Governor's Toll Plan Proving A Hard Sell
Posted February 1, 2008

Governor Jon Corzine may have unveiled his toll hike plan with high hopes, but it should come as no surprise to him – or to anyone for that matter – that New Jersey residents have proven significantly less than excited about the proposal, to say the least.

A new Fairleigh Dickinson University Public Mind poll labeled the governor’s plan a “drag,” after finding that 59% of people oppose the plan while only 33% support it, with 8% undecided. The poll also found that opposition is fairly consistent both among public employee households (58-35) and among non-public employee households (59-34). Additionally, those who use the Parkway and Turnpike to commute to work are only slightly more likely to oppose the plan (61-36) than those who do not use these toll roads for their daily commute (58-34).

Opposition also reaches across party lines, albeit in varying degrees. Among Republicans and independents, opposition is greater than 2-1 (68-28 and 62-27, respectively), while among Democrats, the ratio is 5-4 (51-40).

It’s not just poll numbers that are showing the public’s resistance to the governor’s plan, however. Town hall meetings held across the state to date have already drawn thousands of attendees. The Star Ledger reported yesterday that as of Wednesday evening, an estimated 3900 residents have come to the governor’s six town hall meetings. Thus far, the governor has been met by tough questions inside and protestors outside.

But tough questions are exactly what the governor’s plan deserves. As the Courier Post reported, under his proposal, tolls would skyrocket by 800 percent by 2022. And according to an AP article posted at Newsday.com, after the initial round of 50% hikes every four years between 2010 and 2022, tolls would continue to increase every four years until 2085 to adjust for inflation.

It’s no wonder the public has raised an outcry!

Perhaps anticipating as much, the governor, in his State of the State address, invited suggestions for alternate plans. However, when Senate President Richard Codey offered just that, Governor Corzine seemed less than enthusiastic. As the Star Ledger reported, Senator Codey “suggested the state examine leasing the lottery to a private operator as a way to generate at least a portion of the billions needed to pay down the state’s $32 billion debt.” The Ledger noted that Codey’s proposal could yield as much as $10 billion, and while it “would not replace the governor’s proposed toll hikes, which would bring in $38 billion … [it] could be used to reduce the suggested 800 percent increase.”

One would think that the governor would jump at the opportunity to review such a plan, which would reduce the burden of payment on New Jersey citizens. Unfortunately, while he hasn’t discounted the plan completely, he seems to lack the patience to explore it in more depth. The Ledger’s Editorial Board wrote:

Gov. Jon Corzine says he’s not dismissing Codey’s suggestion out of hand but says it would take too long. The governor, who took 18 months to put together his own still-incomplete plan, suddenly wants to move quickly and have everything locked up by March.

….[W]hy rush through a proposal that the state will have to live with for 75 years without talking about other possibilities? The governor’s call for fast action is puzzling, especially considering he still has not produced a written version of his plan – one that would disclose all the details….

We could not agree more. Governor Corzine has developed a pattern of providing sketchy initial details for an extended period of time, suddenly “unveiling” his plan, and then expecting the legislature to approve it yesterday. He did it with school funding, and now he is trying to do it with our toll roads. The legislature may have caved to the governor on the school funding proposal, but it should not do the same on toll hikes.

New Jerseyans are tired of forking over more and more of their hard-earned dollars to support the wasteful spending habits of entrenched Trenton lawmakers. Public opinion can’t get much more clearer than it already is. Only time will tell if our legislators finally heed the voice of their constituents or bow instead to the whims of our tax and spend governor.

 

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