Gov. Jon Corzine today challenged critics of his plan to steeply hike Turnpike, Parkway and Expressway tolls to propose an alternative, saying he has examined them and all are bad.

"Before critics rush to judgment, this toll schedule needs to be contrasted with equally robust alternatives of tax increases or budget cuts that would produce the same results,'' Corzine told a joint session of the state Legislature.

With Sen. Barack Obama's surprise win in Iowa and Sen. Hillary Clinton's equally unexpected victory in New Hampshire last night, the race for the Democratic nomination comes down to next month's mega-primary, when voters in New Jersey and 23 other states will choose a candidate.

That's especially welcome news to supporters of the former first lady, who have been buffeted in recent days by breathless reports of a campaign in a tailspin. Some polls had Clinton trailing Obama by double digits leading up to yesterday's primary. The win last night had her backers giddy.

Phone calls, rallies and radio ads failed to persuade any of the three New Jersey Republicans who opposed a children's health insurance bill to vote Wednesday to override President Bush's veto. The measure failed by 13 votes in the House.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine says an impending large deployment of state National Guard troops represents an overuse of the citizen soldiers that undermines their purpose.

New Jersey once again has a representative on a congressional homeland security committee after Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. was appointed Wednesday to fill a vacancy.

TRENTON, N.J. - Democratic state Sen. John Adler on Thursday announced he will challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton in 2008 for a South Jersey Congressional seat.

Lautenberg's fleet feet were a topic of amusement for the senator when we met this week.

THE LONG ISLAND RAILROAD used a cartoon character to advertise its services: Dashing Dan. He was a commuter on the run. The LIRR abandoned Dan years ago. NJ Transit has no such mascot either. It may be a novel concept for a state agency, but in the absence of fiction, go with reality: Fleet-footed Frank.

The state attorney general's investigation into the Somerset County Park Commission is far wider than was initially acknowledged, and includes all minutes, documents and contracts relating to park businesses going back to at least 1999.

Of all the legislative promises the Democrats made when they came to power in Congress, only one has been turned into law. It is the one, however, that will make a direct difference for millions of workers. The first federal minimum wage increase in 10 years, from $5.15 to $5.85 an hour, took effect yesterday.

BRIDGEWATER -- The day he attended his final meeting as a Somerset County freeholder in December 1991, John Kitchen told a reporter he planned to run for office again. . . . About two years after leaving the freeholder board, Kitchen became a legislative aid to Assemblyman Christopher "Kip" Bateman, R-Branchburg, for $1,500 per year -- the minimum salary required by the state for an employee to remain enrolled in the Public Employees Retirement System.

WASHINGTON — Two New Jersey lawmakers are on the frontlines of a political fight between Congress and the White House over the future of a popular health insurance program that covers 6 million low-income children nationwide, including 127,000 in New Jersey.

At some point, you have to wonder if President Bush has simply lost his bearings.

He is about as popular these days as a skin rash. And he keeps doing things to make it worse.

This week, his target was the nearly 9 million American kids who lack basic health insurance. Most of them are the children of the working poor, or near-poor -- the janitors and cashiers and truck drivers who keep this country humming.

Already under siege for questionable spending, the Somerset County Park Commission now faces an investigation by the state attorney general and last night received a strongly worded directive from county officials to clean itself up.

Federal grants will increase this year for regional anti-terrorism projects in North Jersey and for statewide security efforts, Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. said Tuesday.

Congressman Frank LoBiondo is another New Jersey Republican who will be at great risk in next year's election because of his unapologetic allegiance to George Bush - especially on the War in Iraq.

Republican Rep. Mike Ferguson has supported President Bush on every vote over the Iraq war, from the invasion to the surge.

But he talks today like a man who's getting ready to switch sides.

In March 2003, Somerset County park commissioners and their secretary director, Raymond Brown, took a limousine to Atlantic City and back, with two bottles of champagne en route. Somerset County taxpayers picked up the $985 tab. The next year, they did it again. And then again.

The Republicans intend to make a campaign issue out of Gov. Jon Corzine’s nascent scheme to lease the turnpike and other assets to help New Jersey ease its debt. This may be good politics, but it is bad government. By mounting a sustained attack on the idea before Mr. Corzine unveils it and explains it any detail, the Republicans may doom for years to come any prospect of dealing with the state’s long-term fiscal crisis.

