NJ Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno Incident: 'This Was Way This Administration Worked: To Smear and Bully'
Last edited Mon Jan 20, 2014, 08:28 PM - Edit history (4)
http://www.nytimes.com/blogs/krugman/2014/01/20/in-the-matter-of-kim-guadagnohttp://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/krugman/2014/01/20/in-the-matter-of-kim-guadagno
In the Matter of Kim Guadagno
By PAUL KRUGMAN
January 20, 2014
One of the interesting and bittersweet aspects of the burgeoning Bridgegate-plus scandal in New Jersey has been the centrality of local newspapers. The original story wasn’t broken by the crack investigative reporters at the New York Times, or the fake-scandal-chasers at 60 Minutes. It was broken by the transportation reporter of the Bergen Record.
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So I thought I might do a public service by drawing attention to another super-local report that I suspect hasn’t gotten on the radar of many big-paper reporters. I mean, unless you live right here, who reads US1, a weekly that mainly covers sports, movies, and restaurants in the Princeton area? But the current issue has an account of one person’s interactions with Kim Guadagno, the lieutenant governor now accused of threatening storm-wracked Hoboken — and it fits the narrative perfectly:
http://www.princetoninfo.com
BULLY PULPIT
Long before the bridgegate scandal that has recently embroiled Governor Chris Christie's administration, U.S. 1's Dan Aubrey -- working in 2011 as a contractor for the state Council on the Arts -- had his own run-in with Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno. He shares his saga:
http://princetoninfo.com/index.php?option=com_us1more&Itemid=6&key=01-15-14guadagno
What's New in Princeton & Central New Jersey?
Reprinted from the January 15, 2014, issue of U.S. 1 Newspaper
Defending the Arts Amid a Culture of Fear
By DAN AUBREY
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The decision to bury the site was linked to Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno. The Republican former federal prosecutor and Monmouth County sheriff had become the state’s first lieutenant governor in January, 2010.
In November, 2010, she announced that she was “to refill the area next to the Statehouse as soon as possible to improve the grounds.”
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As part of ending my involvement with the projects, I contacted a state official with whom I normally communicated with and related what had just transpired. The reply was that this was the way that this administration worked: to smear and bully people — just as the lieutenant governor had done with the arts council. Hmm.
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As the Star-Ledger noted, “Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno told lawmakers that the council improperly awarded three contracts for public art projects, including several involving the state’s 9/11 Memorial at Liberty State Park in Jersey City. The contracts ‘exceeded $300,000 and were awarded to a sole contractor,’ Guadagno said. They ‘were not publicly bid, nor were state procurement practices followed.’”
The article added that “Guadagno blamed the council’s staff for the mistake and expressed frustration that her office, the Department of State, had ‘no oversight authority’ over the arts council or its activities.”
However, “a Star-Ledger review of the contracts and other Department of State documents — including the arts council’s own internal report — shows that the contracts were actually green lighted by the State Department itself,” and that “documents show that the contracts were complex management agreements for three public art commissions and that most of the funds were targeted to artists and fabricators. The ‘sole contractor’ mentioned by Guadagno could only earn about $12,000, according to the terms of the agreements,” said the article.
When the reporter asked the lieutenant governor to respond to the findings, she was told that Guadagno “would not discuss the newspaper’s findings, according to her spokesman, who added that the lieutenant governor would have no further comment until a final audit report is released,” although she was willing to use incomplete findings to smear the council and others.
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Upon asking me questions and looking over the contracts and clear financial reports — I used separate bank accounts for projects to provide absolute transparency — one of the attorneys summed the situation up with, “This would be ludicrous, if the person making the claims wasn’t so powerful.” Right.
MUCH MORE AT LINK
= new reply since forum marked as read
Another reason to 
you!
But I will wait until it goes national to mention any minor or major nit where I live.
Or better yet, wait for the crack reporters from New York and DC to cover local issues badly.
For those who don't know, under NJ law the lieutenant governor also serves as Secretary of State, which oversees art projects:
As the Secretary of State, Lt. Governor Guadagno is New Jersey’s chief election official, overseeing promotion of the state’s $38 billion tourism industry and administers programs related to the arts, culture and history.
http://nj.gov/governor/admin/lt/
Culture of Bully..
Thank you Krugman!
"One of the interesting and bittersweet aspects of the burgeoning Bridgegate-plus scandal in New Jersey has been the centrality of local newspapers. The original story wasn’t broken by the crack investigative reporters at the New York Times, or the fake-scandal-chasers at 60 Minutes. It was broken by the transportation reporter of the Bergen Record."
Ouch.. 'cause it's true
This is fascinating regarding Dan Aubrey.. I hope he gets complete vindication! I read a bit about the crap that Guadagno pulled at the Art Council the other day and thought it was so weird.. why would she do that?!
He's a writer and a very good one!.. from your link..
"Then one late October day I got an E-mail from one of the “accused” and was told that the case had been closed and — except in my case stolen time and $7,000 in legal fees — the findings were what everyone had said from the beginning: the contracts were legal and there was no wrong doing."
And this..
"A recent newspaper article on the George Washington Bridge scandal touches that “something” when it talks about the Christie administration’s penchant for vindictiveness: “State Sen. Barbara Buono, the failed Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said she is feeling frustrated and sad over the bridge scandal because no one was interested enough in the bridge scandal during the campaign. No one seemed concerned about his ‘bully’ attitude. ‘The culture of fear that permeates the walls of the Statehouse is like nothing I have seen in my 20 years here,’ Buono said.”
Bless Barbara Buono for trying to tell the people of New Jersey what was going on in the Gov Admin including Christie himself. She is a courageous woman.
Thanks Hissyspit~
