KEAN: WHO IS REALLY PUSHING THIS TURNPIKE SALE?

WITH MANY IN THE GOVERNOR’S OWN PARTY ASKING  QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROPOSAL, IT IS FAIR TO ASK WHO IS PUSHING THE SALE

Assemblyman Sean Kean today said that a news report today about the chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs traveling to statehouses around the nation to lobby for the idea of selling state assets, may shed some light on how the idea behind the proposed sale of the New Jersey Turnpike is gathering support in the Corzine administration.

“Legislators on both sides of the aisle have expressed serious reservations about this proposal,” said Kean, R-Monmouth. “With both Republicans and Democrats questioning whether this is a wise move it has been somewhat of a mystery as to why the idea of selling of this critical state asset has become so popular within the Corzine administration.”

Kean pointed to a story on the internet site “In the Lobby” today which quotes a Mother Jones magazine story this month as highlighting efforts by Mark Florian, chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs’ municipal finance division, to convince state officials around the nation that pursuing asset sales could be a mutually beneficial endeavor. He said that Governor Corzine should answer as to whether any administration officials met with Florian.

Kean said a Turnpike sale poses numerous problems including, how much tolls would be hiked and how frequently, what provisions are needed to assure that the road will still be adequately maintained, and what will happen to Turnpike Authority workers and what quality of workers might be hired to replace them.

When a similar scheme was implemented in Indiana, the private owner who leased Route 80 was permitted to boost tolls by 70 percent through 2011 – and by the rate of inflation beyond that. Lesniak’s proposal would cap toll increases, but none-the-less permit the new owners to implement them annually.

“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of support for this proposal coming from either party in the Legislature right now,” Kean concluded. “And if the idea is being pushed by the Governor’s old colleagues on Wall Street, maybe he should consider a second opinion – one not so ‘invested’ in the outcome.”

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