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The New York Times
N.Y. /
Region
Political Memo
In Trenton, Farewells
Are Effusive,
if Not All Fond
By DAVID W. CHEN,
nytimes.com on the Web, January 7, 2008
TRENTON — Call it the long
goodbye.
So many legislators are leaving Trenton at the end of the session, which will
close Tuesday amid a flurry of business, that the usual testimonials have been
droning on since before the holidays. By the time the last of these public
servants is feted here, more than a third of the Assembly and two-fifths of the
Senate will have been honored in some way.
Yet the exodus has at times been awkward because several departing legislators
may be going from the State House to the jailhouse. Two senators have been
indicted by the United States attorney, and a third has been notified that he is
likely to be charged. Two Assembly members indicted on federal corruption
charges last year have already taken their leave.
It is a tradition in Trenton, as it is in other state capitals, for legislators
to honor departing colleagues, whether they leave voluntarily, lose an election
or stand accused of wrongdoing. It is the political equivalent of giving
out an honorary Academy Award, with congratulatory rhetoric circulating freely.
“There’s always been some element of turnover, and there’s always been some
tributes of some sort or another, but from the perspective of people like us in
the lobbying community, the agenda is already overcrowded, so can we please cut
the speeches?” Thomas V. O’Neil, who was a legislative counsel to Gov. Brendan
T. Byrne, pleaded last week. “Cue the orchestra.”
Perhaps State Senator Sharpe James, the former mayor of Newark who was indicted
in July on federal corruption charges, felt the same way. He was supposed
to be honored on Thursday, but did not show up. Mr. James’s district
office in Newark closed on Dec. 28, and the Senate Democratic office here said
it was trying to find out what happened.
Several Democratic legislators said privately that they did not expect Mr. James
— who was often absent from legislative sessions — to show up on Monday either.
But they predicted that their other colleague who was indicted, Wayne R. Bryant
of Camden County, would attend so he could vote on such issues as Gov. Jon S.
Corzine’s new formula to finance public schools.
The ceremonial adieus in the Assembly, which is losing 25 members, began on Dec.
13, when 14 members were honored; 10 of them are merely moving down the highly
polished hall on Tuesday, having won election to the Senate.
True to convention, Democrats and Republicans have been shelving partisan
differences and ignoring any ethical, legal or political clouds hovering over
their soon-to-be-former colleagues.
One lobbyist, who did not want to be identified because he earns a living by
working with legislators, described the practice this way: “It’s almost
like a character letter for someone being sentenced — you talk about the person
and not the offense.”
Among those honored on Dec. 13 was Assemblyman Charles T. Epps Jr., who took
office in 2006 and who is also the Jersey City superintendent of schools.
Mr. Epps chose not to seek re-election after local newspapers detailed several
embarrassing incidents, including a lavish trip to London at taxpayer expense.
After getting a standing ovation, Mr. Epps, breaking down in tears, said, “I
can’t believe I’m going to get sad.”
He continued: “Just remember, I’m going to say, in the words of Arnold
Schwarzenegger: ‘I’ll be back.’ If I don’t come back as an
assemblyman, I’ll come back as something else.”
It may be early, but two assemblymen who have not yet come back are Alfred E.
Steele and Mims Hackett, who resigned last year after being arrested in a
federal corruption sting, and whose seats have since been filled.
In the Senate, the farewells for 16 departing colleagues began on Dec. 17, and
one of those honored was Joseph Coniglio, a Democrat from Bergen County who was
informed by the United States attorney, Christopher J. Christie, that he was the
target of an investigation into legislative grants.
No one mentioned Mr. Coniglio’s legal quandary. Indeed, several
Republicans noted that Mr. Coniglio was going through a difficult time, but that
he should be proud of his record.
“Joe, there are some things that are beyond politics,” said Senator Gerald
Cardinale, a Republican from Bergen County. “There are some things down
here that make us all part of a family. And I will always feel you are
part of that family. Come back and see us sometime.”
In all, eight retiring senators are scheduled to be honored Monday.
And in a sign that the tributes can be poignant as well as pious, Senate
President Richard J. Codey plans to lend his title for a few hours to Bernard F.
Kenny Jr., a popular Democrat from Hoboken who was badly injured this summer
after being hit by a car. He is retiring after serving his district for
two decades.
Virginia Littell, a former state Republican chairwoman whose husband, Senator
Robert E. Littell, is being honored Monday after a four-decade stint in Trenton,
saluted Mr. Codey’s gesture honoring Mr. Kenny, as well as Mr. Codey’s letter to
her local newspaper honoring her husband. But she also said that the
uncertain fates awaiting Mr. James, Mr. Bryant and others had yielded a uniquely
awkward moment.
“This is going to be an exercise in tact,” she said. “You can always find
something nice to say about somebody, if you look long and hard.”
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