Kathleen Crotty, the longtime executive director for the Senate Democrats and a Statehouse fixture, is retiring at the end of this month.

Crotty, who has worked in state government for more than 40 years, has led the Senate Democrats' operations since 1986.

"Kathy has managed to thrive all these years because of her unparalleled professionalism and innate political skills," Senate President Richard J. Codey (D., Essex) said in a statement. "Along the way, she redefined what it means to be a public servant and raised the bar for everyone around her. Few people, if any, can rival her institutional knowledge. She will be sorely missed, to say the least, but we wish her nothing but the best in her retirement."

Patrick Gillespie, the Senate Democrats' deputy director, will become executive director.

Crotty could be counted on to know the ins-and-outs of just about everything on the Senate's often-busy schedule. There seemed to be few situations that she had not seen before, and when new ones arose, she was quickly on top of them.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R., Union), said he sometimes disagreed with Crotty, but praised her work.

"Her love for the institution of the Senate is obvious. In many ways she shaped the Senate and transformed the structure of the organization into its modern form," Kean said in a statement.

Crotty said she felt privileged to have worked with the Legislature and was grateful to its professional staff.

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Two political events yesterday stood in sharp contrast to the grim employment numbers released by the labor department showing that New Jersey lost 19,700 jobs in February, bringing its unemployment rate to 8.2 percent, higher than the national average.

The first took place early in Trenton: hundreds of state workers showed up to protest a vote that gave the state and local governments the ability to impose furloughs. Labor leaders said they were protecting their rights under collective bargaining, but some people who read the story were angered that the furlough plan drew such outrage when so many workers in all sectors are dealing with job losses or unpaid time off.

Later, Gov. Corzine was in Paramus to mark the opening of a new grocery store that would create 350 jobs. It provided a glimmer of hope, but was dwarfed by the losses reported. The visit led to a biting column by The Record's Charlie Stile.

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher J. Christie started his radio advertising campaign today with a 60-second biography spot highlighting his career as a former U.S. Attorney.

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Gov. Corzine's budget took a few hits in the news over the weekend.

The Star-Ledger looked at how at the end of four budgets, the governor will have come up short on several promises on state finances. Rebates won't be as robust as pledged, state debt won't be significantly cut, and the pension fund is still being short-changed, the Ledger wrote, setting up the debate for this fall's election.

Bloomberg News reports that Senate President Richard J. Codey (D., Essex) isn't on board with Corzine's plan to sharply increase the taxes on people earning $500,000 or more. Corzine raised his original tax hike plan to help pay for scaling back his proposal to eliminate the property tax deductions for everyone. Last week Corzine said everyone earning less than $150,000 could keep the deduction, but high income filers would have to pay more to make it happen.

We had our own story looking at how Corzine, after saying the state had a government it could not afford, is eyeing mostly temporary or small-scale budget cuts this year, rather than attacking sweeping reform. Some of the savings he is using to balance this budget could add to long-term costs.

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There's plenty of news and opinion trickling out about the state budget. Here are some highlights from the weekend and just before:

Record columnist Charlie Stile says Corzine may not feel the political impact of axing the property tax deduction that Republicans predict. Stile reasons that even though the deduction suspension can cost families hundreds of dollars in higher income taxes - $219 on average, according to the administration, but far higher for those paying the average $7,000 property tax bill - voters won't know because it will just be another line on their income tax forms, and because they won't feel the hit until next April, five months after Election Day.

Also on the budget, Gannett's Mike Symons reports that colleges may get into the furlough game, too, after receiving a $40 million cut in operating support.

The Star-Ledger focused on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that might - at least Republicans hope might - force the state to redraw New Jersey's election map. Such a move would be a massive upheaval in a state where most legislative districts are safely tilted to one party, and could reshape who controls majorities in the Senate and Assembly. Josh Margolin and Ted Sherman had the story.

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Two South Jersey Republicans are offering to take a 10 percent pay cut off their $49,000 legislative salaries as part of their efforts to share this year's budget pain with the rest of the state.

Assemblywoman Dawn Marie Addiego and Assemblyman Scott Rudder, both Burlington County Republicans, said the cut would take their legislative pay down to $44,100 and that they have proposed a bill to make the reduction permanent for all lawmakers.

"Every resident of New Jersey is being asked to take a hit to the wallet, and as legislators, we should not be immune. We need to be leading by example,” Rudder said.

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Treasurer David Rousseau fought back today against Republican criticism of the Corzine administration's plans to cut property tax rebates and raise taxes in the new state budget.

While several news stories (including ours) focused on the 500,000 people who will lose their rebates and the fact that some of the same people will also get hit with higher income taxes because they could be stripped of a property tax deduction, Rousseau highlighted the number of people who will still receive benefits.

He said 2 million homeowners will get rebates (counting homeowners and renters). Senior citizens will all get the same level of checks. Some 275,000 people under the age of 65 - those earning less then $50,000 - will also get the same checks as last year, which for them averaged about $900.

Another 230,000 homeowners younger than 65 who have incomes between $50,000 and $75,000 will get checks averaging $700, double what they got in 2005 and 2006, he said.

