Suddenly a race in the 13th?

Blue Jersey is reporting that Democrats are claiming polling data that shows challenger Lenny Inzerillo within 4 points of Senator Joe Kyrillos in their race for the 13th district Senate seat.

Republican sources close to Kyrillos's campaign say that their polling data shows the incumbent enjoying a wide and broadening lead, and that no one has seen Alan Moretti lately.

Bee Jovial said...

IT'S MY FARM

This ain't a break for the broke or feeble,
No funny farms for the little people!
I ain't gonna be just a face in your town,
You're gonna hear my voice,
When I shout you all down!!

[Chorus:]
It's my farm!
And it's now or never,
I ain't gonna farm forever,
I just want low taxes while I'm alive.
(It's my farm!)
My land is like an open space way,
Like Judy said,
You'd better do it my way!
I just want to farm while I'm alive.
'Cause it's my farm.

This is for the ones who farm their ground,
For Ellen and Judy who never backed down,
Tomorrow's getting harder; keep on makin' that money,
Luck ain't even lucky,
Got to make your own honey!!!!

[Chorus:]
It's my farm!
And it's now or never,
I ain't gonna farm forever,
I just want low taxes while I'm alive.
(It's my farm!)
My land is like an open space way,
Like Judy said,
You'd better do it my way!
I just want to farm while I'm alive!
'Cause it's my farm.

Better stand tall when they're calling you on it,
Don't bend, don't break, baby, don't back down.

[Chorus:]
It's my farm!
And it's now or never,
I ain't gonna farm forever,
I just want low taxes while I'm alive.
(It's my farm!)
My land is like an open space way,
Like Judy said,
You'd better do it my way!
I just want to farm while I'm alive!
'Cause it's my farm!!!!

Stanley Coleman at odds with Republican candidates

Former State Republican Committeewoman Judith Stanley Coleman is at odds with two other prominent Republican women; Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck and Freeholder Anna Little.

Stanley Coleman enjoys a Karcher type farmland property tax break on 5.4 acres of her estate on the Navesink River in Middletown. She raises bees and sells their honey for $540 per year. She pays $125 in property taxes on that portion of her property, according to the Asbury Park Press.

Beck has made farmland assessment abuse a major issue in her Senate campaign against Senator Ellen Karcher, who gets a $14,000 tax break for selling $510 worth of Christmas trees (but not to me!).

Stanley Coleman, a past contributor and fund raiser for Beck is withholding additional contributions. "I'm going to have to talk to her first about the position she has put everybody in," Stanley Coleman said. "To attack the only incentive we have to save land, I think, is wrong. She should have come out with what to do first instead of what not to do."

Stanley Coleman paid $47,820 in taxes on her house and the acre that surrounds it last year. "The taxes are just so astronomically high, the only way I could see to do it was to have farmland to have less tax to pay."

In 2001, she granted the Monmouth Conservation Foundation a conservation easement on her entire property, which prevents any future building there. Stanley Coleman is president of that organization, and Beck is a trustee.

Stanley Coleman is also the Chairwoman of the Middletown Planning Board.

Regarding Freeholder Anna Little, Stanley Coleman is meddling in Highlands politics. She has written letters to the Editor, published in the Asbury Park Press and on the Atlantic Highlands Herald website, endorsing a write in candidate against Little in her race for Highlands Mayor.

The write in candidate has no government experience and had little involvement in the community before organizing the opposition to the design of the new Highlands-Sea Bright bridge. The write in candidate has no chance of winning, but could siphon enough votes from Little to throw the race to the Democrat in what is expected to be a close election.

Could the Rasta case become criminal?

This story out of Conneticut bears watching, as there are similarities to the Rasta case.

A 34 year old Waterford, CT woman was charged with second degree criminal harassment for using the Internet to try to break up an ex-boyfriend's marriage by fabricating information about man's wife and posting it on adult web sites.

