Bergmanson for Governor

Thanks

I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank-you to my wife Ruby, my son Andrew, and to all my family and friends. It’s been a great four months, and I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to discuss the difficult challenges facing New Jersey with folks from all over the state, but I would not have been able to do any of it without their invaluable support.

I’d also like to thank all of our volunteers, and our contributors. We did a lot better than anyone expected, and we can all be proud of the honest, issue-oriented campaign that we ran. In the end, we just could not overcome the specter of Jon Corzine’s tainted Wall Street millions and, unfortunately for the Democratic Party and for the State of New Jersey, he’s managed to buy himself another election.

The good news is that the most important election is yet to come.

There will be at least 13 other candidates for Governor on November 3^rd, so I urge you all to do what I will be doing, listen to what the candidates say and then look at what they’ve done, and then choose the candidate that you believe will do the best job. I think that the last four years make it pretty clear that any one of the 13 would probably do a better job than Jon Corzine.

While it would be a lot easier for me to the toe the party line, I’ve always tried to shoot straight with the citizens, and that’s never going to change. As someone who loves our great state, there is no way that I can support the re-election of Jon Corzine. He has broken pretty much every promise he’s ever made to the citizens of New Jersey, he’s done a terrible job as Governor, and he’s driven our state to the brink of bankruptcy. He does not deserve to be our Governor, and he has done nothing whatsoever to justify his re-election.

Finally, please know that I’m not going anywhere. I will continue to speak out for democracy, personal liberty and fiscally sound government in New Jersey. I hope that you will too.

Keep fighting the good fight and

keep speaking out for what’s right.

Carl

With 99% reporting

 

One last pre-election interview

I spoke to Maureen Nevin at Asbury Radio this afternoon, click here.

It's Election Day!

Well, this is it. Please remember to vote, and to remind everyone you talk to today to vote. We New Jerseyans cannot reclaim our democracy until we reclaim our democratic process.

Polls open at 6am and close at 8pm.

If you try to vote, and run into trouble, or if you run into any harassment, please call me directly at (973) 748-4020 or email me at Carl@BergmansonForGovernor.com.

Thanks for all your support.

ISSUE #1 - PROPERTY TAXES

New Jersey’s Property Taxes are the highest in the nation. Every four years, the candidates for governor make promises, and once elected governor, those promises are forgotten. Remember Jon Corzine’s “40 in Four” promise to increase your property tax rebate by 40% in four years?

The only way we can bring NJ’s property taxes under control is to deal with the causes of the increases. Your property taxes are actually at least three taxes (School taxes, Municipal Taxes and County Taxes) rolled into one:

School Taxes. The largest part (by far) of the average property-tax bill goes to fund local schools. Funding basic education with property taxes makes no sense, is not equitable, and only New Jersey does it in such an extreme fashion. Jon Corzine promised to resolve our school-funding problems with a Special Session of the Legislature in 2006, and further promised that if the special session failed, he would call for a Constitutional Convention specifically to address school funding.

The Special Session of 2006 was a spectacular failure. It produced nothing of value, and the few recommendations it put forward that might have had a significant impact on property taxes were immediately shelved. So what did Jon Corzine do? He broke his campaign promise and said that he had “changed his mind” about calling for a convention.

Net-net to the taxpayer – Jon Corzine breaks another promise, and your property taxes continue to spiral out of control.

Like most New Jerseyans, I realize that real property-tax reform will not happen until our out-of-control Supreme Court is removed from the school-funding process, and the only way that can happen is to change the NJ State Constitution. As Governor, I will call for a Constitutional Convention within my first six months in office.

Municipal Taxes. Many of the cost drivers in your municipal taxes are because of un-funded or under-funded mandates from the state. As governor, I will push the legislature to either fully-fund the mandates it imposes on our towns, or drop those requirements - Put up or shut up.

