BPU

If Frank Lautenberg’s political consultant, Steve DeMicco, beats up on Rob Andrews – as he surely will – how will that affect the already controversial renomination of his DeMicco’s wife, Jeanne Fox, as President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities?  John Adler is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is holding Fox’s nomination until after the trial of whistle-blower who claims retaliation for reporting a potentially illegal an $80 million ratepayer-funded Clean Energy account established by Fox.  And South Jersey, Andrews’ base, has six Democratic Senators – which means if the GOP comes through with their pledge to oppose Fox, she can’t possibly get confirmed without the support of South Jersey Democrats.

When it comes to BPU President Jeanne Fox’s reappointment, Gannett’s Bob Ingle and Gregory Volpe have been working overtime.

Based on recent coverage, it appears the Gannett chain is the only NJ newspaper paying close attention to the current storyline about Fox’s day-in-court-defense to a whistle blower complaint and the pending Senate review of her reappointment as Board President.

Senate Judiciary Committee John Adler will hold the nomination of Jeanne Fox until after the completion of a whistleblower trial, according to an Asbury Park Press report today.  Gov. Jon Corzine reappointed Fox to the state Board of Public Utilities, despite from a top BPU official alleging that Fox and others retaliated against him for alerting the state that Fox set up a potentially improper $80 million account outside the supervision of the State Treasurer.

Among the donors to Save Our State NJ, the issue-advocacy group essentially formed by Governor Jon Corzine to advocate his plan to raise tolls, is Public Service Electric & Gas. PSE&G has contributed $100,000 to the effort, according to sources familiar with the SOS group. That might explain Corzine’s reluctance to quickly release the list of SOS donors.

Editor's Note: The Inside Edge strongly stands behind our original report that PSE&G pledged $100,000 to Gov. Corzine's Save Our State NJ toll hike advocacy group, despite communications that seek to demonstrate otherwise and a release of their donors at the end of the day.

As Jeanne Fox prepares for her Senate confirmation hearings following her nomination to another term as President of the state Board of Public Utilities, it is interesting to note that her husband, Steve DeMicco, was the consultant on the 2007 campaigns against two Republicans who now serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee.  DeMicco worked for Ellen Karcher and Seema Singh, who lost to Jennifer Beck and Bill Baroni, respectively. 

BPU Commissioner Christine Bator was dumped by Gov. Jon CorzineGov. Jon Corzine has appointed former Assemblywoman Elizabeth Randall to hold one of the Republican seats on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, and has reappointed BPU President Jeanne Fox to another term.

Connie Hughes will resign her seat on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on July 1, 2007, ending a three-decade career in state government. "I am not retiring retiring, just retiring from state government," Hughes said in an e-mail. "The good news is that I am old enough to retire and young enough to keep working. I am looking forward to new challenges and opportunities." Her resignation opens up a Republican seat on the BPU, which offers interesting possibilities for Gov. Jon Corzine to affect the 2007 legislative elections.

State Sen. Tom Kean, Jr., the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate, says that the U.S. Attorney's investigation into the state Board of Public Utilities' Clean Energy program "should be welcomed by anyone who is interested in getting to the truth of this growing scandal and restoring New Jersey to a higher standard of ethical conduct."

"The Governor should direct the BPU to cooperate and ensure that the stonewalling that occurred with the Treasury audit is not repeated again." Kean says that the BPU program is "rife with ethical problems that may well rise to the level of criminal conduct." The BPU President, Jeanne Fox, is married to Steve DeMicco, who is managing the campaign of Kean's opponent, Senator Robert Menendez.

State Senator Thomas Kean, Jr., the Republican candidate for United States Senate, will hold a 10AM news conference today "on the mismanagement" of the Board of Public Utilities' Clean Energy Program. Insiders expect Kean to tie his Democratic opponent, incumbent Robert Menendez, to the BPU issue because the Senator's Campaign Director, Steve DeMicco, is married to BPU President Jeanne Fox.