Since The New York Times‘s scathing reports on New Jersey halfway houses, lawmakers want to know what’s really going on with the state’s halfway house system. Hearings are scheduled to begin next week. Deputy Speaker of the Assembly John Wisniewski (D) told Managing Editor Mike Schneider that halfway houses are a necessary part of the correctional system but has concerns about how privately-run facilities are operated.
“Clearly one of the important steps is making sure that the inmates, as they approach the end of their incarceration, are put into a position where they can function in society,” said Wisniewski. “We want to make sure that they have skills to obtain jobs, they have the proper set of skills to go out and function as members of society. The correction system won’t do any good without those facilities whether they’re run privately or run publicly.”
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The Times‘ articles pointed to the close relationship between Gov. Chris Christie and Bill Palatucci, a senior vice president of a private company that operates halfway houses, prisons and “re-entry centers” in several states including New Jersey.
While he doesn’t know the exact details of the relationship, Wisniewski says the two are closely linked. He recalls witnessing the connection first hand during redistricting talks.
“When we were doing legislative redistricting, there were two people on the other side of the table — Bill Palatucci and Chris Christie. So there’s a history of a relationship there.”
He says it’s very disturbing that the governor would line-item language in the state budget that would provide oversight of these facilities. “It’s concerning because it’s a use of tax payer dollars and those dollars should be used properly and they should be used efficiently and it’s a real concern as to whether this system is being abused.”
When the subject turned to Christie’s push for a tax cut, Wisniewski says the real motive behind the governor’s aggressive stance has more to do with his personal ambition in seeking a national stage.
“He’s looking for a talking point in Tampa. He’s looking for material for his speech in front of the national Republican convention. This has nothing to do with helping New Jersey families, this has everything to do with helping Chris Christie.”
A recent Quinnipiac poll shows that more New Jerseyans support the Democratic position that it would be better to wait and see whether revenues support a tax cut. The governor’s tax cut proposal, Wisniewski argues, would require the state to borrow money as previous administrations have done.
“I think everybody in Trenton agrees that if we could provide tax relief, we should. It ought to be property tax relief not income tax relief but we shouldn’t provide for something that we can’t pay for. That is the very heart of why the state has had fiscal problems in the past.”
In his State of State Address and more recently during his address to a special legislative session, the normally combative governor adopted a noticeably gentler tone. Wisniewski, however, isn’t sold by a friendlier Christie, saying that the relationship between the legislature and the governor is not what it should be. But the blame for that, he says, lies with Christie.
“If anybody wants to examine the cause of that, we only need to have the governor look in the mirror. This has been a governor who has belittled and badgered legislators as he has members of the teaching profession, as he has public employees. You know, there’s an old saying — you get a lot more with honey than vinegar but this governor seems to like vinegar better.”