TRENTON-On March 19th, 2020, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority held a hearing amid the coronavirus pandemic to increase toll hikes on New Jersey’s two major toll roads, the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike. Some local mayors and Ocean County Freeholder Joseph Vicari immediately condemned those hearings, but two men who represent Ocean County in the New Jersey assembly waited until weeks after the hearings and the subsequent approval of those toll hikes to say something.
The time for action has passed. Amato and Vicari expressed their opposition before the hearing. The hearing happened. The hikes were announced and essentially approved. The meeting happened.
Now, on March 30th, 2020, Senator Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and John Catalano of the 10th Legislative District released a statement calling for the halt of hearings and plans to increase tolls during the ongoing COVID-19 emergency.
We’re not sure what the delay was, whether it was a backlog of press releases by the person who writes their words or maybe they just weren’t paying attention while McGuckin was gobbling up pay to pay muncipal contracts across the county and failing at taking over local Republican clubs, but as they, “Better late than never.”
These two men are the ones who should be speaking publicly in the Trenton statehouse. Yelling at the top of their lungs at the Democrat leadership that continues to push burden after burden into the lives of New Jersey residents, not issue statements nearly three weeks after the fact.
This is what is wrong with New Jersey’s Republican party. They are weak, ineffective and powerless against the Murphy administration and the Democrat machine that controls New Jersey, but let’s face it, when you’re entire syndicate relies on getting tax payer funded contracts from both Democrats and Republicans, it’s understandable why high ranking state Republicans don’t want to rock the boat in Trenton too much…they have a crap ton of money riding on public contracts to buck status quo in the Garden State.
For this McGuckin and Catalano get four out of five pandering pandas. Around here we expect actions, not words…especially not words weeks after we already lost the battle.
