Former N.J. governor and ex-girlfriend discuss politics, media strategy and more
Clik here to view.
Publication of confidential e-mails between former Gov. Jon Corzine and Carla Katz The Sunday Star-Ledger left friends and enemies asking the same question.
Why, they asked, would the governor secretly discuss everything from state business to politics and media strategy with his former girlfriend, a powerful union leader, while negotiating one of the most critical labor contracts in decades?
Why, they asked, didn’t Katz, trying to regain the governor’s attention, just play cool it?
And, for the others: What was Corzine trying so hard to hide?
"Having these e-mails in existence, undermines the public’s perception of him," said state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), who was Corzine’s running mate in his unsuccessful re-election bid last year.
"There was nothing in there that he did that he should be embarrassed about," said Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex), Corzine’s predecessor in the governor’s office. "I don’t know what he was thinking when he thought something would be damaging. Sometimes his political acumen wasn’t always the best. Sometimes he just wasn’t thinking clearly."
Katz has declined repeated requests for comment. Corzine declined to comment today.
On Friday, Corzine’s lawyer issued a statement criticizing the newspaper and stressing the e-mails confirm what Corzine has long said.
"He defended the case in order to vindicate the rights and privileges of future governors," the attorney, Marc Elias, said of Corzine’s two-year court battle to keep the e-mails private. "The release of these e-mails proves that Jon Corzine met all applicable ethics standards expected of public officials."
Today, Tom Wilson, the former Republican state chairman who sued for access to the e-mails, said the mystery is not yet solved.
"This is still an incomplete story," Wilson said. "We know more than we knew before. I’m not sure that we know everything there is to know. This damaged Corzine’s credibility. At this point, my guess is that Jon Corzine doesn’t care about his legacy. But it is something which will be noted in history."
Even those in Corzine’s own Democratic Party said his battle to keep the messages hidden from the public was just another example of how politically tone deaf the businessman-turned-politican was.
The e-mails, revealed for the first time in The Sunday Star-Ledger, vindicated Corzine, some said, by showing he did not directly negotiate behind the scenes with Katz. But Corzine misled the public, said others, some of whom said they felt duped by the former governor’s repeated efforts to deny he had a close friendship with Katz while talking secretly with her about a host of public and private subjects.
Correspondence between Corzine and Katz was the most fiercely protected secret of Corzine’s four years in the governor’s office. He carried on a two-year legal battle to keep the messages private, going all the way to the state Supreme Court, where his refusal to release the e-mails was upheld on the grounds of executive privilege. That legal battle cost taxpayers $127,000.
Among the 123 e-mails printed today, scores had been provided to a state Superior Court judge, who analyzed them and ruled the messages ought to be released. That decision was overturned by an appeals court — a ruling the Supreme Court upheld without comment. Some of the e-mails published by the newspaper were not turned over to the court.
The published set runs from Jan. 25, 2007, through March 26, 2007. Of the group, Corzine sent 23 and Katz wrote 100. The messages move through emotions and discussions of family even as they deal with politics and the growing controversy over the couple’s former romance and ongoing friendship.
Political analysts said Corzine may well have been justified in fighting to keep the e-mails secret, though that effort came with a price.
"Like Richard Nixon and (onetime presidential candidate) Gary Hart, it’s clear that Jon Corzine should have known that when you’re an elected official, virtually everything you say and do can be eventually accessed," Rider University political scientist Ben Dworkin said.
Brigid Harrison, a political scientist with Montclair State University, said "what the governor could have done would have been to release all his e-mails. I don’t know that the net damage from that would have been any worse than pursuing the court fight. He created the perception that he was hiding something."
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Former Gov. Jon Corzine and ex-girlfriend Carla Katz fought to keep their e-mails from public view. The Star-Ledger has obtained 123 e-mails.On The Star-Ledger’s website, NJ.com, readers offered a range of reactions to the e-mails and the newspaper’s decision to publish them.
"We were sold out ! Surprising? NO," wrote one commenter under the name "Opinion."
Corzine and Katz dated for two years, ending before he launched his run for governor in 2004. Now 63, Corzine lost to Chris Christie last year and now runs an international finance firm in New York.
Katz, then president of Communications Workers of America Local 1034, is now 51 and a practicing attorney.
Katz was expelled from the union after it was learned she was secretly communicating with Corzine about the contract talks. Yesterday, CWA leaders said they feel vindicated after reading the e-mails.
"When it became known that such unauthorized and prohibited communications occurred, CWA took action to enforce its constitution," the union said in a statement. "Carla Katz is no longer a member of CWA and Jon Corzine is no longer governor and we hope that this chapter is finally over."