Gov. Corzine appears content to sit back and let his Republican challengers beat each other up in primary season before revving up his own re-election campaign.

"I believe that I have one job between now and June 3rd or 4th," Corzine said in a meeting with the Inquirer editorial board Thursday. (The primary is June 2). "Whenever I have an identified opponent I’ll take that issue up."

The governor's stance comes as Democrats privately relish the thought of a fierce Republican primary that leaves the victor bruised and short on cash heading into a clash with their multi-millionaire incumbent.

Until a Republican winner emerges, Corzine said he will continue to focus on the economy.

Click here for Philly.com's politics page.

Lisa Jackson, President-elect Obama's choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and the former head of New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection, pledged to make science the "backbone" of the EPA in her confirmation hearing today.

"I understand the laws leave room for policy-makers to make policy judgments. But if I am confirmed, political appointees will not compromise the integrity of E.P.A.’s technical experts to advance particular regulatory outcomes,” Jackson said in her opening statement, according to The New York Times.

Environmental critics had said politics too often trumped sound science during the Bush administration.

The Times wrote that Jackson's confirmation appeared on track.

In a statement issued earlier in the day, New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a Democrat, praised Jackson.

"Lisa Jackson has the energy, expertise and experience we need to revitalize the EPA," Lautenberg said.

The Times story:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/jackson-promises-to-put-science-first-at-epa/?hp

Click here for Philly.com's politics page.

Editorials in New Jersey's largest newspapers gave Gov. Corzine's state of the state speech some rough reviews this morning. The gist: Tuesday was not the time for upbeat; it was time for solutions.

The Star-Ledger, under the headline "No time for a pep talk," said Corzine "did not dwell on any difficult choices that may lie ahead." It concluded: "if Corzine's budget speech in March is indeed going to call for sharp cuts, he needs to start preparing the public and lawmakers for the pain ahead."

http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2009/01/corzines_state_of_the_state_wa.html#more

The Bergen Record credited Corzine with genuinely caring about improving New Jersey, but said he needed to deliver more planning, less heart warming. "We know there are students who beat the odds in urban schools and excel . . . What we don't know is how our taxes will drop, public education will be funded and our infrastructure maintained. We do not expect government to fix our lives. We do expect government to fix itself."

Alluding to November's election, The Record concludes: "Corzine said, "Change is in the air." A lot of Republicans are saying the same thing."

http://www.northjersey.com/opinion/editorials/37554594.html

The Asbury Park Press wrote, "Anyone looking for a clear idea of what Gov. Jon S. Corzine's 2009 agenda will be from his state of the state address Tuesday had to come away sorely disappointed."

http://www.app.com/article/20090114/OPINION01/901140320/1029

The Inquirer praised Corzine for his calls to suspend an development fee on new construction and said this year is largely about getting by. "It's clear in a budgetary sense that this year in Trenton will be about surviving rather than thriving. Corzine need not try to blur that reality just because it's an election year."

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20090114_Editorial__N_J__Budget.html

To be fair, state of the state speeches are typically chances for sitting governors to boast about their accomplishments and lay out an agenda - Corzine was not unique in touting his own successes. Several of the editorials noted this. And, Corzine in March will lay out his budget and specific cuts in much more detail. He said Wednesday there are still questions about how much revenue, exactly, the state will collect. He needs to know how much money the state will have before he can make firm conclusions.

He also said today that with limited money for government, there are limits to what he can propose.

But these four editorial pages apparently wanted more than the governor offered. It's not often that every major newspaper in New Jersey weighs in on the same subject on the same day. The state of the state provides one of those rare times. Today, the feedback was unusually uniform.

Click here for Philly.com's politics page.

Click here for Philly.com's politics page.

Gov. Corzine will try to sound an optimistic note today in his third state-of-the-state speech.

Here's a look at how his previous two have gone, plus his inaugural speech in 2006.

2008:
This was perhaps Corzine's most anticipated speech. He finally laid out his long-awaited plan to raise tolls in order to halve state debt and fund decades of transportation projects.

The reaction: Republicans and some Democrats slammed the idea for its steep costs - up to 800 percent toll hikes over 15 years. The public outcry, stirred up by talk radio and the Corzine's political opponents, was fierce, culminating in a rally in which flying pig balloons were released over the Statehouse. The best Corzine did was to get a pledge from some Democrats to keep an open mind, though they offered little support once they saw the public backlash.

The result: The plan was shelved within months.

Memorable quote: "Pigs will fly over the Statehouse before there is a realistic level of new taxes or spending cuts that can fix this mess."

2007:

Corzine urged action on the property tax reform plans that had been kicking around in the Legislature.

The reaction: Democrats and Republicans both praised the call to curb property taxes. The GOP questioned whether it was just words while Democrats said they expected to reach an agreement on the plans.

The result: The proposals, most notably an expanded property tax rebate and cap on tax hikes, were approved. Taxes rose less than in previous years, but still by more than the 4 percent cap. The rebates were in place for one year and were then scaled back, as Republicans predicted, because they were too expensive.

Memorable quote: "The time to act on property tax relief and reform is now."

2006:

Corzine was inaugurated after the state-of-the-state this year, but he used his inaugural to call for a new era of governing in New Jersey: one of honesty and responsible fiscal planning.