The state today began mailing 2006 property tax reimbursement checks averaging $958 to qualified senior and disabled homeowners.

Somerset County freeholders seem prepared to go to great lengths to try to protect members of the county's Park Commission, the commission's director, and themselves from further embarrassment from a scathing report on commission operations.

Gov. Jon Corzine said today he is not going to sell the New Jersey Turnpike or other state assets to generate new revenues and angrily denounced critics of his plan who have characterized it that way.

TRENTON -- Gov. Jon S. Corzine lashed out today at opponents of his
still-yet-to-be-defined plan to leverage a financial windfall from the state's toll roads, saying accusations that he plans to sell the New Jersey Turnpike to private or foreign entities are false "political demagoguery."

When it comes to science, President Bush just doesn't get it. Doesn't get it
when it comes to global warming. Doesn't get it when it comes to increasing fuel efficiency standards. And, as the nation was painfully reminded last week, doesn't get it on the possible health benefits of embryonic stem cell research.

NEW JERSEY has a long, proud history of firsts. Thomas Edison created the first phonograph, first incandescent lamp, and first movie – all right here.
Innovation is in our DNA. We are now at the forefront of efforts to mitigate climate change by reducing carbon emissions, and have more solar-powered electric installations per capita than any other state.

A day after New Jersey awarded $10 million in stem-cell research grants aimed at helping skirt federal restrictions on embryonic stem-cell work, Garden State Democrats lashed out at President Bush's latest veto of federal funding for the research.

When President Bush travels to New Jersey this week to raise money for the state's Republican Party, he'll be entering a political disaster zone. Not since Watergate have New Jersey Republicans endured such a painful losing streak.

Congress has done a terrible job of regulating electronic voting: It allowed A.T.M.-style voting machines to proliferate without requiring them to produce a paper trail that can be audited to ensure that the results are accurate. That has meant wasted time and money for the states, confusion for voters, and questionable election results. Fortunately, the nation’s delinquent lawmakers have a chance to set things right — through a bill introduced by Representative Rush Holt, Democrat of New Jersey, that would finally impose a paper trail requirement. There are some details that need fine-tuning, but Congress should move quickly to pass it.

Two years ago, New Jersey began a revolutionary political experiment with the po tential to root out entirely the cor rupting power that money holds over state legislative campaigns. In establishing the nation's first legislatively enacted system of publicly financed "Clean Elections," New Jersey began a journey to once again make voters, rather than big- money donors, the focus of election campaigns.

Gov. Jon Corzine is aware of the danger. He just significantly increased the number of companies covered by New Jersey's rules requiring firms to strongly consider switching to safer chemicals or manufacturing methods.

Congress should step in to ensure states retain their right to stronger rules. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-9th Dist.) has in serted a provision into an emer gency federal spending bill that would preserve the states' right to take strong steps to protect their residents from the dangers of a chemical accident or attack. The House is expected to vote on the bill today.

WASHINGTON - Amid growing signs that electronic voting systems are vulnerable to fraud and malfunction, Congress is moving toward requiring states to keep paper records of every vote cast and to ban the use of wireless and other technology vulnerable to hackers.

We urge U.S. Reps. Jim Saxton, R-Mount Holly, and Frank LoBiondo, R-Ventnor, to sign on as co-sponsors to another New Jersey lawmaker's attempt to require paper backups for all electronic voting machines.

Rewarding New Jersey homeowners with a tax credit and a measure to tamp down property tax increases cleared their first major vote in the Legislature on Monday even as Governor Corzine acknowledged they will do nothing to stop the highest-in-the-nation rates from rising this year.

TRENTON — The state Assembly on Monday advanced a plan to lower the state's highest-in-the-nation property taxes through a combination of tax credits and spending limits on local governments.

Plans for a 20 percent property tax break for most homeowners and a 4 percent cap on annual property tax hikes took their first formal step forward Monday as both measures won approval in the Assembly.

The plan, formally introduced late Friday, was passed, 71-8, after roughly four hours of debate.

