Normally, an argument for an amendment to the New Jersey State Constitution – or any state constitution – is more philosophical than practical. Frequently people participating in such a debate draw their inspiration from many sources, such as history, politics, sociology, even economics. But for the people of Fort Lee, tens of thousands of traffic-jammed commuters, emergency responders, schoolbus drivers and anyone who cares about sadists (“Time for some traffic in Fort Lee…”) in positions of power, it’s become much more personal. We need an amendment to the New Jersey Constitution providing for an elected Attorney General.
We need it now, because even though a year ago I would have scoffed at the next statement, some of our jobs, even lives, apparently, literally, depend on it.
When the frequently praised New Jersey Constitution of 1947 was drafted on the campus of Rutgers-New Brunswick, the feeling amongst the state’s elite scholars and politicians is that a stronger state government was needed. In fact, a stronger executive branch, mirroring the U.S. Presidency, was not only proposed but also approved by those framing that fundamental document. Most delegates at that Rutgers conference were frustrated by years of a weak governorship. Past governors were frequent political pawns of city bosses and, with the exception of Woodrow Wilson, usually filled by men of underwhelming intellect and capabilities. Additionally, this was the age of Franklin Roosevelt. Though the great leader who had helped to defeat Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan had recently passed away, his reflection of a capable, directed chief executive loomed large in everybody’s mind.
Here, in the new document, was a robust position for someone who wanted to get things done. The “new” governorship was invested with a broad amount of powers that literally lorded over the other two branches of government. He or she would have powers far exceeding that of the President at the Federal Level. Not only can a governor veto bills proposed by the Legislature, he or she can “line item” veto legislation to fashion proposed laws their liking. Again, like the U.S. president, the governor has the power to appoint justices to the State Supreme Court, but unlike the Federal model, after a few years these judges must face the governor again for lifetime reappointment. Without a governor’s “re-nomination,” any justice’s career on the high bench is over.
The delegates who wrote the N.J. Constitution rejected another important and common governmental model that is still at work in other state governments, called a “Divided Executive.” In the Divided Executive system, the governor and his/her entire cabinet (the people who comprise the ‘cabinet’ run the various state departments) are independently and concurrently elected on a statewide basis. This system reduces the position of governor to that resembling something like the modern-day British Queen, or a near-figurehead. In states like Texas, Florida, even New York, the Attorney General, Treasurer, Comptroller and Secretary of State are independently chosen by the voters and do not answer to their governors in any way. The problem with the “Divided Executive” system is that it is nearly impossible to get anything decided aside from proclaiming the first week of every July “Clean Ocean Week.”
And this is where we have arrived today. We have a governor with presidential powers, and then some, with an office staff that – and this not a matter of opinion but documented fact – has conspired to and abused executive power to terrorize and punish entire state communities. And from the emails we’ve already uncovered, many of the Governor’s staff members did this with glee. Additionally, we now have credible allegations coming from the Mayor of Hoboken that the Lieutenant Governor used emergency aid meant for citizens in immediate need to press for some kind of personal/political advantage. This is not partisan politics as usual, it is proto-Fascism.
So there are many problems going on here, but I want to address those of an institutional nature. The problem is not that governors or any politician are capable of corruption or greed; this is a given. We’ve seen this before in many chief executives. The problem is that we have a governor – or, and I’m being charitable here because I don’t believe his denials – employees in his office that are sadistically waging some kind of very real personal war on the law-abiding people of New Jersey. We have created a position of tremendous power but with very little immediate oversight. Yes, the Legislature has oversight powers, but Legislatures move slowly and are subject to the whims of politics. New Jersey, we need more.
There is no perfect solution, but we have one potential way to address this. To avoid this kind of abuse of power, or at least, to take away the confidence of any future governor in exercising it, we need to have an elected Attorney General.
The Attorney General is our “top cop,” and the entire state law enforcement community answers to him/her. The problem is that in the present system this person is appointed by the Governor (with State Senate approval) and then goes on to serve at the Governor’s “pleasure.” So the position of our Attorney General, as it now stands, is like a dog on a leash, and it’s the governor who holds that leash. The governor and anyone working for him have no need to fear or feel limited by the Attorney General, not even for a second. After all, if they governor doesn’t like this person, he or she can simply fire them. The present crisis in our state government may have been caused by this fact alone.
With an elected Attorney General, the people have a better chance (remember, there are no guarantees when it comes to designing any government) in preventing abuses of power. We have seen in other states that elected Attorney Generals are usually aspiring governors themselves, and are eager to check the powers and ambitions of their governors. As independent representatives of the People, they are always looking over the governor’s shoulders, perhaps instilling some measure of sobriety in the exercise of power. But unlike legislators, Attorney Generals are executives themselves and have the power to directly and quickly investigate the governor and his office.
I don’t trust this powerful governorship anymore. It has become more than apparent that the New Jersey governorship can do a great amount of damage to the people before it is halted. I fear that in the coming weeks and months we will learn more about the dictatorial culture of this governor and the people who work for him. We cannot let this happen again.
Yes, we need to amend our State Constitution. No, this amendment won’t protect the rights of Bingo players, and it’s not aimed at reforming pensions. It is directed at compelling future governors to respect the law, the rights and lives of the people. Remember, Bridget Kelly and whoever she answered to could have easily ordered the shut down Fort Lee’s water system, or the power supply to, say, Morristown or Bayonne, in addition to issuing that insane traffic order. This heinous abuse of power is no longer hypothetical, it happened and it was very real. So let’s take the cops out of the governor’s office so he or she, like the rest of us, feels a little heat now and then, when clearly dreadful and illegal thoughts come to mind. Perhaps the mere presence of an independent Attorney General will prevent such thoughts from being translated into horrifying deeds with ruinous results.
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