The governor is remarkably unconcerned about his unusually close relationship with the state’s most powerful special interest.  He appears in TV ads paid for by the NJEA that call for one of the NJEA’s main policy goals.  He vetoes a bill that would expose the NJEA’s secret funding of political groups that support its own agenda.  Now, the governor has stated publicly that he has “spoken to the NJEA constantly” in the last five years, “including around New Direction, but far more often on policy [emphasis added].”

Doesn’t the governor realize that this behavior creates the perception he is doing the bidding of a special interest? Or that this cuts against the fact that he was elected by the people of New Jersey to represent their interests? Or that it’s precisely this sort of blatant conflict of interest that furthers the erosion of public trust in government?

Read the Observer.com story here.