BERGEN — State Sen. Paul Sarlo is angry about a robocall that Reform Jersey Now, a non-profit group tied to close advisers of Gov. Chris Christie, has made in his district and other parts of Bergen County accusing him of blocking Christie's reform efforts. “I think it’s going to backfire. People don’t want to hear this stuff a few...
Senator Paul Sarlo during the New Jersey Joint Budget Oversight Committee met regarding New Jersey's transportation crisis in October.BERGEN — State Sen. Paul Sarlo is angry about a robocall that Reform Jersey Now, a non-profit group tied to close advisers of Gov. Chris Christie, has made in his district and other parts of Bergen County accusing him of blocking Christie's reform efforts.
“I think it’s going to backfire. People don’t want to hear this stuff a few days before Christmas,” said Sarlo (D-Bergen).
The call urges listeners to call Sarlo’s legislative office and “tell him to stop blocking Governor Christie's efforts to end abuse of public employee benefits.”
Two weeks ago, Christie conditionally vetoed a bill Sarlo sponsored that would limit sick leave payouts for public workers to $15,000. Christie wanted to make it more strict, phasing out cash payments for future accumulated unused sick days and requiring employees to use their unused sick days before those accumulated after the bill’s effective date.
But in an interview with the political website PolitickerNJ.com, Sarlo said he did not plan to revisit the bill.
“Governor Christie's plan will cap the amount of sick and vacation pay public employees can receive, saving taxpayers millions of dollars each year,” says the robocall, according to a script provided by Reform Jersey Now spokesman Michael DuHaime. “For some reason, though, Paul Sarlo doesn't agree. Sarlo is actually blocking Governor Christie’s plan to limit the amount of sick and vacation pay that we pay public employees, saving us millions of dollars every year. That’s why Republicans and Democrats from across the state support these reforms - but not Paul Sarlo."
DuHaime said the call is being made throughout all of Bergen County as well as the Essex and Passaic County portions of his district.
Sarlo called Reform Jersey Now, which pushes Christie’s agenda but is not officially tied to him, “an extension of the governor.”
Christie has headlined fundraisers for the organization, which is run by his closest allies. DuHaime was Christie’s campaign strategist last year, while Christie’s closest political confidante, Bill Palatucci, is on its board.
The organization will release its donors before the end of the year.
Sarlo said he could accept some parts of Christie’s conditional veto, including a provision to suspend accumulating sick leave for those facing charges related to their offices. But he had a problem with other aspects of it.
“We had a bipartisan bill that we worked on with the administration. There are certain provisions that are (conditionally vetoed) that we will live with,” he said.