The reaction: Most of Trenton welcomed the new governor, although some were cautious of the man who had not spent any time in the Statehouse trenches. The loudest objections came from Democratic Sens. Sharpe James and Wayne Bryant, who thought Corzine was being unfair to sitting lawmakers when he said New Jersey needed to raise its ethical standards and budget better. Both were later convicted on corruption charges.

The result: Corzine, like any governor, has had his share of successes and failures. The most important judgment will come on election day this year.

Memorable quote: "Hold me accountable."

Click here for Philly.com's politics page.

For the moment, Gov. Corzine can keep a lid on e-mails between him and his former girlfriend --  labor leader Carla Katz -- on the Q.T.

But he can’t keep the names Jon Corzine and Carla Katz out of the same sentence.

After years of anticipating a Chris Christie candidacy, reporters and editorial boards had plenty to say when he announced he was in Thursday.

The Record's Charles Stile tempers some of the initial enthusiasm.

"The looming primary will not be an easy run," Stile writes.

He says former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan and Morris County Assemblyman Rick Merkt could be tough opponents in the Republican primary.

And Stile adds a bit of history, noting that three former state Attorneys General failed in primary bids.

But he comes back with this observation: that Christie has the luster so many other recent Republican candidates have lacked.

"The Republicans just have no star in their batting order other than Chris Christie," Patrick Murray, a Monmouth University pollster, tells the columnist.

The paper's editorial page notes that Christie will get the attention, but still has to outline his vision for the state.

Meanwhile, the Courier-News in Bridgewater also notes that Christie's policy positions are still unknown, but still goes on to endorse him in the Republican primary. The editorial page says his corruption-fighting credentials are enough.

"We urge Republicans to clear Christie's path through the primary and let their best candidate go right after Corzine," the page argues.

For his part, the governor wasn't biting today.

At an unrelated news conference, Corzine was asked about Christie's candidacy and said it was "not unexpected."

"My priority is the economy, making sure we can do everything we can to get our people through this challenging, painful economic time," Corzine said.

Stile's column: http://www.northjersey.com/news/Stiles__This_star_has_to_show_he_wont_fade_out_.html

Courier News editorial: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20090109/OPINION03/901090309/1062

Click here for Philly.com's politics page.

Gov. Corzine would be the favorite today against any of the three Republicans running for governor, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University Public Mind poll released today.

In theoretical match ups, Corzine leads former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie 40 percent to 33 percent; has a 46 to 28 edge over former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan and a 43 to 23 lead over Assemblyman Rick Merkt.

The FDU survey finds that few people know the Republican candidates.

The poll, conducted from Jan. 2 to Jan. 7, found that only 44 percent of voters surveyed know Christie, who just declared his candidacy yesterday, after the poll was completed. The majority of people - 71 percent and 89 percent - haven't heard of Lonegan or Merkt, respectively. The three are fighting for the Republican nomination, to be decided in a June primary.

On Corzine, the poll said 42 percent of people have a favorable impression while 44 percent have an unfavorable view. But he has strong ratings among Democrats, who are a much larger portion of the New Jersey electorate.

"The key for Jon Corzine will be simply to hold together the broad coalition of Democratic voters," said Peter Woolley, the poll's director.

The poll surveyed 831 registered voters and has a 3.5 percent margin of error.

Details of the poll can be found here: http://publicmind.fdu.edu/

Click here for Philly.com's politics page.

Assemblyman Richard Merkt, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, is calling on his fellow state lawmakers to give themselves a paycut.

Merkt, of Morris County , said Wednesday he plans to introduce legislation next week to cut the salaries of members of the state Assembly and Senate by 10 percent, from $49,000 to $44,100.

“With the state now experiencing a severe budget crisis and asking state employees to sacrifice to help, the entire Legislature should lead by example and accept a modest reduction in legislative salaries,” said Merkt, a corporative executive with an electronic components manufacturing firm in Morris County .

Merkt said that by giving themselves a paycut, legislators would “send a powerful message to both state employes and taxpayers in general that the Legislature understands the gravity of the situation andi s serious about solving the current budget crisis. It would also show that legislators are willing to sacrifice something, rather than merely asking others to bear the burden of the state’s budget woes.”

The last time New Jersey lawmakers received a raise in their legislative salaries was in 1999, when salaries were increased from $35,000 to $49,000.

“At a time when hundreds of thousands of our state’s residents have lost their jobs – and many more are taking wage cuts, it’s just not good enough for lawmakers in Trenton to stick to ‘business as usual,’ without any personal sacrifice at all,” Merkt said. “If legislators take a small hit to their own wallets, perhaps they will gain a deeper sympathy for what the average New Jersey citizen is suffering through in these grueling economic times.”

Merkt is not the first lawmaker to propose a legislative paycut. State Sen. Stephen Sweeney, a Gloucester County Democrat, proposed a paycut of 15 percent in 2006. He offered the proposal after angering unionized state workers with a proposal that they accept a paycut. The proposal received some support from Republicans, but ultimately failed.

Merkt said a fellow Republican Assemblyman had told him he agreed with the proposed paycut. But Merkt added he doubts the proposal will go anywhere.  

“The atmosphere in Trenton is so poisonously partisan that most proposals from our side of the aisle never get a fair hearing,” Merkt said.

More recently, Gov. Corzine has proposed an 18-month wage freeze for state employees to help close the $2.1 billion budget shortfall.

Merkt called that idea a mere Band-Aid, saying that the core of the problem is that government in New Jersey is too big.

Click here for Philly.com's politics page.