The Rastas have engage in similar behavior, fabricating information about many people and posting it on the net. The motives were different, political and economic destruction of the targets vs. breaking up a marriage, but the actions were very similar.

Another similarity is that the bulk of the investigation was done by a private citizen. Kudos to the Waterford law enforcement community for pursuing the case when presented with the evidence.

So far in Monmouth County, law enforcement has declined to follow up on the criminal harassment and threats to an attorney involving the Rasta case.

Thanks to a loyal reader....

...for sending off this photo of Kid Rasta running from Tommy DeSeno.

Purcell releases Rasta advisory

Jim Purcell, publisher of The Courier and the Insideclamdigger blog has issued a Media Advisory regarding the MonmouthRastaman. In addition to posting the advisory on Insideclamdigger, Purcell said the document is being released to approximately 1000 media contacts.

Purcell points to connections with Senator Joe Kyrillos's organization as it relates to the Mitt Romney campaign and the Middletown Republican Organization.

In an interview with MoreMonmouthMusings held prior to Alan Moretti being revealed as one of the Rasta bloggers, Kyrillos denied any knowledge of Rastaman's identity and said he "hates anonymous bloggers." Kyrillos said that he is advised on the content of various blogs but does not read them regularly.

Hill vs Guadagno on Politicsnj

Hill Video



Guadagno Video

The Emmorettis

Alan Moretti, aka "Kidd Rasta" has been nominated for the coveted Emmoretty award for his rendition of Please Release Me, Let Me Go and Another One Bites the Dust.

Has anyone seen Lightshines?

Predictions

With two weeks to go until election day, this is how I see things shaking out:

Beck beats Karcher, convincingly, in the 12th Senate race.

O'Scanlon and Panter win in the 12th Assembly races. No recounts.

Republicans sweep the 13th legislative races. Pat Walsh makes an impressive showing and Democrats blame her loss on too much money wasted on Karcher.

In the 11th, Republicans sweep by the largest margins ever in the lowest turnout race ever. The 11th, where the neither party has made much of an effort turns out to be the key to the county races.

Sheriff: Hill by 5+%.

Clerk: Choudary by 2+%*

Both Guadagno and French are hurt by low Republican voter turnout in the 11th, where the top of the ticket is running virtually unopposed. The Jack Hill Lied website backfires on Guadagno and the Absentee mailer backfires on French. Hill, Schueler and D'Amico get their base out to vote in the 11th.

* If Sean Kean and Claire French can get the vote out in Wall, French can save her seat, barely.

Freeholder: Cantor and Schueler. The voters go for the fresh faces.

Adam Puharic will blame the loss on Anna Little.

Bill Barham will try to get Schueler and McMarrow to support him for Director in 2008. It won't work.

Alan Moretti will not start talking to Tommy DeSeno until after the election. Alan's singing will be so good that he will get nominated for a Emmoretty.

The Chairman's race has already started.

It's certainly fitting.....

.....that the Rasta Moretti post pushed MoreMonmouthMusings over 100,000 hits since the first of the year.

Thank you to all of my readers and commentors.

Honest Abe has a good post with the history of the blog that is now history.






Alan Moretti, underwater

Meet the Rasta Man, at least one of them

Alan Moretti of Rumson is one of the infamous Rastaman. Until this morning he had a Facebook page.

In addition to the Rasta blog, Moretti runs the New Jersey for Mitt Romney blog.

Arousing development in Long Branch

photo linked from APP


Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider is very excited about the new development at Pier Village, but his is upset that no one from the Governor's office came to the ground breaking. He liked that Jim McGreevey came to the last one.

The new buildings will be erect by the end of 2008.

Got'em. Well, at least one of them

Jim Purcell is reporting that "someone with a very close relationship to" Rastaman has been positively identified.

Jim indicates there will be an announcement early next week.

Additionally, Dan Gallic reports that Rastaman has sought Dan's help in maintaining his/her or their anonymity.

