http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--governorsrace-c o1005oct05,0,5654618.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey
Anti-terrorism feud is fodder for GOP candidate for governor By ANGELA DELLI SANTI Associated Press Writer October 5, 2005, 3:54 PM EDT TRENTON, N.J. -- The public battle for control of the state's anti-terrorism efforts being played out in the media this week has given the Republican candidate for governor new ammunition in his quest to unseat the Democrats. "It's incredible _ and terrifying _ that the acting governor is forced to issue an executive order directing the attorney general and the Office of Counter-Terrorism to work together," Doug Forrester railed Wednesday. "The people of this state look to officials like the attorney general to ensure their safety, and instead find a government behaving like a gang of unruly schoolchildren." Corzine adviser Tom Shea called Forrester's comments "glaringly political and disingenuous." "As usual, Doug Forrester is 30 days late to an issue and completely wrong on the facts," Shea said. It took Forrester _ who trails Sen. Jon Corzine by single digits in a tightening race for governor _ less than a day after Codey's executive order to issue a rebuke of what he terms business-as-usual at the state capital. The Republican has been campaigning as a government outsider who would change the way business is done in Trenton. David Rebovich, director of the Rider Institute for New Jersey Politics in Lawrence, said Forrester could gain political capital from the Democrats' infighting and seeming disarray in anti-terrorism efforts. "Homeland security is a high-priority issue," said Rebovich. "Squabbling within the party feeds into the Forrester argument that the Democrats are out to protect their own turf and their own political power. This issue has resurfaced as a bad time for the party, with five weeks to go before Election Day." On Tuesday, Codey stepped in to quell an increasingly public feud involving the state police, the Office of Counter-Terrorism and the Attorney General's Office Dissatisfied with the lack of cooperation and information sharing, Codey on Tuesday assumed greater control over the anti-terrorism agency by taking the office under his domain and undoing the reassignment of 14 state troopers from counterterrorism to the FBI. The FBI is the lead agency under U.S. law to combat terrorism. Codey's order directed state police to keep 10 troopers working for the counterterrorism office, and allows it to hire 15 new investigators. He also ordered state police and the Attorney General's Office to cooperate with the counterterrorism office, and directed the counterterrorism chief to provide monthly reports to the governor and attorney general. Forrester, who was reacting to media reports of the standoff rather than firsthand accounts, criticized the situation as "yet another example of how the public safety has been put at risk because of politics as usual in Trenton." He said he would create an Office of Homeland Security that is independent of the attorney general. Kelley Heck, Codey's spokeswoman, said there's no reason for the Republican to make political hay over Tuesday's events. "The governor jumped in yesterday and fixed it (the situation)," she said. "This was a turf war, but the governor was very clear in saying this was not a public safety concern. The Office of Counter-Terrorism is continuing to do its work." Corzine, who was campaigning in New Brunswick Wednesday afternoon, issued a statement highlighting his anti-terrorism plan, which includes creating a cabinet-level post to oversee state homeland security and commissioning an expert panel similar to the federal 9/11 commission to review state security efforts and recommend improvements. "The recent news about New Jersey's Office of Counter-Terrorism shows the problems that a lack of clear organization can create," Corzine said. "My homeland security plan is the only one that will address those problems head-on and correct them." Copyright C 2005, The Associated Press [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back! http://us.click.yahoo.com/VpgUKB/pzNLAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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