County Taxes. County Government in New Jersey is an anachronism. Every square inch of New Jersey is incorporated into one of our 566 municipalities, which leaves little purpose for our counties – a gap which many of them have filled by becoming patronage mills for our two major political parties. New Jersey should reduce or eliminate County Government, as a number of other states have already done. Reduction or elimination of this redundant layer of government will result in significant property tax savings. 

Carl on WCBS 880

Yesterday I had an interview with Wayne Cabot (pictured) on WCBS Newsradio 880 AM. Click here to hear the interview.

Jon Corzine can’t keep his word.

In the last four years, Jon Corzine has promised to do a lot of good things. The problem is, time and again he has failed to keep those promises. Here are some examples:

1. When campaigning for governor in 2005, Jon Corzine promised to bring about "comprehensive property tax relief", including his "40 in 4 plan" to increase property tax rebates by 40% in 4 years. After breaking that promise, he promised instead that the 1-cent increase in the sales tax would allow him to preserve the rebates. Instead, as governor he has eliminated property tax rebates completely for many, and reduced them for many more. What's more, he has proposed eliminating the property-tax deduction on the state income tax, in essence making New Jerseyans pay income taxes on their property taxes - which are the highest the nation.

2. He also promised property tax reform and then he promised a Constitutional Convention to reform property taxes, neither have been heard from in years.

3. When campaigning he promised to eschew "One-shot gimmicks", he did not. In fact, this year's budget is chock full of them.

4. He promised to fully fund the state's pension obligations, instead they are funded at their lowest percentages ever, and he actually forced many municipalities to short their pension obligations as well.

5. He promised to stop the state's mounting bonded-indebtedness, instead it remains ever-growing, and is fast approaching $40 Billion.

6. He promised to have the most "open and transparent government" in NJ history - yet the Corzine Administration won't even release budget data to the Assembly without going to court. And let's not forget the Carla Katz debacle.

There are many other examples.

New Jersey Democrats - the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. We voted for Jon Corzine four years ago, since then, he’s delivered nothing but broken promises and financial disaster. We must not nominate him for Governor again, because the voters of  New Jersey would have to be crazy to re-elect him!

On June 2^nd, you can vote for Jon Corzine’s broken promises and financial incompetence, or you can vote for someone who knows what to do, someone who knows how to do it, and someone who has always kept his word to the voters – that’s me – Carl Bergmanson.

My Appearance ON THE RECORD

 

NJN has taken down the video, we're working on getting a copy, click here to listen to the audio version.

Carl on the tube

I will be appearing on New Jersey Network's On the Record with Michael Aron. The show airs Sunday at 9am and 11am, and repeats on Monday at 6:30 a.m.

Interview with Baristanet.com

I sat down last Tuesday for an interview with my former business partner Debbie Galant on Baristanet.com, the very successful website we founded back in 2004. Here's the video:

Click here to read the whole article.

FYI #1 - "Baristaville" is the coverage area of the website - Montclair, Glen Ridge, Bloomfield and the surrounding area.

FYI #2 - While I still own 5% of the stock, I am not involved in any way in the management or operation of Baristanet.com

CORZINE's EMT PLAN ENDANGERS SQUADS & PUBLIC SAFETY

Over the last few days, word has been leaking out of Trenton that hidden in the latest budget figures is a plan by Governor Corzine to redirect $4 million of dedicated money from the Emergency Medical Technician Training Fund to the general fund. The EMT Training Fund has been running a deficit for Jon Corzine’s entire term, and now he’s going to completely gut it. Squads are already having trouble raising funds this year – taking away virtually all of their training money will shift the burden to the local taxpayers or force some squads to cut training or vital equipment. These cuts could have enormous ramifications when we dial 911.

I served as Glen Ridge’s Public Safety Commissioner from 1994 through 1998, so I know better than most how vital these squads are to our towns, and to our citizens. This $4 million cut was not in the Governor’s initial budget proposal, and I think he was trying to sneak it by all of us. These cuts will do serious damage to our squads, and will make it even more difficult for them to recruit new members and to keep the ones they already have.