Cool it. There is no basis to the rumors

Rumors are running rampant throughout Monmouth County Republican circles that Rastaman has been identified and that he or she is a close relative of a high ranking elected official. The rumors are false.

Attorney Tom DeSeno, who is pursuing the identity of the blogger known as Monmouth Rastaman told MoreMonmouthMusings that the identity has not been confirmed. "There are 300 billion people on the planet and they are all suspects," DeSeno said. "Any speculation as to the actual identity is no more than a guess."

DeSeno said that he was a day or two away from finding the identity of Rasta. "When someone is wrongfully accused of being one of these anonymous bloggers, it can do great damage. It is very difficult to disprove a negative. I am not going to speculate."

Jen and Ellen go at it

Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck and Senator Ellen Karcher took it to each other with the Asbury Park Press editorial board yesterday. Notably, if Karcher answered Beck's questions about Karcher paying income or sales taxes on the Christmas tree sales, the Press didn't print the answer. Hmmm.

Karcher should call me. She could increase her tree sales by 50%. I'm still in the market for five 25-30 foot trees.

Tanya Breen's photo of the two candidates is classic.

Does anyone else wonder how many of the same red suit Karcher owns?

Way to go Joe!

There have been rumours running rampant over the last few weeks that the Sea Streak Ferry Service was on the verge of selling its vessels and ceasing operations between Atlantic Highlands, Highlands and Manhattan.

On Friday when I met Senator Joe Kyrillos, he started our conversation by reporting to me his efforts to find the truth of what was happening with Sea Streak and to have the company and/or its parent in London issue a statement to inform ferry commuters of what was happening.

Sea Streak issued this linked press release today.

More on my interview with Senator Kyrillos (it was really more of a "dance" than an interview) later this week.

O'Scanlon and Panter on Politicsnj. O'Scanlon calls out Panter. Panter attacks Beck

O'Scanlon says Panter misrepresents his record

Panter on dual office holding

O'Scanlon: Panter not committed to dual office holding ban.

Panter on being bossed and taking bosses money

Never mind Mike. I'll pass on the trees.

In his weekly column in the Asbury Park Press, Bob Ingle says:

"Asbury Park Press reporter Larry Higgs checked out reports that state Sen.Ellen Karcher (D-Monmouth), was getting a tax break by selling a minimum of $500 in Christmas trees from her property. He got a good story and a bad case of
poison ivy."

What kind of farm can this be if poison ivy is growing around the trees!

Conservative Leadership

Finally!

With deep sympathies

Our thoughts and prayers are with Ted Narozanick and his family on the passing of his beloved wife Margaret.

Visiting hours will be held at the Higgins Memorial Home, 20 Center Street, Freehold on Sunday, October 14, from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. Funeral services will be held at the funeral home on Monday at 10:00 a.m. followed by interment at St. Rose of Lima Cemetery, Freehold. Memorial donations to the CentraState Healthcare Foundation, 916 Route 33, Suite 6, Freehold, NJ 07728 would be appreciated. For online condolences and directions to the funeral home please visit www.higginsmemorialhome.com

Get the f*** out of my office

Warning:Contains offensive language.

I hope my interview with Senator Kyrillos tomorrow goes better than this!

Something’s fishy with these farms

I read with interest about the controversy over State Senator Ellen Karcher’s farm. Her opponent in this year’s election, Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck, has made an issue out of the fact that Karcher and her husband, Dr. John Hochberg, get a $14,000.00 property tax break because 6 acres of their home in Marlboro is classified as a farm. They grow Christmas trees and sell them to their friends. I’ve heard about this tax break. Former Governor Whitman has a farm in Hunterdon County and it was a controversy during one of her campaigns. I’ve seen cows grazing around a mansion on Navesink River Road in Middletown. That must be one of those farms.

