Kean Says Spending Must be Cut
Former governor shares his thoughts on the budget, 9/11 and his legacy

BY CHAD WEIHRAUCH
(from the Courier News, July 3, 2006)

BRIDGEWATER -- He's one of the few politicians to receive -- and hold -- wide respect in a state where spectacular falls from office are not uncommon and bipartisan regard is rare.

More than 15 years after former Gov. Tom Kean left office as an enormously popular leader who encouraged New Jerseyans and the nation to rethink the Garden State's image, the moderate Republican still has quite a bit to say from an increasingly endangered space in American politics -- the middle ground.

Kean sat down last week with the Courier News editorial board to talk about his life, current events and his new biography, which landed in stores about three weeks ago.

Among his observations:

·  The state's current fiscal bind cannot be blamed on any single elected official or mistake but has resulted from years of "irresponsible" management that sent spending soaring. "Governor Jon Corzine is right to confront the problem head-on instead of attempting gimmicky, one-time quick-fixes, but spending has to be cut. No matter how much you want to do something, there's a point at which you have to say, 'How much can people afford?' And we're past that point," he said.

·  Kean was chairman of the federal 9/11 Commission that investigated the 2001 terrorist attacks. Though he has found President Bush's administration far too closed in some respects, he said he thought recent news reports went too far in revealing how the government monitors financial transactions overseas for potential terrorist activity. "I think this administration is much too secretive, and they don't have the checks and balances, and they don't go to Congress enough," he said. "But on this one, I thought they were right."

·  While America has made some progress on security in the past five years, up to 100 under-regulated nuclear sites in the former Soviet Union remain a threat from terrorists trying to obtain enriched uranium, he said. "You can probably read on the Internet how to make a nuclear device once you have enriched uranium," he said.

·  The continuing re-drawing of Congressional district borders has meant there is less competition for each seat in the House. The only real challenge to most incumbents comes in primary season "from the more severe wings of their own party" which forces politicians from the middle and deepens the divisions between Republicans and Democrats. "And the middle disappears," he said. "When was the last time a Republican moderate was elected? A long time ago."

·  In recent weeks, some newspapers have been critical of corruption charges made by his son, state Sen. Tom Kean Jr., in his bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez. The elder Kean did not talk about the specifics of the charges but said Menendez is a product of the Hudson County political machine, which is often described as notoriously crooked. "You just can't do that (rise to prominence) with keeping yourself out of the stuff that makes Hudson County politics work," he said.

Looking back on successes

Kean's new biography, "Governor Tom Kean: >From the New Jersey Statehouse to the 9-11 Commission," is a detailed look at his life, from his upbringing as one of six children of a wealthy Congressman, Robert W. Kean, to his schooling and first run for Assembly in his early 30s, to his work as governor and later life.

He served in the state's highest office from 1982-90.

The book was written by Alvin S. Felzenberg, who worked with Kean when he served as spokesman for the 9-11 Commission.

Most New Jersey residents, and those from neighboring states, probably recall Kean at the very least as the man who stood before them on television and proclaimed in his light, unplaceable accent, "New Jersey and you -- perfect together."

Felzenberg's book outlines the source of that vague linguistic idiosyncrasy. In the book, he tells the story of how a young Kean picked up the accent from a British Latin teacher at a Massachusetts boarding school.

However, the TV spots rank relatively low on Kean's overall assessment of his own accomplishments.

A legacy in schools, wetlands

He said his work in establishing the Educational Opportunity Fund in the 1960s while in the state Legislature -- still a massive source of scholarship funding in New Jersey -- was enormously rewarding, as was his effort decades later, as governor, to win passage of the Wetlands Protection Act in 1987.

He regrets not having more time as governor to work for a law that would have further limited development along the state's coastline.
"I think if I would've had one more year we could've gotten it through, and it would have protected coastal areas," he said.

Joining last week's meeting with Kean by phone, Felzenberg said he also thought the former governor's legacy primarily is one of success with environmental and educational issues. He said Kean pushed for alternative teacher certification, making New Jersey the first state in the nation to offer that route for potential instructors.

He also pointed out Kean was instrumental in securing legislation that allowed the state to take over failing school districts -- something he battled against his own party to accomplish in 1989. Felzenberg said this opened the door for school-choice initiatives nationwide and led states to reconsider parents and residents as education consumers, rather than wards of their school district.

It was an imperfect bill, Kean concedes, but in the long run helped win significant battles in troubled districts such as Jersey City and Camden.
"Even to get a compromise bill at the time was unprecedented," Felzenberg added.

Whipping the budget

Kean also talked extensively last week about state finances. He said when he was governor, the state's bond rating was AAA -- one of the highest scores possible, which lowers interest costs for borrowing. Today, New Jersey's rating is near junk-bond levels.

Corzine currently is struggling as governor with members of his own Democratic Party to pass a spending plan for next year that would raise the state income tax from 6 percent to 7 percent in order to close a multibillion-dollar gap.

Kean said one of his proudest accomplishments as governor was keeping the state budget controlled, something that he said has fallen by the wayside. He does not blame any particular person or program for the enormous deficit the state labors under today but said politicians are less and less likely to make tough decisions that could put them at risk of being voted out of office.

"I think it takes more courage of an elected official to cut spending than it does to raise taxes," he said.

At 71 years old, Kean, who lives in Bedminster, appears relaxed and comfortable with all he has done, up to and including his work as head of the 9-11 Commission. His ability to find common ground with politicians of all stripes is a theme Felzenberg touches on repeatedly in the book.

Kean, who retired this year as president of Drew University, concedes he was asked recently by the U.S. Treasury Department to phone Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, to ask the paper not to publish a report on the monitoring of bank transactions overseas.

Keller refused, and the Times and two other newspapers published reports on the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication about a week ago. The reports revealed the government has been watching for funds-transfer activity that would betray potential terrorists.

Of the new book, Kean said Felzenberg's work was not an officially approved biography but joked that he is not in a position to disagree with any large points.

"Certainly I would never want to argue with my biographer," he said with a smile.

© 2006 Courier News