In podcast #3, the panelists and speakers deal with the question of Land Use and Transportation Policy.
Speakers were:
Dr. Joseph Seneca and Dr. James Hughes, economists from Rutgers
Joyce Gabriel, managing editor, Courier-Post, Cherry Hill
Jeff Tittel, executive director, NJ Sierra Club
James Maley, mayor of Collingswood, NJ
Peter Kasabach, president, NJ Future
Rebecca Purchase, Executive Director, Salem County United Way
Gregg Edwards, President, Center for Policy Research of New Jersey
Michele Byers, Executive Director, NJ Conservation Foundation
Ed Wengren, NJ Farm Bureau
Jeff Stoller, Director, Communications & Outreach, Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers
Steve Morgan, CEO of Jersey Central Power & Light
Speakers on this topic were:
Richard McCormick, president of Rutgers University
Richard Miller, CEO of Virtual Health Systems, Voorhees, NJ
Tim Touhey, New Jersey Builders Association
Phil Kirschner, New Jersey Business and Industry Association
John Barna, Editor, Gloucester County Times
Sharon Schulman, executive director, William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy
Tom O'Neill, former executive director of Leadership New Jersey
James Weinstein, former DOT Commissioner
Roland Anglim, Rutgers Initiative for Regional/Community Transformation
Barry Seymour, executive director of the Delaware Valley Planning Commission
John Seitter, Executive Director, South Jersey Tourism Corporation
Lou Magazzu, Cumberland County Freeholder Director
Fred Jacobs, St. Barnabas Health System, former state health commissioner
The luncheon panel at Leadership NJ's Forum on the Future of New Jersey featured a distinguished roster of participants. From left: Roland Machold, former state treasurer; former Gov. Brendan Byrne; Anne Limberg, market president of Bank of America, which sponsored the panel; Christopher Daggett, chair of the NJDEP 2008 Permit Efficiency Task Force; former Gov. James Florio; and Kent Manahan of New Jersey Network, who moderated the panel.
Taneishia Nash Laird, executive director of the Trenton Downtown Association.
Tom Carver, former commissioner of labor and workforce development
Veronica Vanterpool, Associate Director, Tri-State Transportation Campaign
Dr. Donald Farish, president of Rowan University, left, comments as Moderator Michael Willmann ponders.
Paul Scully, executive director, NJ Regional Coalition
Steve Sacks-Wilner, Capital Public Affairs
Barbara Heisler Williams, CEO at Fund for an OPEN Society
Dr. Richard Goldstein, president of the NJ Council of Teaching Hospitals, waits to see Consensor voting results on his remarks.
Susan Zellman, chairman of the board of trustees of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.
New Jersey Network provided a live video stream of the conference on its website. Here, technician Adam Goldberg monitors the feed as Thomas Geisel, president of Sun National Bank, makes his remarks.
Program Chair Michael Willmann, right, converses with NJ State Chamber of Commerce President Joan Verplanck.
Dr. Michael Chrisman, president of the Coriell Institute in Camden, comments on science and technology.
Harry Pozycki, founder of the Citizens Campaign.
Pam Mount of Terhune Orchards
Next discussion is led by Tim McDon ough and Dianne Brake. This is difficult, they are only allotted four minutes each speaker. And Tim got the bell in the midst of his comments.
TIM
Revolutionizing or changing things in NJ.
Start with municipalities.Too many levels of government in NJ today. NJ is #1 in total tax burden per capita, including state and local property taxes.
Too much government bureaucracy. Suggestion to consolidate into county level government, but Tim thinks should eliminate county government as a cost-savings. County govt and services are redundant.
DIANE
How do we deliver services efficiently to residents? Problem, particularly in land use, which determines job growth, housing, etc., local government does things that cannot ever add up to necessary goals in NJ. Given local govt some of the "wrong things to do."
Patrick Murray, director of the Polling Institute at Monmouth University, is presenting the results of the latest poll about how people in NJ feel about state government.
Among problems facing NJ, property taxes was ranked highest, 8.7 out of 10.
NJ residents don't believe that government as currently structured in NJ, works for them. Two thirds say it needs a major overhaul.
Quality of life in NJ is good, but cost of living is difficult.
Here is some taste of today's program.
After opening remarks by Michael Willmann of WMSH Marketing Communications, the chairman of the forum, we'll hear a keynote morning address from former Rep. Bob Franks, president of the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey.
Topic is "Clean Slate, Fresh Start." 77 people will speak, 50 for just four minutes each. Best and brightest of NJ, says Willmann.
Franks suggests paying legislators 100-125 K a year, but ban all outside income.
County legislators shouldn't get a paycheck from state legislature too. Reduce the number of masters people are trying to serve.
Bob Franks of Healthcare Institute of NJ
We are on location in the Trenton studios of New Jersey Network, recording podcasts and preparing to live-blog Leadership New Jersey's Forum on the Future of New Jersey. It's a full-day seminar and town hall meeting at which public policy participants and corporate executives exchange views on the best practices that will help New Jersey government deal with the many complex issues it faces.
Today's panels come on the heels of a new Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll that says nine out of 10 New Jerseyans think government should be overhauled at all levels. The poll's author, Patrick Murray, director of the Polling Institute at Monmouth University, is one of the speakers at the Forum today, so hearing his findings first-hand should be interesting.
You can get more information about today's event on the Forum's website. This year, the event is also being live-streamed in video by New Jersey Network.
We'll be watching for citizens with pitchforks and torches descending on the nearby state capitol building.