Every New Jerseyan should e-mail, fax or call their state legislators and tell them that this is an outrage and is likely to have a significant negative impact on volunteer squads and their efforts to recruit and retain new members. Urge your legislators to publicly oppose this attempt by Governor Corzine to loot the EMT Training Fund.

NO MORE TOLL ROADS

Machine politicians love toll roads because tolls are a great way to generate patronage jobs and slush money. Toll roads are also a remarkably inefficient way to collect taxes, and eliminating tolls will not only save us the expense of collecting tolls, it will allow us to obtain millions of dollars in matching federal highway funds that are not available for roads that have tolls. What’s more, eliminating toll roads will reduce congestion, reduce pollution, reduce the number and severity of accidents and we’ll also save gas – a whole lot of gas.

Within my first 120 days as Governor, I will appoint a bipartisan committee to present a plan to eliminate the tolls on the Garden State Parkway by July 1st, 2011, and to eliminate all roadway tolls in NJ by July 1st, 2013. Toll roads cost you time, cost you money, waste gas, pollute our environment, make driving more dangerous, and help feed the culture of corruption – it’s time to eliminate toll roads in NJ.

Happy Earth Day

Today is Earth Day. I got a chance to celebrate a few days early on Sunday by participating in a Clean-up on Poricy Brook (a tributary of the Navesink River) in Monmouth County, we all had a great time, and the brook is a little cleaner for our efforts.

 

I also got a few minutes to speak to the volunteers. I told them that it’s not enough to think about the environment one or two days a year, we live on the Earth every day, and we should try and think of every day as Earth Day. I also talked about the importance of staying informed about environmental issues, and knowing each candidate's record on preserving the environment.

 

In nearly 20 years in public life, including 13 years as an elected official, I have always been a staunch supporter of Mass Transit, Recycling, Environmental Preservation and Restoration, Water Protection and Conservation and Open Space Preservation. While other candidates may say they support environmental causes – talk is cheap. No other candidate for Governor has a more solidly pro-environment record.

EARTH DAY EVENT THIS SUNDAY

I will participating in New Jersey Community Water Watch’s Earth Day cleanup at Poricy Park in Middletown on Sunday, April 19th, 2009 from 11 a.m.- 2p.m. After the clean-up, I will be speaking to the volunteers about the importance of keeping our environment, and our waterways, clean.

CARL TO SPEAK AT TRENTON TEA PARTY

I have been invited to speak at the Trenton "Tea Party" at the New Jersey State House. I go on at 2:30, but I will probably be there all day, talking to folks and handing out "No Corzine" bumper stickers. I hope to see you there!

THE CRUX OF THE PROBLEM

Yesterday, Assemblyman Joe Malone asked Jon Corzine's State Treasurer David Rousseau if he thought New Jerseyans were overtaxed and for a second, the facade slipped, and the truth we've all suspected was revealed. - he answered "No". Here's the audio.

Later on, Jon Corzine was asked the same question and he responded with a rambling, evasive answer and then he flat-out refused to answer a yes-or-no follow-up.

This is the crux of the problem. Jon Corzine and his flunkies just don't get it. Their tax increases and fee increases are bringing NJ taxpayers to their knees, but they think everything's fine.

CORZINE ADMINISTRATION CRACKS DOWN - ON BOWLING ALLEYS

It seems that no small business is safe from Jon Corzine. His Attorney General, Anne Milgram, announced today that after a four-month investigation, it was discovered that 59 Bowling Alleys were allowing league members to conduct 50/50 raffles on their premises in violation of state law.

Really, Governor? Four months? What did that cost? I wonder how much quicker and less expensive it would have been to simply mail a certified letter to each alley warning them? Or perhaps a phone call?

