The Record
September 16, 2004
Dear Senator Codey,
You will soon take over the reins of government and assume responsibility for one of the most powerful statehouses in the country.
This is a tall order under the best of circumstances, but for you, the challenge will be particularly great.
You are inheriting a government that has lost its way and a public that has lost its faith. Years of corrupt politics have taken their toll, leaving us with a cynical political class and a skeptical public. And while we point fingers and hand out indictments, the rest of the country watches - in derisive amusement - and looks down on us like we were ugly stepchildren.
Fairly or not, our government is now considered one of the nation's most ethically challenged. Politics in New Jersey is broken, and your No. 1 priority must be to fix it.
To be sure, you will have a lot on your plate over the next year, including a painful budget battle next spring. But as you map out your 14 months as governor, I urge you to look beyond the policies and programs on your agenda and look to the people who have lost confidence in their government - the people who get stuck footing the bill for patronage salaries, no-bid contracts, and many other forms of government excess.
To this end, you should take a few immediate steps upon becoming governor: First, you should set a new tone in Trenton - one that establishes a no-tolerance policy for unethical behavior. You should use the bully pulpit afforded to you by virtue of your office to make clear - to Trenton insiders as well as the rest of the state - that your administration will confront waste and abuse wherever and whenever it tries to rear its ugly head.
Second, you should follow through on your idea to create an ethics ombudsman - a position modeled after the inspectors general used in federal agencies or one housed within a reestablished Office of the Public Advocate. Regardless of form, this person should have a clear mandate, genuine authority, and complete independence from your administration.
Third, you should light a fire under the Office of the Attorney General. For too long, the executive branch has taken a back seat to the U.S. Attorney's Office in rooting out corruption. This is both bad policy and bad politics. It's time to step out front and take charge of the situation. Doing so would go a long way toward establishing your administration's seriousness and bona fides.
Finally, you should establish a blue-ribbon panel on ethics reform with real teeth and a real mandate. It should be headed by a bipartisan team, which is beyond reproach and which has the stature of former Govs. Brendan Byrne and Tom Kean. The panel should include the best and brightest minds on the subject from New Jersey and beyond, who can bring to the table best practices and lessons learned from other states. And everything - absolutely everything - should be on the table, including pay-to-play, dual-office holding, and restrictions on outside income for legislators.
Granted, none of this will be easy. The odds against meaningful change are great. In fact, over the years, governors have come and gone, taking with them their promises of ethics reform. Some of them had good intentions, but none of them had good results. Among other things, they all came to realize that corruption literally pervades the body politic and too many people - inside and outside of government - have a vested interest in the status quo.
But you have the opportunity and the obligation to be a different governor. You come to the job with a unique set of qualifications and at a unique point in time. You are a recognized leader with three decades of scandal-free public service under your belt. And you come at a time when the public is hungry for real, lasting change.
It is therefore incumbent on you to seize this moment and the rare opportunity it presents. Nothing would have a greater impact on the long-term health and well-being of our state, and nothing would serve as a more lasting, more meaningful legacy.
By promoting good government and placing a premium on ethical behavior, you could set a new standard for New Jersey politics and write a new chapter in the history of this great state.
Paul Aronsohn
