KEAN: WHO IS REALLY PUSHING THIS TURNPIKE SALE?

An OpEd from Assemblyman Sean Kean

Newspapers have been filled in recent weeks with stories about plans by the Corzine administration to either sell or lease the New Jersey Turnpike to a private company in order to generate immediate revenue to help close the current budget gap.

On the surface the plan sounds simple. The state leases the Turnpike to private interests and in exchange receives several billion dollars which can then be used to plug a budget hole and possibly pay down a portion of our state’s massive $37 billion debt. Unfortunately, there are major problems with this idea.

Among the many concerns about this idea is the likelihood that such a deal would result in the state losing the authority to make critical transportation decisions related to the Turnpike, including hampering any efforts to implement effective transportation management strategies as congestion on our roads inevitably increases.

Another concern is the impact on those who pay tolls on the Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway – which is also operated by the Turnpike Authority. When a similar road sale 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.

New Jersey motorists who already pay among the highest taxes in the nation have every right to ask what impact this deal will have on tolls. And if tolls increase dramatically, a natural side-effect will almost certainly be more congestion on our local roads.

Meanwhile, nobody has explained what will happen to the current employees who work on the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, and who will be hired to replace them, nor is it clear what restrictions would be in place to ensure that the private operator would properly maintain the Turnpike.

It should be noted that these questions and concerns are not just being raised by Republicans. Several high-ranking Democrat legislators have also questioned whether this is a wise proposal, with some already labeling the road sale proposal a non-starter.

So it is fair to ask: If Republican and Democrat legislators have reservations about this proposal, who exactly is pushing the issue for Governor Corzine?

Interestingly, just a couple of weeks ago a news report appeared about the chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs traveling to statehouses around the nation to lobby for the idea of selling state assets. That is the same Goldman Sachs where Governor Corzine used to earn his living.

The story, which originally appeared in Mother Jones magazine, described 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.

It would be appropriate for Governor Corzine to let the public know whether any administration officials met with Florian while the Goldman Sachs executive was darting across the country.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of support for this proposal coming from either party in the Legislature right now. 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.

This of course is not to say that the Corzine administration should not have listened to the sales pitch for this idea. After all, at a time when our state is facing a possible $2 billion structural budget deficit, there is something to be said for thinking outside the box.

But many observers who are now examining this proposal are rightly questioning whether this idea might be a little too far outside the box. And in the end, if it is the judgment of legislators on both sides of the aisle that this move is bad public policy, then Governor Corzine might want to think about going back to the drawing board for a new proposal.

While Governor Corzine might enjoy listening to the ideas of his former Wall Street buddies, they are not charged with protecting the best interests of the taxpayers. They are first and foremost concerned with protecting their own business interests. And that alone should make one pause before jumping on board with this idea.

We all remember the standoff between Corzine and the Legislature last July which resulted in a seven day government shutdown. The budget season is fast approaching and I fear that if the Governor makes this a center-piece of his budget proposal, we may be facing another battle in the Legislature.

The last thing we need is a repeat of last year’s nightmare.

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