I guess what the Governor is telling the people of New Jersey is that he believes that in one of the most poliically-corrupt (#2 of 50) and gang-ridden (#3 of 50) states in the US, a prudent use of our AG's office is spending four months cracking down on Bowling Alleys because their patrons are holding raffles?

I guess it's easy to see how we got to be the least business-friendly state in the US (#1 of 50).

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND...

...MY EMPTY WALLET

I will be at the Statehouse today for the NJ-101.5's
Empty Wallet Funeral Procession.

If you can, stop by at "High Noon" and help protest
Governor Corzine's assault on the Middle Class.

Carl tosses his empty wallet on the pile

LISTEN TO YESTERDAY'S INTERVIEW

Here's yesterday's interview with Dennis & Michele:

CARL ON NJ 101.5 TODAY

I will be on the radio on The Dennis & Michele Show Thursday, March 26 (that's today). I should be on shortly after the 11 am newscast.

I understand that the show will be part interview, and part call-in, so I expect that it will be a lot of fun. 

You can tune to 101.5 on your FM dial, or click here:

Corzine breaks another promise

The Governor’s proposal to rearrange state debt represents another in a long line of Jon Corzine’s broken promises.

 

When Jon Corzine ran for Governor, he promised to end the gimmicks that previous administrations had used to balance the budget and meet New Jersey’s obligations, and yet his latest budget is so full of gimmicks that it’s hard to keep track of them all.

In addition to failing to meet the State’s pension obligations, and allowing other entities to short their contributions to the pension fund, the Governor is proposing “saving” approximately $350 million by extending maturities on existing bonds or deferring principal payments.

While specifics are hard to come by – thanks to the opaque nature of New Jersey’s financial dealings since Jon Corzine became Governor – deferring repayment of these obligations will result in higher overall costs to be borne by current and future taxpayers.

Virtually every day, Jon Corzine demonstrates that he will do nothing to solve the financial mess that the State of New Jersey is in, and that he has done nothing to deserve re-election.

Corzine Budget = Disaster

I was down in Trenton yesterday for Governor Corzine’s budget speech – what a disaster!

The Governor’s budget proposal not only eliminates the rebates for any family that makes more than $75,000 (except seniors), he also proposes that we tax you for paying property taxes – that’s right, not only will you be taxed on the income you keep, you’ll be taxed on the income that you pay in Property Taxes!

 

For example, families that make at least $80,000 will pay an additional 5.525% on every dollar they pay in Property Taxes! Is your Property Tax bill $10,000? Congratulations, the Governor just raised your income tax by at least $525.50. And if you make over $150,000, make that $637.00.

 

What's more, since Property Taxes are no longer deductable, there's a good chance you'll be pushed into a higher tax-bracket – ka-ching!! More cash for Jon Corzine, less cash for your family.

 

Governor Corzine's budget, if instituted, will be a disaster for working families throughout New Jersey, let's hope that my fellow Democrats in the State Legislature are smart enough to recognize that that will translate into electoral disaster for our party in November, and instead put together a budget that represents the real change and fiscal responsibility that the voters of our state are demanding.

JON CORZINE'S LATEST PROPOSAL IS A $1.7 BILLION TAX INCREASE!

The latest trial balloon leaked to the press by the Corzine Administration indicates that the Governor is considering reducing or eliminating NJ’s Property-Tax Rebates. I would welcome the elimination of the program, so long as the sales tax was dropped back down to 6%.

Let’s face it – The Property Tax Rebates are nothing more than a thinly-disguised vote-buying scam. If the Governor wants to eliminate them, I would support that, so long as the sales-tax increase that was used to fund them is also eliminated. Dropping the sales tax would be a great way to stimulate New Jersey’s economy – just as increasing the sales tax was a great way to wreck it. But since this proposal by the Governor keeps the sales tax increase and just eliminates the rebates, that’s nothing but a $1.7 Billion tax increase.

