A return to normalcy

The poll results released today from the Polling Institute at Monmouth University should not really be a surprise to anyone. No one really knows who Rob Andrews or any of the Republicans are in the U.S. Senate race and Gov. Jon Corzine remains mired in Bush-like approval ratings.

New Jersey voters also — and this is a bit of a surprise — now seem to favor Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, almost three months after backing Clinton in the primary. According to the poll, more 45 percent of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents say they would like to see Obama get the nomination, compared with 38 percent for Clinton.

“It appears that less than three months after giving Hillary Clinton a 10 point victory in the state’s primary, some New Jersey voters feel buyer’s remorse,” said poll director Patrick Murray. “Many state Democrats are concerned that the prolonged battle could hobble their party’s eventual nominee in November.”

Obama received 44 percent of the vote on Feb. 5, so his support appears to have held steady. It is the Clinton supporters who appear to be moving to the undecided column. Of course, it is possible that the inclusion of “Democrat-leaning independents” is skewing the results.

Of more importance, the normal course of things has been restored. Several months ago, Sen. John McCain appeared to be closing on the Democrats in New Jersey, making a reliably blue state far more competitive than the Democrats would have liked.

But the latest numbers indicate that New Jersey is likely to back the Democrat, regardless of who it is: 57 percent say they plan to vote for the Democrat, 25 percent for the Republican and the rest either will back a third-party candidate, don’t know or plan to stay home.

An Obama-McCain race would likely produce a 56-32 win for Obama, while a Clinton McCain race would go 52-38 for Clinton.

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The Blog of South Brunswick

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Young artists rock — especially my nephew

I visited the South Brunswick school district’s K-12 art exhibition last night and was amazed and pleased to see the kind of work being done.

At one table, featuring work from Greenbrook School (I believe), there were imitations of Kandinsky’s abstractions, essentially explorations of line and color. Other major artistic styles and genres were represented.

I ran into Joanne Kerekes, assistant superintendent for curriculum, who seemed to be enjoying the work and the responses of the parents. She reminded me that the art programs were not required by the state and that they too often are the kind of programs that get cut when budgets fail.

It would be a shame if that were to happen this year. The Township Council is reviewing the $135.9 budget defeated two weeks ago, hoping to cut enough from the tax levy to reduce the tax rate. That will require an $800,000 cut. Good luck.

I know the voters spoke and they have to be listened to, but the council must be careful. The district’s arts programs are too important, both to the educational process — students benefit in other curriculum areas when they take art and music — and to society as a whole.

The best example I can offer of what the arts program means is the picture above — done by my 7-year-old nephew Joey Kalet, a first-grader at Cosntable School.

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Omar’s best decision

Omar Minaya has made a lot of interesting decisions as the man in charge of the Mets, some good, some not so good.

But the best move he has made maybe the signing he decided against — you know, the $75 million he offere Barry Zito, a pittance compared to the $126 million the lefty received from the Giants.

If I recall at the time, there were plenty of Mets fans calling into sports radio calling for Minaya’s scalp. Given the fans’ propensity for making loud, boorish fools of themselves, Zito is probably glad he took the money and ran.

I know I am.

Read this AP story to see what all that money managed to get the Giants:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -Barry Zito was demoted to the bullpen Monday by the San Francisco Giants, who hope the former ace can correct his problems by working in relief.

Zito, who only 16 months ago signed a $126 million, seven-year contract with the Giants to lead their rotation, was informed of the move in a meeting with manager Bruce Bochy.

The left-hander has lost his first six starts this season and has a 7.53 ERA that jumped considerably after Zito was tagged for eight earned runs in a 10-1 loss Sunday to Cincinnati.

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Consolidating consolidation

Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts (D-Camden) wants to streamline the consolidation guidelines approved by the state Legislature last year. But his fix will do little to actually push towns to consolidate.

The reason has to do with the political climate in New Jersey. While I believe we will need to reduce the number of municipalities in the state if we are to begin reining in unnecessary government spending, few municipal governments — and maybe fewer of their residents — appear willing to make the necessary trade offs.

Consider Jamesburg. The town has been in danger of losing its library and offers a skeletal, volunteer recreation program. But its elected officials have promised to fight tooth and nail to keep any merger from happening — mostly because of concerns aboaut identity. At the same time, its officials complain constantly about the level of aid it receives and about being required by the state to fund its public library.

And that doesn’t take into account Monroe, the likely consolidation partner. Monroe has no interest in merging with Jamesburg and also would fight.

(Cranbury is a different case, because of land mass — 14 square miles — and the wealth of its residents gives it the resources required to provide a level of services unavailable in most towns with a similar population. Plus, it historically has gotten by with little state aid and has rarely complained, so it seems to me that the state should probably leave it alone.)

The consolidation panel created last year would have little power to move the two towns toward a merger. Its research can only lead to a recommendation that then must go to the state Legislature and then to voters in the affected towns. It is an unwieldy process that, in the end, faces the same basic hurdles that consolidations have always faced.

Speaker Roberts wants to streamline the process. According to a press release, he wants to remove the Legislature from the process and send recommendations made by the consolidation panel directly to voters in the affected towns. He also wants to allow the state to cut state aid to towns that opt not to follow panel recommendations.

I’m not sure that this will change things much. The governor’s budget already uses municipal aid as a prod, a questionable move that has been met with significant resistence from municipal officials.

I think Roberts is correct when he says that we can “address the problem of our overabundance of local government without sacrificing the individual community identities that make New Jersey such a special place to live.”

“Choosing to continue ignoring these problems will eventually leave us with hundreds of municipalities that are as charmingly colloquial as they are wholly unaffordable.”

I’m just not convinced that the plan he is offering is the best plan to move us past the parochial objections that have frozen us in place for so long.

I’ve written before that I think the consolidation panel should make its recommendations to the Legislature and that the Legislature should make the decision. Even it that were in place, the politics of the issue are such that I could see the Legislature allow recommendations to die by inertia.

I’ve also written, however, that the tax structure is as much to blame for our woes as anything else. Because we rely on property taxes, we have created a government structure designed to bring in ratables and spread macadam.

Let’s fix the weak consolidation panel, but keep in mind that doing will only accomplish so much. Greater reform is needed and needed quickly.

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