By Michael Aron
Chief Political Correspondent
Democratic leaders took exception to the Governor’s remarks on the Transportation Trust Fund. Senate President Steve Sweeney came up to Linden in Union County this morning to dramatize the issue. Local leaders here desperately want a new connector road for trucks only to get on and off the New Jersey Turnpike.
“What we need today is funding. There was funding. It’s gone missing and we need it back,” Sen. Nick Scutari said.
The road where they stood quickly becomes an overpass over the Turnpike. A new trucks-only exit between exits 12 and 13 would relieve truck traffic that snarls the town now and help redevelop what is essentially an industrial wasteland.
“We could certainly use, and would benefit dramatically from a direct connection to the Turnpike. That would not only take off and remove a lot of the industrial truck traffic that traverses Routes 1 and 9 each and every day. It will also encourage building and redevelopment of our areas over here,” Scutari said.
“We urge the governor to move forward with the Transportation Trust Fund because we here in Linden need it more than anywhere in the state,” said Linden Mayor Derek Armstead.
In his budget message yesterday, Christie invited the Democrats to propose a solution to renewing the Transportation Trust Fund, which runs out of money July first. Sweeney says Christie needs to get more involved himself.
“I’m hoping the governor will get serious now with us, because the Speaker and I are not going to just throw ideas against a wall and hope he likes one. He has to be a participant in this,” Sweeney said.
Christie continues to maintain the trust fund issue is not a crisis.
“To imply that the TTF is in crisis and is suddenly and unexpectedly running out of money is just a politically driven mischaracterization,” Christie said in his budget address.
“He stays it’s not a crisis. I guess he’s doesn’t worry about running out of money on this. It is a crisis. It’s not a media-generated crisis. It’s real,” Sweeney said.
Christie said his administration has repeatedly welcomed Democratic proposals.
“In fact, as many of you know, I was ready to act last year and Democrats in this chamber refused because of your mid-term elections,” he said.
When asked if they walked away from this because of the elections during the Democratic response, Asm. Vincent Prieto said, “I was probably hotter than a baked potato back there, to be honest with you.”
“It was BS when he said the speaker walked away because of the election. I think he was running for something, too,” Sweeney said.
The most obvious solution to the trust fund’s renewal is to hike the gas tax. Christie sounds willing to go along if that’s coupled with a phase-out of another tax: the estate tax. Sweeney wants to stop taxing retirement income, so not just the wealthy get a tax cut.
“We believe, we the Democrats believe retirement income tax and the estate tax need to be phased out,” Sweeney said. “We believe that. Both of them.”
Christie said yesterday he will wait for realistic proposals.
“What he said was you show me one. We need him to be part of the conversation because anything we show him is going to become a political football,” Sweeney said.
It seems that Christie wants the Democrats to go first and propose the gas tax hike rather than doing it himself. Right now both sides are posturing. At some point they need to sit down together if the state is to keep rolling.