Good news, Save Jerseyans.
Our old friend Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean, Jr. (R- Union) has been named “Legislator of the Year” by the New Jersey Conference of Mayors at the organizations’s 46th Annual Spring Conference in Atlantic City.
A statement from Senator Kean’s office:
“The most difficult job in government is being a Mayor,” said Kean. “Local government is where the rubber meets the road in terms of delivering services and making decisions that have a real, immediate impact on the quality of life New Jersey residents enjoy. There’s no hiding or passing the buck when you’re the CEO of a municipality, which is why it is such an honor to have received this award.”
Kean continued, “As a Senator, I believe that the government which is closest to the people is most effective, and that as state lawmakers we have a responsibility to partner with Mayors across New Jersey in addressing the many challenges our state faces. Mayors are part of the solution to our problems, not adversaries or scapegoats for politicians in Trenton.”
Kean said that under Governor Christie and Republican leadership in the Senate, local governments have been given more tools than ever to confront the state’s crushing property tax burden while maintaining services.
“Reforms to pension and benefits for public employees, as well the changes we made to interest arbitration, are yielding savings that will only increase over time,” Kean stated. “We need to finish the tax relief toolkit to give Mayors even more ability to deliver services at the lowest possible cost, but we are moving in the right direction for the first time in a decade. None of these reforms would have been possible without the input and advocacy of New Jersey’s Mayors.”
This honor is well-deserved. Tom Kean, Jr. is both a class act and a true fiscal conservative.
He was also one of Save Jersey’s earliest supporters, and he remains a tireless advocate for good government reform in New Jersey. As a South Jerseyan, I’m particularly grateful for his willingness to pay attention to promising Republican candidates at the southern stretch of the N.J. Turnpike! Not every North Jersey GOP’er has traditionally shared his enthusiasm for party building EVERYWHERE in the Garden State. It’s arguably the most important characteristic of any partisan leader.
The best compliment I can give him, Save Jerseyans? Our state would be a much better place if there were forty TK2’s in the State Senate. And you all know by now that your Blogger-in-Chief is not an idle flatterer.
Well done, Senator!
Check out our past interviews with Tom Kean, Jr.: Oct. 2011 – Feb. 2011
