 |
Classifieds: |  |
| |  |
| |  |
| |  |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By James McGreevey
Last week, I announced that for very personal reasons, I would resign from my position as the governor of New Jersey. This was not an easy decision but one that was in the best interests of my family and the state that I humbly serve.
More than two years ago, I ran for governor on a simple platform — to stand up for the working men and women of New Jersey and help them in their everyday struggles to achieve a better life. It is a responsibility I take very seriously and an obligation that has not changed one bit since I made my decision to leave office. In more than two years, we have seen real results that are improving the quality of life in New Jersey every day. We have created more than 70,000 jobs, and today have more people working in New Jersey than ever in our state's history. We have signed into law legislation that ends a 30-year battle to preserve our most pristine watershed lands, which provide clean drinking water to more than 5 million residents. We have signed legislation allowing embryonic-stem-cell research in New Jersey and have created the nation's first state-sponsored institute dedicated to stem-cell research. And we have made progress on the two issues that perpetually frustrate residents: auto insurance and property taxes. The fact that I have chosen to leave office before the end of my term only heightens my responsibilities to the citizens of New Jersey — not only to complete the initiatives we have started, but also to oversee an orderly transition of power. In the past few weeks, our state has been on high alert after being identified as a principal target for terrorists. In two weeks, New Jersey will again play a central role in ensuring the security and preparedness of America during the Republican National Convention in New York. Our constitution in New Jersey establishes a process for allowing the public to select a new governor. It prescribes a nominating period next spring and a general election in the fall of 2005 so that voters are exposed to a full and unfettered debate on the critical issues affecting their future and quality of life. We should allow that process to work. James McGreevey is New Jersey's governor. There is no need to disrupt state's process for choosing a governor. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