TRENTON, Jan. 29 — A half-year after legislative leaders and Gov. Jon S. Corzine vowed to provide relief for the highest property tax rate in the nation, the Assembly voted on Monday evening to give a 20 percent credit to most homeowners and to put a 4 percent cap on future local property tax increases.

The Assembly last night approved a $2 billion program of property tax credits that would mean a 20 percent reduction in many homeowners' tax bills and put new limits on increases in local government spending.

While sending that bill to the Senate for action next week, the Assembly gave final approval to three other measures designed to reduce the government spending that drives up property taxes. Those three bills now go to Gov. Jon Corzine.

TRENTON - Despite Republican criticism that it was a rush job in an election year, the state Assembly yesterday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would give most households a 20 percent tax credit and impose a 4 percent cap on local tax increases.

TRENTON — Plans for a 20 percent property tax break for most homeowners and a 4 percent cap on annual property tax hikes took another step forward Monday in the Assembly.

TRENTON - Following five hours of debate, the state Assembly approved the centerpiece of the property tax relief effort Monday to cut most homeowners taxes by 20 percent.

The proposal is connected to a measure that caps tax increases by municipal governments, school boards and other local entities at 4 percent, intended to provide long-term reform.

As the Assembly debate dragged on for hours Monday over a highly anticipated bill to reduce property taxes across the state, some North Jersey residents wondered if they would ever see relief.

After roughly five hours of bitter and contentious debate, the Assembly gives overwhelming support (71-8) to legislation Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts, Assemblymen John McKeon and John Burzichelli sponsor to provide a 20 percent average property tax reduction to a majority of New Jersey households and establish a new system of 4% caps to hold down spending by municipalities and school districts.

McKeon says, "Property taxes are issue number one, two, and three for the residents of this state…the people made it clear they wanted action, and today the Assembly delivered." He adds, "The caps on local property taxes will ensure the sustainability of the new credits….the overwhelming majority of local spending will now fall under the cap, with common sense pressure valves that recognize some cost drivers simply cannot be controlled."

TRENTON — Declaring New Jersey's 21 counties vital to combating the nation's highest property taxes, county officials Monday vowed to spend the next several years trying to find ways to promote more shared services among local governments.

Cumberland County Freeholder Louis Magazzu, newly installed as president of the New Jersey Association of Counties, said the association will form a special committee to develop plans to promote shared services.

TRENTON - New Jersey's counties must aid in the property tax relief effort by studying additional methods of sharing services, the New Jersey Association of Counties (NJAC) president said Monday.

To do so, NJAC will embark on a multi-year initiative to study shared services, Cumberland County Freeholder Louis Magazzu said after he was sworn into his new post as the association president.

An axiom of modern day politics is that negative campaign advertising, horrible as everyone says it is, really works, making winners of candidates who would otherwise be also-rans. But the outcome of the Senate campaign in New Jersey this month may give future candidates reason to pause.

A new poll has the 7th Congressional District in a dead heat with Democrats claiming they now have the momentum to oust GOP Rep. Mike Ferguson.

The poll of 1,013 likely voters found Ferguson, who in past years carried well over half the Republican-leaning district, to be hovering around the 46 percent mark.

One of the first big decisions Jon Corzine had to make as governor of New Jersey was the appointment of a new senator to take his place in Washington. Mr. Corzine chose the less-than-charismatic Representative Robert Menendez, and as a result, New Jersey has the only Senate race this fall in which a Democratic incumbent seems to be in any danger of defeat. Nevertheless, in his race with State Senator Thomas Kean Jr., there is no question that Mr. Menendez is the better choice.

If half-truths and smears were the criteria for picking a candidate in the New Jersey election for a seat in the U.S. Senate, campaign ads would suffice. We believe, however, the decision should be based on a candidate's positions on vital issues, his ability to articulate those positions, and his experience.

On Nov. 7, New Jersey voters must decide who will represent them in the U.S. Senate. The race between Republican state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. and Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez has been nasty and personal, and has left voters unsatisfied with both candidates. On Election Day voters must make a choice. The Record endorses Menendez.

Voter in Rep. Scott Garrett's district should take a good look at his record. Chances are they would be amazed. Chances are they would find the views of Democratic challenger Paul Aronsohn more in line with their own.

