When A Man’s Legacy Becomes A Mere Patronage Hack Opportunity

Gov. Christie’s Craven Politics of Death

Ghouls of the Pinelands

Recently deceased Pinelands Commissioner and Vice Chairman John Haas

A more reprehensible move is hard to imagine.

Take it as a disgraceful indication of the kind of people who populate the Christie Administration.

They know no shame and there is nowhere they wouldn’t go for partisan advantage.

Recently deceased Pinelands Commissioner and Vice Chairman John Haas has not yet been buried (his funeral is Saturday), but instead of spending time respectfully honoring the man’s legacy at the Commission and as Ocean Count recycling Coordinator, the Christie Administration, Executive Director Wittenberg, and Ocean County Republicans have been working assiduously to line up a hack to fill his slot on the Pinelands Commission.

Mr. Haas’ life and legacy has been reduced to a patronage appointment to assure a majority vote to approve a gas pipeline that violates the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan.

How sick is that?

Read the sad story – reader warning – graffic immoral content: Official joins Pinelands panel ahead of controversial vote (ps – just noted that the APP link to that story is dead – try this instead – it provides the first few paragrpahs:

KIRK MOORE / APP.COM – Days after the death of Pinelands Commission member John Haas, the Ocean County Board of Freeholders moved quickly to fill their representative’s seat on the commission, appointing Alan W. Avery Jr., a former county government administrator and planning director who served on the commission for many years.

Avery’s appointment Wednesday came as the Pinelands Commission appears to be bitterly divided over a proposal to allow construction of a large natural gas transmission line through a forest zone, contrary to longstanding Pinelands rules. The Christie administration and state Board of Public Utilities are strongly backing the plan by South Jersey Gas, which would enable reconstruction of the aged BL England coal-burning generation plant as a modern gas-fired power station.

The timing of the appointment means Avery will rejoin the 15-member Pinelands panel — which oversees land use and environmental protection in seven South Jersey counties — in time for the commission’s next full meeting Dec. 13. That’s when a majority of commissioners could decide whether to move forward or retreat on an agreement with the BPU that would clear the way for pipeline construction …