Reform Jersey Now has raised $624K to push Gov. Christie's agenda

[prodigals0n]

You all know the story: Corrupt goon lies his way into office then uses all the methods he decried while campaigning to cement his power, taking unlimited donations to a front group he uses to push his agenda of bigger cuts in everything yet, miraculously, still higher property taxes -- and bigger tax cuts for a very select few.

I wonder who those contributors could possibly be?

Full .pdf list of the donors at the link to the full article below.

Reform Jersey Now has raised $624K to push Gov. Christie's agenda

Published: Wednesday, December 29, 2010, 3:10 PM Updated: Wednesday, December 29, 2010, 5:06 PM
By Matt Friedman/Statehouse Bureau

"A group tied to Gov. Chris Christie’s top advisers raised $624,000 to push the governor’s agenda this year.

“As a small businessman and a long-time local councilman, I am proud of the role we have played in advocating for a property tax cap, civil service reform, arbitration reform and pension and benefit reforms,” said Chuck Shotmeyer, president of Reform Jersey Now and a former councilman from Franklin Lakes. “Serving in local office, I know we will never stop escalating property taxes without changing the status quo.

Reform Jersey Now, which launched in June, can legally raise an endless amount of money from anyone, unrestricted by the campaign contribution and pay-to-play limits campaigns face that limit the amount of money that can be donated by those who get state contracts.

...

Reform Jersey Now’s volunteer advisory board reads like a who’s who list of the state’s Republican establishment. It includes Bill Palatucci, Christie's closest political confidante; Candace Straight, a prominent Republican fundraiser; former Republican Gov. Christine Todd Whitman; and former acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco. Christie's chief strategist during his gubernatorial campaign, Mike DuHaime, is the group's spokesman."

Read the full article at this link:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/reform_jersey_now_raises_624k.html

[prodigals0n]

1. A blast from the past: July 25, 2010

http://blog.nj.com/njv_tom_moran/2010/07/reform_jersey_now_secret_donor.html

Reform Jersey Now: Secret donors, big checks and a broken promise

Published: Sunday, July 25, 2010, 6:47 AM
By Tom Moran/ The Star-Ledger

"Gov. Chris Christie is on the kind of winning streak that can make a politician cocky enough to start making mistakes.

Maybe that explains his bizarre refusal to come clean over a shadowy fund called Reform Jersey Now that is controlled by his closest political friends.

The governor’s colleagues are soliciting donations for the fund, and have raised about $300,000 so far. It’s a federal fund, so state restrictions don’t apply. The donors are secret, and the checks are unlimited.

The biggest check so far was made out for $25,000.

So ask yourself: Who wrote that check? And what did they expect in return?"

Read the rest at this link: http://blog.nj.com/njv_tom_moran/2010/07/reform_jersey_now_secret_donor.html

Now Christie's front group consisting of his main political accomplices has raised $624,000 from individuals doing business with state, among others. To get out his "message".

Déjà vu.

[prodigals0n]

2. Update: This makes my blood BOIL

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/list_of_biggest_donors_to_pro-.html

List of biggest donors to pro-Christie group includes contractors paid millions by N.J.

Published: Thursday, December 30, 2010, 8:08 AM Updated: Thursday, December 30, 2010, 8:08 AM
By Statehouse Bureau Staff

"Contractors paid hundreds of millions of dollars by state agencies were among the top donors to a group that has been publicly promoting Gov. Chris Christie’s legislative agenda for the past six months.

Reform Jersey Now, a nonprofit organization, voluntarily released its list of donors Wednesday. The release came as the group simultaneously announced it was ceasing operation effective Friday.

The group’s donors numbered 244 in all, many of whom gave modest amounts, but the biggest givers included construction companies, engineers and law firms that do business with the state. Reform Jersey Now, launched in June, raised just shy of $624,000 to run radio ads backing Christie’s proposed limit on property taxes and other “tool kit” reforms, as well as targeted mail pieces and automated phone calls in some Democratic lawmakers’ districts.

...

Among its top donors:

• Ferreira Construction — $25,000. In 2010, the company, in joint ventures with two other contractors, was awarded $174 million worth of contracts by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority for the Turnpike widening project and for work on the Newark Bay Bridge, according to the agency’s website.

• George Harms Construction— $25,000. The company last year received more than $100 million from the state Department of Transportation, $30 million from NJ Transit, and $1 million from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

• Michael Perrucci and Douglas Steinhardt — $22,500 each. The two are partners at the politically connected law firm Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt and Fader. Founded by Perucci and former Gov. Jim Florio, a Democrat, the firm last year did hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of business with NJ Transit, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and the South Jersey Transportation Authority.

• Langan Engineering & Environmental — $25,000. The firm received about $2 million from various state government departments last year. Jorge Berkowitz, a senior associate with the company, is on the state’s Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board. "I’ve never heard of (Reform Jersey Now) before," said Berkowitz, "I know nothing about what Langan donates. I will stand on my credentials and record."

Staff at George Harms Construction and Ferreira Construction said those who were authorized to speak to the media were out of the office on vacation. Perrucci and Steinhardt could not be reached for comment."

This is the type of behavior that used to have politicians JAILED.