It's a political attack ad with attitude, showcasing a black-clad mobster type on the phone as he complains his "boy down in Washington, Bob Menendez," is in trouble with the feds.

After looking at the news for the past 10 days or so, I have to wonder how Democrats can possibly fail in their efforts to take both the House and the Senate.

Nearly two years ago, Republican state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. introduced a bill that would ban all donations by government contractors to state political candidates. He dubbed it "George's Law," after South Jersey Democratic political boss George Norcross III.

Since then, Kean, now the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, has accepted $213,025 from employees of the same firms he wanted to remove from the process: those doing business with the state or its authorities, a Star-Ledger analysis has found.

WASHINGTON -- A poll done last year showed that an overwhelming number of New Jersey voters back stem cell research, making the issue fodder for this year's close U.S. Senate race as the two candidates battle for every advantage.

The issue took center stage Tuesday on Capitol Hill, as the U.S. Senate was poised to vote for a bill expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, although President Bush has promised to veto it. New Jersey's two Democratic senators _ Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez _ said they will vote for the bill.

A researcher working on Thomas H. Kean Jr.'s proposed film attacking U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez once sent out thousands of anonymous post cards and automated phone calls accusing a New Hampshire candidate's wife of being in an orgasm cult.

The Kean accusations find no support in those records or from independent authorities of that era. The four former federal prosecutors who prosecuted senior Union City officials say that, in fact, Mr. Menendez did nothing wrong and much that was right under difficult circumstances.

LAWRENCE -- U.S. Rep. Rush Holt announced yesterday he will seek a fifth term in Congress.

The Hopewell Township Democrat launched his re-election campaign on the Internet with a live announcement on his Web site followed by an online question and answer session at www.bluejersey.com.

ATLANTIC CITY - April About 200 Democratic women from around the country are meeting here this weekend to find their voices - again.

Since 1999, the slow but steady increase of women being elected to important offices such as big-city mayoralties, governorships, state legislatures and congress has flattened. Members of the National
Federation of Democratic Women meeting here are trying for figure out what to do about it.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ Frustrated with President Bush and angry that the United States remains at war against Iraq, New Jersey voters gave an edge to the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in a poll released Thursday.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A year after strengthening their control of the Statehouse, New Jersey Democrats have raised nearly six times more money than Republicans, according to campaign spending reports released Tuesday.

NEWARK, N.J. - Vice President Cheney flew into this depressed city yesterday to embrace the New Jersey GOP's hope of taking out a Democratic U.S. senator in a blue state.

There was a problem, though. Likely Republican candidate Thomas H. Kean Jr. missed his speech.

NEWARK -- Vice President Dick Cheney came here Monday evening to speak at a fund-raiser and promote Tom Kean Jr.'s campaign for the U.S. Senate.

But Kean was nowhere to be seen as the vice president spoke about progress in Iraq and defended the Bush administration's domestic surveillance policies.

The Republican state senator, the son of former Gov. Thomas H. Kean, did eventually appear at his own event -- minutes after Cheney left.

Kean attributed his late arrival to legislative business and heavy traffic on the drive from Trenton.

"I would not miss votes in order to make a political event," he said.

But the missed connection may have had another element.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) _ Already trailing in the money race in his quest for U.S. Senate, Tom Kean Jr. is looking a financial boost when Vice President Dick Cheney appears at a campaign fundraiser Monday.

MONTCLAIR, N.J. (AP) _ Gov. Jon S. Corzine left open the possibility of raising taxes during a citizens' budget forum Tuesday night, but he did not specify the type or size of any revenue raisers he is considering.

Cleared of accusations that he accepted an illegal campaign contribution, Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union) was installed yesterday as chairman of the state Democratic Party.

MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) - The New Jersey Democratic State Committee on Saturday elected Assemblyman Joseph Cryan to be its new chairman with an 89-0 vote at a country club here.

Bob Menendez must be one happy guy.

A week ago, New Jersey's newly appointed senator was rolling through southern New Jersey, trying to muster publicity for his so-called "listening tour" with voters. He was a politician in search of his chops, maybe even desperate for a cause in the upcoming campaign against Republican Tom Kean Jr.

