After months of staying above the fray, Gov. Corzine kicked off his re-election bid Tuesday night with an aggressive speech and a clear strategy: tying himself to the popular Obama administration and linking Republicans to former President Bush.

Aided by an appearance by Vice President Joe Biden, whose presence served to emphasize the ties to the popular new administration in Washington, Corzine vowed to make "the right" choices for New Jersey while saying Republicans are "out of step" with the state's values.

"We’re going to win this election,” a fiery Corzine said at Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange. "You can be sure: I am going to fight like hell for our values."

Saddled with miserable approval ratings, Corzine called Obama a "partner."

Biden hammered that point home.

“We need Jon Corzine at the helm. Barack and I need him. America needs him,” Biden said.

Corzine, who critics say has failed to score a major policy win, stressed social values and his personal story, emphasizing his humble roots in rural Illinois and service in the Marines. He is largely known as a multi-millionaire who once led Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs.

Despite a dire budget, Corzine pointed to his stewardship during the national economic crisis and highlighted issues such as education, health care reform, the environment and stem cell research -- all of which expect to play well in a Democratic-heavy state. Republicans, he said, are on the wrong side of those debates.

"New Jersey cannot afford to be Bush-whacked again," he said. 

Corzine trails in early polls, but has months, and millions of his own dollars, to make up the difference.

On Tuesday, he made his first full-throated entry into the race.

We'll have more on Corzine and the Republicans in Wednesday's Inquirer.

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator and former New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson said Monday that the proposal to overhaul New Jersey's site remediation program by using licensed private contractors is worth trying because the contaminated sites aren't getting cleaned up under the current system.

In a visit to the Inquirer's newsroom, Jackson answered questions on a broad range of topics, including the so-called "licensed site professional" bill recently signed into law by Gov. Corzine, who she saw at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday. The law will allow the parties responsible for cleaning up toxic sites to hire licensed environmental consultants to determine how to clean up the contamination and then certify that they meet state standards.

Work on the legislation began under Jackson's watch at the DEP. She said that while she has not kept up with the changes to the bill since she left, the proposal was an attempt to get the toxic sites cleaned up faster. New Jersey has nearly 20,000 contaminated sites ranging from leaky homeowners' fuel tanks to Superfund sites and many have lingered for years, mired in red tape.

Jackson said that when she was asked about the program in her EPA confirmation hearing, she said she didn't think there was a need for such a program at the federal level because of the smaller number of contaminated sites under federal oversight.

"It can't get worse," Jackson said of the New Jersey sites. "They're not going to get cleaned up by themselves."

Environmentalists fought the proposal and argued for a number of measures to strengthen environmental controls. In signing the bill into law, Corzine also signed an executive order that, among other steps, increases the role of the DEP in sensitive sites such as land to be used for housing and schools.

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Much of the commentary surrounding Sen. Arlen Specter's party switch has centered on the best course for a Republican recovery: does the GOP need to expand its views and be more of a "big tent" party, or is it better off as a purely and strictly conservative movement?

The Record's Charles Stile says that debate is playing out in real time here in New Jersey as moderate Republican Chris Christie battles staunch conservative Steve Lonegan for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

"Lonegan and Christie are baring the party's soul in bare-knuckled fashion," Stile writes.
 

Republican don't need a listening tour for their soul-searching, Stile concludes, just come to Jersey.

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Two interesting notes on the governor's race today.

The New York Times is reporting that Gov. Corzine's Democratic allies plan to ramp up attacks on Republican candidate Chris Christie -- during the GOP primary. The idea is to either help conservative Steve Lonegan, whose hard right positions, Democrats believe, might make him an easier opponent in the state's general election, or to simply bang up Christie a bit before he goes toe-to-toe with Corzine.

Corzine, facing only a nominal primary challenge, has tried to stay aloof of the political combat, but his poll numbers have continued to tumble and several surveys have him trailing Christie. A Democratic move to jump into the Republican primary would show just how seriously the party is taking Christie as a threat.

Meanwhile, Corzine may get a boost from Jersey rocker Jon Bon Jovi, who is planning a fund raising concert for the governor in June.

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Senate President Richard J. Codey (D., Essex) and Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. (D., Camden) met with Gov. Corzine this afternoon to talk about the latest grim budget news: a new shortfall that could be as large as $2 billion.

"This began as a dreadful budget year and unfortunately it's only getting worse and worse," Roberts said after the meeting.

Roberts said the three did not discuss specific solutions, but he noted that municipal aid and school aid are two of the largest items in the budget and said property tax rebates, another large line of spending, is "an area that we're going to have to continue to talk about."

He said all potential solutions are on the table for discussion. We took a look at some of the possible budget fixes and fall out from the latest revenue shortfall on Saturday.

Roberts added that Corzine is hoping to lobby the Obama administration for additional federal aid and more flexibility in spending some of the money Washington has already awarded to New Jersey.

He said tax increases should be a last resort.

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The New Jersey legislature will soon have the 11th highest proportion of women lawmakers in the nation, according to the Center for American Women and Politics, part of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers.

With the selection of Nancy Munoz to represent the 21st district in the Assembly, the Legislature will include 10 female state senators and 27 assemblywomen, or 31 percent, compared to 24 percent nationwide, according to CAWP.

As recently at 2004, New Jersey ranked 43rd for women in the legislature.

CAWP director Nancy Walsh called the leap a "stunning improvement."

"Many of our state's leaders now understand that women make a difference, and they're joining our efforts to ensure that women are at the table when important decisions are made," Walsh said.

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Senate President Richard J. Codey (D., Essex) plans to introduce a bill to prevent some of the state's top prosecutors from running for office for two years after they leave their positions.

The bill would impose the limits on New Jersey's attorney general, first assistant attorney general and county prosecutors. It would not impact U.S. Attorneys, such as Republican Chris Christie, who is now seeking the Republican nomination for governor and leading Gov. Corzine in public opinion polls.

Democrats have griped that some of Christie's prosecutions of prominent Democrats were politically motivated. Christie has always responded that his record, which includes no acquittals, speaks for itself.

Codey told the Star-Ledger that the bill was not aimed at Christie, but at good public policy.

"This measure would ensure that those in a position of considerable power do not abuse that power to further their political goals," Codey said in a statement.

The bill would not impact current campaigns.

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The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services has identified two more probable cases of swine flu as the state continued to await confirmation from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention on five other probable cases.

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Advocates for the 31 historically poor, mostly urban school districts in New Jersey that, under a state Supreme Court mandate, have received enhanced aid for years argue their schools will be shortchanged by Gov. Corzine's new funding system. The two sides are back before the Supreme Court  to argue over Corzine's plan. At stake is $8 billion that helps pay for teachers and materials and affects property taxes in every town in New Jersey. Click here for background.