http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1128586421163980.xml <http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1128586421163980.xml&co ll=5> &coll=5
Forrester, Corzine trade jabs on security Thursday, October 06, 2005 By TOM HESTER JR. Staff Writer First it was criticism of Golan Cipel's homeland security job with the state. Then it was allegations that most state homeland security money was being delivered to Democratic areas for political reasons. Now state Republicans are taking aim at acting Gov. Richard J. Codey's Tuesday executive order that strips much of the control over the state's Office of Counter-Terrorism (OCT) away from state Attorney General Peter C. Harvey to end intra-administration squabbling. "It is incredible and terrifying that the acting governor is forced to issue an executive order directing the attorney general and the director of the OCT to work together," Republican gubernatorial candidate Douglas Forrester said yesterday. "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," he said. Forrester's comments drew criticism yesterday from Democrats, who alleged that his "incoherent, inconsistent and incomplete mutterings" came only after U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, unveiled a plan to address homeland security concerns. "Were the subject not so serious, Doug Forrester's comments would be laughable," said Corzine's senior adviser Tom Shea. "Instead, they're tragic." For Forrester, the security issue could add up to final-month campaign fodder as the Nov. 8 election approaches and he tries to convince voters Democrats can't get their act together when it comes to protecting New Jersey from terrorists. Corzine didn't whitewash the counterterrorism squabble yesterday, acknowledging problems but touting his homeland security plan as the solution. Codey's order transferred budgeting and personnel authority over the OCT away from the attorney general to other departments. The move came after a simmering dispute between the offices peaked Monday when state police pulled troopers out of the counterterrorism office and assigned them to an FBI task force. Codey said he "will not allow a turf war to compromise the safety of this state." Codey spokeswoman Kelley Heck said the order already brought results yesterday, with the OCT and state police discussing the 10 troopers Codey assigned to work with the OCT until further notice. "Things seem to be improving already on the communications front," Heck said. Forrester has spent months insisting Democrats cannot be trusted to protect state residents from terrorism and tried yesterday to seize on Codey's order. Both Corzine and Forrester have proposed creating an independent homeland security office for the state. Like Forrester, Corzine cited that plan yesterday. "The recent news about New Jersey's Office of Counter-Terrorism shows the problems that a lack of clear organization can create," Corzine said. He reiterated his plans to form a bipartisan commission to examine state homeland security needs and recommend changes. "And as I've said repeatedly, all homeland security decisions, including funding decisions, will be based on risk or threat, not politics," Corzine said. Forrester often cites Cipel's appointment by former Democratic Gov. James E. McGreevey as a homeland security adviser. Cipel was not an American citizen, had no qualifications for the job and became embroiled in a gay sex scandal that forced McGreevey to resign. Corzine never criticized Cipel's appointment, which was widely questioned even before McGreevey admitted he was gay and was stepping down. Republicans also have tried to score points with voters by noting that 93 percent of the state's homeland security grants in recent years have gone to legislative districts controlled by Democrats, who have insisted that happened only because Democrats tend to represent urban areas targeted by terrorists. Forrester said the dispute between the attorney general and counterterrorism offices is another example of Democrats putting public safety at risk. "Jon Corzine has steadfastly refused to criticize the partisan expenditure of homeland security monies, and now he remains silent while Democratic infighting imperils public safety in a petty turf dispute," Forrester said. "His silence in the face of still another security debacle is another example of why Corzine cannot fix what is wrong in Trenton." NOTE: Contact State House bureau chief Tom Hester Jr. at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or at (609) 777-4464. [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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