My wife and I raise fish. Well, she really raises them. I just pay for it. We didn’t set out to do this. We bought 8 fancy gold fish a couple of years ago for a pond we dug on our property. My wife did such a great job making the pond system work that by the end of our first season we had 157 fish. This was very alarming to me, as I realized that another year of this and we would have 37,000 fish.

As a businessman, I have learned to look for the opportunity in every problem, and I set out to see if I could get a property tax break by declaring my home a fish farm. You only need to generate $500 in revenue a year to be a farm and get that tax break. That would be easy with so many fish. We could under cut everyone else’s price and still sell way more than $500 in fish. But, to qualify for a farm, you needed five acres of land. Five acres! I had a 200 cubic feet producing $37,000 worth of fish if I sold them for only $1.00 each. What did I need five acres for? I needed them for the tax break. Oh well. That must be why there are no farms in Highlands.

I can understand farms getting a property tax break. Agriculture is still an important part of the New Jersey economy. According the State Department of Agriculture’s web site, New Jersey has 9600 farms and contributes $64 billion dollars to our economy every year. $64 billion dollars! That’s 69% of our unfunded pension liability for state workers! That is a lot a fruit and vegetables, flowers, trees and fish. And none of those creatures needs an education, so a property tax break is fair.

But is it fair that a property that only generates $500 into the economy gets a big $14,000 property tax break? The farm assessment program probably made sense back in the days when $500 could buy a new car or 5 acres of land and property taxes were affordable for most. $500 is not what it used to be, and the farm assessment program should be adjusted to close what is now a loophole. Farmers should get the tax break. Not wealthy hobbyists with five acres. With property taxes driving seniors and the middle class workers out of New Jersey, closing this loophole by requiring that a farm generate $100,000 in revenue would not be unreasonable. It would ease the burden on non-farmers and cover a pension or two.

Originally published in The Courier October 11, 2007

Interview with Senator Joe Kyrillos

I am interviewing Senator Joe Kyrillos tomorrow afternoon. If there is something you would like me to ask him about, please leave a comment, or email me at artvg@aol.com

Kyrillos, and his 13th district opponent Lenny Inzerillo met the with Asbury Park Press editorial board yesterday.

The Courier's site has been hacked

The Courier's website, Bayshorenews.com has sustained a massive hack attack and is off line.

According to publisher Jim Purcell, the weekly will use this as an opportunity to launch a much better and more secure site. In the mean time they will use blogspot sites to publish their news on the net. Reporter Alyssa Passeggio writes at JustBayshoreNews and Purcell writes at Insideclamdigger.

There is no word yet as to law enforcement action being taken in response to this crime.

Pick up the paper on the news stands tomorrow to read my column, "Something's fishy about these farms", or read it here.

Closing in on Rasta girl?

Rasta signs onto Yahoo as ms rasta b, was born on January 11, 1973 and lives in the 07701 zip code, according to Yahoo.

I really want to buy some trees. Call me back Mike.

After reading about Ellen Karcher's farm in the Asbury Park Press on Saturday I got very excited by this quote:

"All my trees cost the same — $50," Hochberg said. "There's a few I sell for a lot of money, $100 for a 25- to 30-foot tree."

My wife and I have been shopping for trees. We've bought several already. Our favorite farm so far is Gasko's. But you can't get a 25-30 foot tree for $100 at Gasko's. $100 for a 25-30 foot tree is a great deal.

So I called Karcher's campaign office and told the nice receptionist that I read about the Senator's farm in the paper and wondered if she could refer me to someone I could talk to about buying trees. I didn't expect that the campaign office would be selling trees, I hoped they would give me another phone number to call.

"Who's calling?" the nice receptionist asked. "Art Gallagher." "Art Gallagher?" she repeated as if she recognised my name. "Yes." "Hold please."

"This is Mike," a friendly voice says. "Hi Mike. This is Art Gallagher. I read about the Senator's farm in the paper and I was hoping you could refer me to a phone number where I could arrange to go buy some trees," I said.