It should be clear to anyone that increasing taxes, especially in our current fiscal environment, is like trying to put out a fire with gasoline. We need to cut State Spending, not Taxpayer Spending. With his almost non-stop bungling of New Jersey’s finances, Jon Corzine makes it painfully clear to the taxpayers of New Jersey why he was run out of Goldman-Sachs, and why they need to run him out of the Governor’s Mansion.

It's Official!

This morning, in an appearance on the Jim Gearhart show
(NJ-101.5 FM), I announced my candidacy for the
Democratic Nomination for Governor of New Jersey.

Jim and I also discussed my platform, which we will be officially releasing this afternoon, but which we posted to the Website last night.

To hear the interview, click here:

Carl to announce tomorrow!

I will be announcing my candidacy for the Democratic Nomination for Governor of New Jersey tomorrow.

Jim Gearhart of NJ-101.5 has invited me to appear on his program tomorrow morning to make the formal announcement. I should be on shortly after the 8 am newscast.

You can tune to 101.5 on your FM dial, or click here:

Abolish COAH

In 1985, the legislature created the Council On Affordable Housing (COAH) in response to the Mount Laurel decisions. This was the wrong response at the time, and it has (predictably) resulted in disaster.

 

The Mount Laurel Decisions were gross violations of the sovereignty of the Legislature of the State of New Jersey, and the Municipalities established in the State of New Jersey. In the US, all government is supposed to be derived from the people. With Mount Laurel I & II, as with numerous other decisions, the NJ Supreme Court has stolen that power from the people of New Jersey in order to force their opinions on the rest of us.

 

COAH must be abolished, but simply abolishing COAH will not address the root cause of the problem - our out-of-control Supreme Court must be removed from the process. The solution to this problem is to do what should have been done in 1985 - the NJ Legislature must use its power to amend the State Constitution to give control of housing issues back to the people and their elected officials. If the legislature refuses to act, the people of the state, through a Constitutional Convention (or I&R), must take back what is rightfully theirs.

True School-Funding Reform

New Jersey’s property taxes are the highest in the nation. The largest part (by far) of the average property-tax bill goes to fund local schools. Funding basic education with property taxes makes no sense, is not equitable, and only New Jersey does it in such an extreme fashion. Jon Corzine promised to resolve our school-funding problems with a Special Session of the Legislature in 2006, and further promised that if the special session failed, he would call for a Constitutional Convention specifically to address school funding.

The Special Session of 2006 was a spectacular failure. It produced nothing of value, and the few recommendations it put forward that might have had a significant impact on property taxes were immediately shelved. So what did Jon Corzine do? He broke his campaign promise and said that he had “changed his mind” about calling for a convention.

Net-net to the taxpayer – Jon Corzine breaks another promise, and your property taxes continue to spiral out of control.

Like most New Jerseyans, I realize that real property-tax reform will not happen until our out-of-control Supreme Court is removed from the school-funding process, and the only way that can happen is to change the NJ State Constitution. As Governor, I will call for a Constitutional Convention within my first six months in office.

Establish Initiative & Referendum

On many issues - like school funding, property-tax reform, and COAH - the legislature is unable or unwilling (or too beholden to the special interests) to make the tough decisions necessary to move our state forward.

 

In order to bring real democracy back to the citizens of New Jersey, we need Initiative & Referendum (I&R). I&R will allow the citizens to move forward on these issues, and as governor, I will begin the push to give the citizens of our state this important right from the day I am sworn in.

TODAY'S INTERVIEW WITH JIM GEARHART

This morning I had a great interview with Jim Gearhart. We talked about why I'm running, why it's important that we have a contested primary, and why a second term for Jon Corzine would be a disaster for New Jersey.

To hear the interview, click here:

CARL TO APPEAR ON NJ-101.5 TOMORROW

Jim Gearhart has invited me to appear on his program on NJ-101.5 tomorrow morning. I should be on shortly after the 8 am newscast.

You can tune to 101.5 on your FM dial, or click here: