Corzine Promises to Clean up Corruption

Two days ago, Jeffrey Gettleman wrote in The New York Times about the current governor’s race in New Jersey. Jon Corzine, the Democrat who spent nearly $60 million of his own fortune to win his Senate seat in 2000, is now battling to win the open seat.

One of his campaign promises is to clean up corruption in New Jersey. In order to clean up corruption, there has been promises “to bring in more watchdogs, end pay-to-play practices and stop the cronyism that everyone agrees has sullied politics in the state.”

Corzine began his career as a politician when hee was recruited to run for the Senate by former Senator Bob Torricelli. Senator Torricelli later stepped down from his 2002 re-election campaign due to a “severe admonishment” by the Senate Ethics Committee because he violated Senate rules by accepting and failing to disclose expensive gifts (known to most people as bribes) from a contributor to whom Senator Torricelli repeatedly provided special assistance.

Despite the ethics admonishment, Corzine was supportive of Torricelli, saying, “Bob Torricelli has been a mentor, he’s been a colleague, and he’s truly been a friend.” He even contributed to Toricelli’s legal defense fund.

Considering his past support of a Senator known to have extensive problems with ethics, it is open to debate whether or not Corzine would wage a solid fight against corruption in New Jersey.