GOP State Chairman Jay Webber wants Jamie Fox, now working as a senior advisor to Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign, to quit his seat on the Local Finance Board, which enforces ethics laws at the local level.
"Here we go again. While Governor Corzine attempted to score points by recycling his old, empty promises on ethics reform in this campaign, his actions once again fall far short of his rhetoric," said Webber (R-Morris Plains), a freshman Assemblyman. "Beyond the irony in having Jim McGreevey's top advisor responsible for enforcing ethics laws, Fox's prominent role with Governor Corzine's reelection campaign raises a huge red flag for Fox's conflicting interests."
Fox, a lobbyist, served as an aide to Gov. Jim Florio and U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli before joining the McGreevey administration as state Transportation Commissioner and later as Chief of Staff.
"More ethics violations or lapses on the part of local Democratic officials would reflect poorly on Governor Corzine, and further highlight his failure to address ethics reform and clean up corruption in our state. Given the Governor's interest in keeping a lid on such issues,Fox cannotfairly and impartially act as amember of the ethics panel. If Governor Corzine has any interest in doing anything but paying lip service to ethical conduct, he must demand Fox's resignation from the Local Finance Board immediately."
