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TagsUpper house also OK's Lee Solomon's nomination to head BPU
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
The state Senate Monday approved the nomination of Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff as state treasurer but not before Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) took the unusual action of rising to criticize him.
When a governor's nomination for a cabinet position reaches the full Senate for approval after gaining the endorsement of the upper house's Judiciary Committee, it is very rare the floor vote is not unanimous.
Moments before Lesniak offered his opposition to Sidamon-Eristoff, the Senate voted 39-0 in favor of the nomination of Superior Court Judge Lee Solomon as head of the state Board of Public Utilities.
Lesniak said he voted for Sidamon-Eristoff's nomination as a member of the Judiciary Committee but dropped his support when he decided the nominee does not support the idea of targeted tax cuts and job growth."We cannot survive as a state and we can't grow economically without targeted tax cuts,'' Lesniak said. "This nominee has not shown me a willingness to support targeted tax cuts.''
The senator also complained that Sidamon-Eristoff told him the state's promised support of a housing development in a crime-ridden Elizabeth neighborhood must be reviewed.
Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who nominated Sidamon-Eristoff as treasurer, has pledged to cut taxes he sees as hindering economic development in the state.
Senate Republican leader Tom Kean (R-Union) and Sen. Joseph Kyrillos defended Sidamon-Eristoff.
"We've had treasurers who have testified before budget committees in past years who said the state's citizens were not suffering under high taxes,'' Kean said. "We‘ve had treasurers who said taxes did not harm business. We had mistakes made in years past. This treasurer brings to the job a commitment that taxes on the hardworking citizens of the state should be lowered."
Kyrillos added, " I think it would be incorrect to give this body and others the impression the treasurer designate does not support these type of (tax cut) bills. I don‘t want people to get a signal that may not be an accurate snapshot. I think this candidate will be entirely aggressive when it comes to job creation in this state.''
Sidamon-Eristoff's nomination as treasurer was approved 37-2.