Well, Menendez found an issue.

TRENTON, Feb. 17 - Most new governors in New Jersey roll into office giddy from victory, determined to make an immediate splash. So they crank out a flurry of press releases, issue executive orders billed as having great import, and make as many public appearances as possible.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine, by contrast, has been all but invisible.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ New Jersey will file actions in state and federal courts seeking to stop an Arab company from taking over operations at Port Newark, Gov. Jon S. Corzine said Tuesday.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Gov. Jon S. Corzine has tapped a Union County assemblyman to chair the Democratic State Committee.

With pinpoint precision, Democrats are marching through Republican
strongholds in the southern Jersey Shore communities, already picking up
two Assembly seats, a freeholder seat, and a surrogate's post.

WASHINGTON — Rutgers University student Lillian Forero is upset that President Bush's proposed $2.77 trillion budget for next year contains no Pell Grant increases.

Sick of out-of-control spending?

Concerned about overdevelopment?

Tired of politics as usual?

The simple solution: Become a Democrat.

At least that's what Atlantic County Democrats contend in what is apparently their first-of-a-kind, half-page newspaper advertisement designed to lure new members into the party. The advertisement ran recently in The Press of Atlantic City.

Forty-five years ago, President John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address, said to the nation: "Civility is not a sign of weakness."

These are instructive words for the New Jersey Assembly at the beginning of its 2006-07 session. In our state today, debate can occur without discord.

PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) - After a day filled with symbolism and ceremony, it was time to party.

Jon S. Corzine, who was sworn in as New Jersey's 54th governor at noon Tuesday, presided over his first official function hours later: The inaugural ball.

PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) -- Jon S. Corzine, a former Wall Street titan who opened his wallet to win a seat in the U.S. Senate, prepared to embark on a new phase of his career Tuesday with his swearing in as New Jersey's 54th governor.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A day filled with prayer, symbolism and tradition is to usher New Jersey's next governor into office Tuesday as Jon S. Corzine becomes the state's 53rd governor. But the Democrat has not waited for an oath of office to thank supporters and offer a vision for the state.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ For incoming Gov. Jon Corzine, the inauguration is a chance to send a signal to constituents, legislative leaders and lobbyists.

His message of choice: The state is broke, and now is no time for lavish parties.

TRENTON, N.J. - No parade, no airplane hangar. An inauguration celebration is still a million-dollar undertaking, but Gov.-elect Jon S. Corzine is taking a less splashy approach than recent predecessors.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Gov.-elect Jon Corzine was to address his supporters Wednesday night during the first of many events leading up to his inauguration and only his third public remarks since winning election.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - In his second and final State of the State speech, made a week before he is to leave office, Gov. Richard J. Codey on Tuesday touted his abbreviated term's achievements, which ranged from raising workers' minimum wages and banning indoor smoking to securing money for mental health care and stem cell research.

During his five years in the Legislature, the Republican state senator from Union County got 5 percent of his bills signed into law, ranking him in the bottom third of his 119 peers.

Now, he wants to be the U.S. senator from New Jersey. As he hits the campaign trail in 2006, stumping for the seat being vacated by Gov.-elect Jon S. Corzine, State Sen. Thomas H. Kean Jr. plans to argue that he will be an effective legislator in Washington.

Along the way, Kean will likely bump into Democrats who plan to knock him as being unprepared for the job.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ New Jersey Gov.-elect Jon Corzine will name Democratic Rep. Robert Menendez to fill the remaining year of his Senate term, Democratic congressional aides said Wednesday.

UNION CITY, N.J. (AP) _ U.S. Rep. Robert Menendez's selection to fill the one-year unexpired term of Gov.-elect Jon Corzine has inspired a wave of pride in his north Jersey hometown, where residents say his rise has mirrored that of the Hispanic community as a whole in America.

TRENTON, N.J. -- The budget proposed by President Bush adds to middle-class burdens while providing greater benefits for the wealthy and oil companies, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said Saturday.

TRENTON - The multimillionaire has told his friends to leave their tuxes at home.

And while Gov.-elect Jon S. Corzine will be donning a tuxedo to his black-tie-optional gala Tuesday, the Democrat's staff says he wants this to be a different kind of inauguration.