"You want to buy some trees?" "Yes."

"Well, it said in the paper that they sell the trees to their friends from where they used to live," Mike said. "Yeah I read that, but I would really like to buy some trees, can you refer me to someone I can talk to about that?", I replied.

"Well, they don't deliver."

"That's OK. I'll bring a truck and a crew. We'll dig them up and take them away." (Gasko's digs the trees for you, no wonder they don't sell them for $100)

"I'll have to talk to the Senator and get back to you on that."

"Would you please? I really want to do this." I gave Mike my number and asked, "This is Mike?"

"Yes, I'm the campaign manager."

"Thanks Mike. Please call me back."

"I will."

That was Saturday and I haven't heard from Mike yet. I hope he calls today.

The Monmouth GOP is going negative

There's less than a month to go before election day, yet it hardly seems like election season in Monmouth County. The GOP has some signs about, but not as many as in past years. The only place I have seen Democratic signs is in Middletown, and only for the municipal race. There are very few TV commercials. If there are any radio commercials I haven't heard them. The only political mail I'm getting is invitations to fund raisers.

I took an unscientific poll, and asked my employees if they knew what offices were up for election this year, when election day was (no, they are not getting the day off, in which case I'm sure they would have known) and who the candidates were for the offices that were open. As I expected, no one seems to be paying attention.

So it seems odd to me that the Monmouth GOP is preparing to go negative against their opponents that nobody knows.

Last week, 24 year old GOP spokesman John Raue sent out the following wireside chat:

D’Amico’s Flawed Reforms At NJ Parole Board


-- Led to More Criminals on our Streets – Not in Jail --

Freehold, NJ – The Monmouth County Republican Committee issued
the following statement today:

“In 2005, auto theft went up by 10-percent in Monmouth County and New Jersey recorded the highest number of murders in 15 years. During this time, John D’Amico as chairman of the State Parole Board adopted a policy to allow dangerous criminals to remain on our streets and in our communities – even after violating their parole agreements,” said Monmouth County GOP spokesman John Raue.

D’Amico loosened restrictions on parole violators and adopted a flawed ‘reform’ policy to discourage automatic parole revocations for “technical” violations, which are serious offenses such as flunking drug tests or failing to report to parole officers. D’Amico told a gathering of the New Jersey Community and Corrections Working Summit that the board was “changing how it deals with parole violations. Rather than a... lock-'em up approach, it is coaching and sanctioning parolees... rather than return them to prison.” (Bergen Record, 07/07/04)

What were the results of his ‘reform’? 2,500 fewer criminals who violated their parole were sent back to prison while D’Amico was in charge. (New Jersey Lawyer, August 2005)

“At the parole board, John D’Amico was busy instituting radical soft-on-crime policies that released dangerous criminals back onto our streets,” said Monmouth County Republican Spokesman John Raue.

For example, in 2005 the Star Ledger reported that Bruce Burns, a leader
of the Sex, Money, Murder chapter of the Bloods street gang was arrested while
on parole for aggravated assault for running a drug-and weapons-trafficking
operation from his home.

“When you judge D’Amico on his record, you’ll find he is unfit to serve as freeholder,” said GOP spokesman John Raue.

The Sheriff's race is about to get really ugly, with the GOP alleging that Democratic candidate Jack Hill committed crimes that could result in jail time. The new website, JackHillLied.com uses Hill's own sworn testimony against him. Hill apparently admits to lying to a police officer under his command, falsifying a police report and falsely altering police officers' time cards. The website is paid for by the Monmouth GOP and the domain name was registered by John Raue on behalf of the Monmouth GOP on October 3, 2007.

Other than making sure I knew about it, I have not seen any effort by the GOP campaign to promote this site yet. Will this result in Jack Hill being prosecuted? I doubt it. Will it hurt his chances on November 6 or backfire on the GOP?

