Nominations and Confirmations
New Jersey Family Policy Council Watches with Interest!
TRENTON: As the nominations and confirmations unfold in Trenton, the New Jersey Family Policy Council (NJFPC) has watched and weighed in on some of Governor Chris Christie’s nominees. Len Deo was in attendance for the confirmation hearings for Attorney General Paula Dow; Commissioner of Education, Bret Schundler and will also attend the hearings for Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and the Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles.
Two of the remaining hearings are of particular note, the first being today. The nomination of Janet Rosenzweig, at first glance, would make one wonder why a person with associations with AASECT (the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists) and Quad S (SSSS – Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality), would be nominated for the Department of Children and Families. After reading Paul Mulshine’s article about Ms. Rosenzweig we did some research concerning this nominee, because the connections to these associations caused some concern for the NJFPC.
However, not to be ones to cast accusations without a full communication with the Governor’s office and the nominee herself, the NJFPC requested a meeting which was granted this past Friday. One of the encouraging points that we came away with from that meeting was that Ms. Rosenzweig is an advocate for preventing child abuse. Her convictions and answers to our questions provided insight and a feeling that she would be a tough Commissioner who would implement the policies set forth by Governor Chris Christie. That is, to protect children and continue building on the improvements that has already begun in the Department of Children and Families. According to Ms. Rosenzweig her training and background equipped her to train police and social workers in looking for the signs of adults abusing children. “Based on our meeting I am cautiously optimistic that Ms. Rosenzweig is capable of doing a good job in the best interests of our children once confirmed,” Deo stated.
Because of the work of the NJFPC in policy, the Commissioner of Corrections, and Commissioner of Health and Senior Services are also of interest to us and we are following their confirmation process as well. In addition, Ray Martinez, nominee for the Division of Motor Vehicles is in the position to save the State of New Jersey a lot of money by ending a lawsuit against the State because previous commissioners have blocked the implementation of a “Choose Life – Choose Adoption” license plate, which would join the vast number of organizational plates on the road today in NJ. By a stroke of the pen, Mr. Martinez could administratively approve the plates and, we believe, the lawsuit goes away. Time will tell.
“We continue to look forward to the confirmation process. As a voice for the family, in representing our constituents, we will weigh in on the process when appropriate and necessary. We wish our Governor success in the tackling the many challenges facing this administration,” Deo concluded.
New Jersey Family Policy Council (1-800-FAMILY-1) is a non-profit public education and research organization, working to strengthen the family through informed citizenship and improved public policy. For more information about the Council’s programs and initiatives, please contact us at the above number or e-mail us at info@njfpc.org.
