Buono equipped for
budget battle
From thnt.com Online,
January 13, 2008
Senate President Richard J. Codey was
on his game last week when he tapped Middlesex County's Barbara Buono to become
the next chair of the upper chamber's all-important and influential Budget and
Appropriations Committee.
Buono, 54, a member of the Senate since 2002, brings a number of unique personal
qualities to the job. To start with, few lawmakers bother to school
themselves in the ins and outs of pending legislation like she does. The
former assemblywoman also has a strong interest in and acumen for fiscal
matters. Her personal style will be an asset as well. Friendly,
likable and forthright, Buono has shown a talent for reaching across political
divides to attain often difficult-to-achieve consensus; this last skill was on
display earlier this month during the contentious negotiations among lawmakers
to deliver a new school-funding plan for New Jersey. After Buono made her
rounds on the Senate floor in an attempt to sway key undecided lawmakers, it
became clear that her powers of persuasion were a major reason the bill was
passed.
More encouraging and likewise refreshing, Buono has often expressed a personal
dissatisfaction with the state of the state's struggling finances, unlike some
of her predecessors. The just-retired Bernard Kenny, whom she replaces,
never seemed to do much more than pay lip service to the need for greater
accountability on state spending. And Wayne Bryant, who held the job
before Kenny, is now the poster boy for government waste; Bryant, as most know,
faces a 20-count indictment for steering millions of dollars in grants to two
state schools in exchange for several no-show jobs, not to mention the various
multiple public jobs he plied to pad his public pension.
New Jersey is at the front door of a fiscal crisis. State debt tops $32
billion. Present and future obligations for the retirement benefits of
state workers have soared past the $90 billion mark. Structural budget
deficits are running at $3 billion a year. All of these problems and a
host of others cry out for a bipartisan solution on the part of lawmakers.
Buono is the sort of political figure who can help lead such an effort.
Reached Friday, she said she is already "immersed" in the study of her mission
and is determined to "chip away" at the task. Her first priority?
Debt reduction — the right answer. We are confident she will supply the
state with plenty more.
|