Time will tell, but this much seems certain...we're in for a month of ugly politics in Monmouth County, as Puharic's GOP moves from using the ugly tactics it practices against Republicans against Democrats as well.

They must have polling data that shows they need to resort to this.

The Sorry NJ GOP

British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said the purpose of the opposition is to oppose. So why doesn't the New Jersey Republican party oppose more effectively and often? The reality is that elected Republicans in the state legislature are a part of the establishment that enjoys the perks of public office that they and the Democrats put in place over the years.

~ Michael P. Riccards, writing at Politicsnj

Riccards is the Executive Director of the Hall Institute for Public Policy

My Courier column

For the last month I have been writing a weekly column for The Courier.

From time to time I will post a column here, after it has been off the news stands for a while, and if I think it is still current. The following is my first colum, which was published in The Courier on September 13, 2007:

Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidates, but look to their character

I start my first column with The Courier with a thank you to publisher Jim Purcell. I’m honored that Jim thinks my commentary makes a difference in the community and I will do my best to write informative and thought provoking columns for as long as I am welcome.

As we enter the election season I am reminded of my experience last year as a Republican candidate for council in Highlands. I expected my running mate and I were in for an uphill battle when one Saturday morning while greeting voters and handing out literature at the post office a woman I’d never met before stopped her car on Bay Ave, jumped out and shouted, “Are you a Republican?” “Yes I am,” I replied. “You should be ashamed of yourself!” she shouted out me and then drove off.

I knew we were really in trouble when a dear friend of mine of over 20 years, a medical doctor, sent me an email apologizing for the not being able to vote for me because he wanted to send George Bush a message. “George Bush doesn’t know who I am and the election results in Highlands, NJ are the furthest thing from his mind,” I said. It took me an hour and two phone calls to turn my friend around. I was amazed that my friend, several people I met walking door to door, and probably that woman at the post office really thought that how they voted at their local level would affect events in Washington, and that national parties somehow influenced what candidates and office holders think and do on the local level. I’m here to tell you, the only communication this local politician gets from Washington is pleas for money.

Even on the national level, political parties today are less about ideology than they are about business. If you are voting the party line on a local level, you are voting more for attorneys and engineers than you are for the candidates themselves.

In New Jersey, our government is in a state of crisis. We are a national laughing stock. While most states are enjoying record budget surpluses, we are in a vicious cycle of deficit spending and borrowing. Brazen corruption, structural deficits, and ever rising taxes are causing tens of thousands of residents to leave with what they can salvage every year. Both major parties can reasonably be blamed for the sorry state of our state. However, in truth, it is we the voters who are to blame. We have let the political establishment run rampant with our liberty and our money. We collectively look to the ubiquitous “they” to solve our individual and community problems. “They” have taken over New Jersey because “We” let them have it. Yet “We” still have the power to take “It” back.

In his 1789 work,"Letters to a Young Gentleman Commencing His Education," Noah Webster, father of the modern dictionary said:

“In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate - look to his character as a man known of principle, of tried integrity, and undoubted ability for the office.”

Webster’s lesson is as relevant today as it was at our nation’s birth, especially here in New Jersey and Monmouth County.

In one month we will chose all 120 of our state legislators, two Freeholders, a Sheriff, a County Clerk, Mayors and Council/Committee people of most communities. Please take the time to get to know the candidates. Read their literature and attend a debate or event where they are present. Regard not their particular sect or domination (party) but choose men and women of character, of known principle and tried integrity. Choose men and women of undoubted ability for the office they are seeking.

A Shining Example

Must Read at In the Lobby

Sleeping through the wake-up call

State must employ incentives to lure businesses
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/2/07

BY JOSEPH M. KYRILLOS JR.

The call for action to revive New Jersey's economy sounded years ago, but our state's leaders are sleeping through it. Now, a summer job report confirms that New Jersey's economy is failing. According to the Rutgers Economic Advisory Service, New Jersey's "minimal" rate of job growth lags far behind the rest of America — between a third and a half of the national rate. Job creation policy, along with tax reform and government reform, is among the most urgent and crucial state issues of our time.

