Assembly Republicans

MONMOUTH LEGISLATORS COMMEND GOV. CORZINE FOR COMMITMENT TO MERIT-BASED GRANT DISTRIBUTIONS
January 25, 2006

Assemblyman Steve Corodemus/732-708-0900
Assemblyman Sean Kean/732-974-0400
Assemblywoman Amy Handlin/609-292-5339
Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck/609-292-5339

MONMOUTH LEGISLATORS COMMEND GOV. CORZINE FOR COMMITMENT TO MERIT-BASED GRANT DISTRIBUTIONS

Assemblymen Steve Corodemus and Sean Kean, and Assemblywomen Amy Handlin and Jennifer Beck, today issued the following statement regarding a commitment they have received from the administration of Governor Jon Corzine that state grant programs will not be politicized in his administration:

"We are pleased that officials in Governor Corzine's administration have pledged to us that state grant programs will not be manipulated for political purposes under his watch. Politics should not be the guiding factor in distributing these grants, but unfortunately it appears that is exactly how this process was handled in many departments during the past four years. On Monday we sent a letter to Governor Corzine expressing our concerns about the handling of these grant programs. To the Governor's credit his staff immediately reached out to us and assured us the Governor will not allow grant programs to be politicized during his administration. We appreciate the Governor's attention to this issue and that he is serious about addressing our concerns. His commitment is good for the taxpayers of Monmouth County who were in many cases short-changed by the political nature of the grant process during the prior administration. We look forward to working with the Governor to ensure that grants are distributed to municipalities according to an objective, merit-based system in the future."

#####