In recent years people earning up to $150,000 qualified for rebates, but the cut off would be lowered under Corzine's plan.

"The governor stands shoulder to shoulder with the property tax payers," Rousseau said. "Changes in the rebate program were crafted in a way to keep substantial relief in the hands of our seniors and families who are struggling most with the property tax burden."

Much of the attention yesterday focused on a $400 million tax hike that comes from eliminating the property tax deduction. Rousseau said the average savings from that deduction is $219, though the amount varies based on income, ranging from roughly $60 to $900. People making more save more.

In 2006, the last year for which statistics are available, tax filers earning between $75,000 and $80,000 saved an average of $268. Those same people could lose their $1,000 rebates this year. Filers earning between $150,000 and $500,000 saved an average of $525.

Rousseau challenged Republicans to offer better alternatives in a year when state revenues have been hammered by the recession.

"I hear what they won’t do, let me hear what they would do," he said. He said Corzine closed a $7 billion gap between revenues and projected state needs, including raises and inflationary increases. "We put $7 billion on the table, let’s see them put $7 billion on the table and not come in in June at the last minute with, I’m going to say it . . ." he cautioned before using an expletive to describe GOP plans.

Republicans continued their verbal assault on the budget through news releases.

"This governor’s legacy will be an unprecedented impact . . . on lowering the quality of life for middle class New Jersey. Higher taxes. Fewer jobs. Diminishing opportunity, and an increasingly unaffordable cost of living. Governor Corzine has abandoned the middle class taxpayer," Sen. Kevin O'Toole (R., Essex) said in a statement.

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Gov. Corzine today will propose his fourth state budget since becoming governor in 2006. Corzine walked into the job with the state already bleeding red ink and facing multi-billion dollar deficits every year. He initially raised taxes to get revenues up to match the state's spending. His second budget, during an election year for the entire Legislature, boosted property tax rebates and aid to towns and schools, spending much of the money raised from the previous year's tax hike. By year three the rebates were scaled back as part of a plan to cut government by $600 million. That move came after residents blasted Corzine for proposing steep toll increases as a solution to the state's finances.

Here's a summary of the first three speeches.

2006 (fiscal year 2007):

The big picture: Corzine called for nearly $2 billion in tax increases, largely through raising the sales tax from 6 to 7 percent. He also proposed tax hikes on alcohol, cars costing more than $45,000 and cigarettes.

Quote: "To those who thought my financial background would mean I had some magic bullet in my holster to balance the budget, I am sorry to disappoint you . . . My answer is as simple as old-fashioned arithmetic: we can't keep spending more than we take in."

The result: Corzine got most of what he wanted, though not until after a government shut down caused by his battle with Assembly Democrats. The Assembly fought the sales tax increase past the July 1 budget deadline, and Corzine closed down government operations, which forced casinos, without regulators, to shutter for days. He got the tax revenue, but had to put half of it towards property tax relief and much of the rest was spent in a last minute spree of "Christmas Tree" spending for lawmakers' pet projects approved, literally, in the middle of the night. Total spending: $30.8 billion.

 2007 (FY 2008):

The big picture: In an election year for the entire Legislature, Corzine keeps the budget simple and controversy free. There was more money for schools and towns and a big boost to property tax rebates, paid for by the previous year's sales tax increase. There were no tax hikes. Corzine spent much of the speech warning of dire financial times ahead, though, and made a pitch for converting a state asset to cash. It would be nearly a year, however, before he formally made such a proposal.

Quote: "The real news of this budget isn't what's in it but rather what's not, and what will never be in future budgets unless, together, we do something further to restructure the state's finances."

The result: The budget passed with little excitement and Democrats used the increased rebates as the crux of their fall campaigns. The program was cut the next year because the state couldn't afford it long-term. The governor eventually proposed repairing state finances with steep toll hikes that would have paid down $16 billion in debt, but the plan won almost no public or legislative support and died. Spending: $33.5 billion.

 2008 (FY 2009):

The big picture: After his toll road plan hit the wall, Corzine heeded the call from the public to cut state spending. In a speech that garnered no applause lines, the governor called for cutting state spending by $500 million. The plan included closing some state departments and reducing the state work force through early retirement incentives. School funding, though, was increased, with large amounts of aid going to districts that had been left behind for years.

Quote: "Frankly, New Jersey has a government its people cannot afford."

The result: After revenues came in low, the final cut was $600 million. More than $1 billion more cuts have been added during this fiscal year as the economic crisis has taken hold. Spending: $32.9 billion (when signed; it has since been reduced).

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Burlington County's GOP officially endorsed Christopher J. Christie in the Republican gubernatorial primary this

morning.

Bill Layton, committee chairman, has said for months that he personally supported Christie and that he believed the

county would support him.

All 39 municipal GOP leaders and all 118 Republican elected officials agreed, according to Layton.

The value of the county endorsement is not only election day troops but preferential placement on the ballot.

The establishment's favorite, Christie has received several formal county endorsements including wins in Union,

Monmouth, Middlesex and Camden counties.

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