Six years of uninterrupted annual tax increases and antagonistic policies toward businesses have exacted a heavy toll on our state's economy. This failed policy has helped one employer in New Jersey create new jobs: the state bureaucracy.

The rest of New Jersey is losing. Lagging job growth, a soaring cost of living, an exodus of businesses and high-net worth individuals are the economic consequence of the state tax system that chief financial officers rank as 49th out of 50 in America. These are the natural results of high property taxes, high state income taxes that allow for no deductions, a so-called millionaires' tax and regulations such as mandatory family leave imposed even on the smallest businesses.

There is a troubling statewide trend behind headline-making layoffs such as Johnson & Johnson's plan to cut as many as 4,820 positions in the coming year. Rutgers economists report that New Jersey has added jobs at an anemic 0.4 percent this year.

They forecast we will continue to underperform the nation in terms of employment growth for all 2007 and 2008. The report specifically noted that New Jersey is "lagging when it comes to higher-wage job growth." In addition to losing manufacturing jobs, long since documented, New Jersey is also suffering from the lack of expansion in the pharmaceutical and telecommunication sectors, which have historically helped fuel our economy.

The economic rut we are in was not dug by New Jersey's work force — it is among the most highly skilled and best trained in the nation. It is not a product of our natural situation or lack of resources — our state sits at the crossroads of commerce, it has the highest median household income and is home to 24 Fortune 500 companies.

Our prosperity is being eroded by our record-high cost of living and the cost of doing business. Both are attributable to fiscal irresponsibility and bad economic policy in Trenton.

To reverse course, our state government must first do no harm. That is why I will continue to fight against state budgets that stifle growth and postpone the hard choices necessary to reform our broken government.

But we also must take affirmative steps to revive this economy — to secure the jobs we have, attract new jobs and cultivate new and emerging sectors of this economy.

To compete for high-quality jobs and investment, New Jersey must put out the welcome mat for new employers. A key component of any state's economic development strategy is the financial incentives used to help attract and retain quality jobs. That's why I have proposed legislation that would strengthen and modernize New Jersey's effort to attract new employers to our state.

The effectiveness of the state's primary job creation initiative, the Business Employment Incentive Program, is hampered by limitations, including caps on the salary and the number and types of jobs that our state seeks to attract. This is backward thinking. New Jersey needs more high-paying jobs, not fewer.

My plan would also reform the Business Retention and Relocation Assistance grants. This initiative was designed to attract and retain businesses that are considering relocation of their operations. But it needs to be strengthened by increasing the value of potential tax credits for projects that provide substantial job commitments.

It is equally essential that New Jersey target new and emerging industries. To accomplish this, we need more targeted economic development initiatives like the measure I recently proposed to draw high-tech businesses to New Jersey. The plan is designed to attract and retain digital media businesses and the high-paying jobs they bring.

A recent report commissioned by NBC Universal suggests these incentives would attract 6,850 new jobs and generate more than $1.5 billion in new economic activity for New Jersey. This is but one example of the efforts Trenton must take to position ourselves with partners in the private sector to lure new employers and jobs to New Jersey before they locate out of state.

Fundamentally, private investment and entrepreneurs create job opportunities, not the state government. But what we can and must demand from our government is that it not stand in the way and that it instead forge a productive partnership with new employers working to create new jobs in this state.

New Jersey has the people and the potential to lead the nation in economic opportunity, but we are squandering that potential. Our governor and legislative leaders must recognize that the fiscal and economic policy choices we make today will determine whether, 10 years from now, we will look back and remember a once strong and prosperous state that lost its way. Now is the time to change course to secure the future of this state for our children and grandchildren.

Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr. is a Republican seeking re-election to the state Senate from the 13th Legislative District, which includes parts of Monmouth and Middlesex counties.