Christie’s Controversial Pinelands Commission Nominee is Back Before Judiciary Committee

Bob Barr to Appear for the Third Time 

Former Governor Brendan Byrne – champion of the Pinelands, signed the Pinelands Protection Act in 1979  (Princeton, 3/3/13)

The Pinelands deserve a Commissioner who would be a champion and advocate for the Pinelands, not just show up and vote as he’s told. ~~~ Carleton Montgomery, Executive Director,  Pinelands Preservation Alliance

NJ Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Scutari posted Governor Christie’s nominee to the Pinelands Commission for consideration tomorrow (Tuesday, 2/23/15, at noon, hearing room 4, Legislative Annex).

It is Bob Barr’s third round of Committee consideration.

Last time he was posted for consideration, on Jan. 26, in an embarrassing moment, Chairman Scutari abruptly announced the he would not be considered.

Barr’s champion, Senator Van Drew, tried to provide an excuse that it was related to the weather, but a Committee member told me that they lacked the votes to approve him

We’ve been over this ground several times now in prior posts, so will just bullet our reasons for opposing Mr. Barr’s nomination:

1) Lack of Leadership, qualifications, or interest in the Pinelands or preservation issues

We agree with Carleton Montgomery’s quote above – the Pinelands deserve leadership, and Bob Barr is not a leader on Pinelands or regional land use planning or conservation issues. I’ve seen nothing is his life experience or education that even suggests an interest in the Pinelands.

2) Pending South Jersey Gas pipeline – balance on the Commission

Gov. Christie supports the  South Jersey Gas Co. (SJG) pipeline. Barr is Christie’s nominee.

SJG legally appealed the Commission’s decision not to approve the MOA. That case currently is pending before the Appellate Division. The Court could remand the case back to the Commission for further consideration at any time.

Given the prior 7-7 deadlock, Barr’s appointment could determine the fate of the pipeline should the court remand or if SJG renegotiates a new MOA or pursues a waiver of strict compliance. The Senate and the Gov. should not be intervening in this matter until the case is resolved with finality.

Therefore, there is no way to avoid the obvious appearance that Barr is being installed to implement Gov. Christie’s policy.

This appearance compromises the independence of the Senate’s advise and consent role.

3) Close relationship with Senator Van Drew, who is championing Commission reconsideration of pipeline vote

Senator Van Drew strongly suppers the SJG pipeline, and is leading the charge to force the Commission to reconsider its prior vote not to approve it. Van Drew has publicly stated that Senate President Sweeney supports his work.

Barr has close political ties to Van Drew. creating as similar appearance problem.

Additionally, there is an appearance that Senator Sweeney could be twisting arms to support Barr, at best a very weak candidate, even without the SJG pipeline baggage.

This appearance compromises the Chairman and the Committee’s independence and casts a negative  light on Senate Democrats, who have long supported strong Pinelands protections.

4) Role as Treasurer of Cape May County Democratic Party – appearance of lack of independence and bias

Barr served as Treasurer to the Cape May County Democratic party.

In that capacity, according to ELEC records I have reviewed, he received funds and processed significant contributions, including biennial contributions of $37,000 from the IBEW, a union that strongly supports the pipeline and repowering of the BL England plant.

The fact that Barr is aware of the IBEW support of the pipeline and that he obviously is aware of their significant financial support for Cape May County Democrats, creates and appearance that he would not be independent and objective in his role as a Commissioner.

Former Governor Jim Florio. Governor Florio (who served in Congress from 1975 – 1990) shared his national perspective, noting that the Carter Administration and many in Congress – just like today – were concerned about the Nixon Administration’s energy policy, impacts of off shore drilling, and plans to run pipelines across the Pines to refineries along the Delaware River. This prompted Congress in 1978 to create the nation’s first National Reserve in the Pinelands. (Princeton, 3/3/13)