensed the recession coming and wouldn't accept the first plan's toll increases. "The idea worked. So maybe we just need to scale it back," he said, the Times reported.
Republicans such as gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie quickly criticized the prospect of a revived monetization plan, as reported by the Times.
"Let's face it. He's been caught," Christie said of the difference between the Times' report and what Corzine said in Edison. "When Jon Corzine doesn't have to face the voters for four more years, he's going to sell the turnpike, sell the parkway and raise the tolls 800 percent. It's what he's always wanted to do and now he's had a fleeting moment of truth. In a Christie administration, the turnpike and the parkway never will be sold, leased or pledged or anything else."
While the monetization plan was scrapped last year, tolls were increased by approximately 40 percent at the end of 2008. The Turnpike Authority also agreed to an additional 50 percent toll increase in 2012.
Corzine made remarks similar to those he made to the Times at the Oct. 16 debate at William Paterson University, except for the portion about offering a scaled-down version in a second term.
"There's no question that the plan that I laid down was too much, too fast for the circumstances, particularly within the context of a recession that we took on," Corzine said in the debate.
Independent candidate Chris Daggett, who has raised the prospect of higher tolls or adding tolls to new roads as a way to pay for road and bridge work, said he opposed the 2008 monetization plan.
"I would not sell state assets like that," Daggett said. "I don't think it was smart policy to think about selling the turnpike or the parkway or any other major state roads."
TRENTON — Gov. Jon S. Corzine said Thursday that a scaled-back version of his financial restructuring plan, which flamed out last year, could be revived in a second term. But he said the toll-road monetization portion would not be included.
Corzine, who is locked in a close re-election battle, said after a ceremonial bill-signing event in Edison that his administration has been examining "ideas for additional resources" from the New Jersey Turnpike.
He said that would include things such as increased signage or leasing the rights-of-way for commercial development.
Corzine said it would not include a return of the first plan's cornerstone, a toll hike on the turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway of 800 percent by 2022, with the proceeds used to cut state debt and fund transportation projects.
"We are not going back to that plan," he said.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Corzine had said in an interview he may revisit his plan to lease the turnpike to raise cash, saying residents had sensed the recession coming and wouldn't accept the first plan's toll increases. "The idea worked. So maybe we just need to scale it back," he said, the Times reported.
Republicans such as gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie quickly criticized the prospect of a revived monetization plan, as reported by the Times.
"Let's face it. He's been caught," Christie said of the difference between the Times' report and what Corzine said in Edison. "When Jon Corzine doesn't have to face the voters for four more years, he's going to sell the turnpike, sell the parkway and raise the tolls 800 percent. It's what he's always wanted to do and now he's had a fleeting moment of truth. In a Christie administration, the turnpike and the parkway never will be sold, leased or pledged or anything else."
While the monetization plan was scrapped last year, tolls were increased by approximately 40 percent at the end of 2008. The Turnpike Authority also agreed to an additional 50 percent toll increase in 2012.
Corzine made remarks similar to those he made to the Times at the Oct. 16 debate at William Paterson University, except for the portion about offering a scaled-down version in a second term.
"There's no question that the plan that I laid down was too much, too fast for the circumstances, particularly within the context of a recession that we took on," Corzine said in the debate.
Independent candidate Chris Daggett, who has raised the prospect of higher tolls or adding tolls to new roads as a way to pay for road and bridge work, said he opposed the 2008 monetization plan.
"I would not sell state assets like that," Daggett said. "I don't think it was smart policy to think about selling the turnpike or the parkway or any other major state roads."
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