By

Ray Pinney

It’s December, my schedule has been hectic and suddenly, Christmas is less than a week away. Despite the Christmas songs emanating jubilantly from the radio, my holiday spirit was nowhere to be found. 

I decided to look for Santa Claus. I was sure that after I found him, my holiday spirit would return.  So I looked for him where I know he has been seen in past years – in the halls of the State House in Trenton where once upon a time he filled the legislators’ stockings with money for pet projects. (I should note he filled the stockings of legislators of all beliefs and political parties.)  This year, however, that is far from the case.  As I was walking the halls of the State House, I got the distinct feeling that the Grinch had taken up residency . (more…)

By

Ray Pinney

The biggest question mark after Republican Chris Christie won the election was “How will he work with a legislature controlled by the Democratic Party?”  Will the legislators put up roadblocks to the governor’s agenda?  Will Chris Christie be willing to compromise and work with the lawmakers?  Those are all good questions and we will soon find out the answers. But in recent weeks, we have found one issue where both parties seem to have found common ground: moving school board member elections to November. 

I know that most board members view this change as misguided because it moves a nonpartisan election to a partisan election date and will most likely lead to a greater influence of party politics in board elections.  Despite the opposition of most school board members, I think that moving the school board member elections to November, along with eliminating the vote on the school budget (if the budget is at or below cap), will occur in the next legislative session. This is just speculation on my part as I have tried to read between the lines. While it is only speculation, I think it will be nearly impossible to stop this from happening once the issue starts to gather steam. Let me explain why. (more…)

 By

Ray Pinney 

I don’t know if it is me but it is hard to believe that we are in what is called the holiday season.  The season runs from Thanksgiving all the way to the biggest of all American holidays: the one where more families and friends come together to enjoy food and yearly rituals – Super Bowl Sunday. Some of you may argue that the holiday season ends on New Years’ Day but I beg to differ, since even non-football fans attend Super Bowl parties. 

No matter how long the holiday season is, it is supposed to be a time of good fellowship and warm feelings.  But if a recent Quinnipiac University poll is to be believed, New Jerseyans are saying Bah Humbug!  Maybe I should be more precise: they are not saying “Bah Humbug” to the upcoming holidays, but to how we should deal with the states fiscal crisis. 

The Star-Ledger article that reported on the poll indicates that New Jersey residents realize we are in a budget crisis and think that Governor- elect Christie “should use the ax, not the tax, to solve the problem,” according to (more…)