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American Morning
Five People Have Served as Governor to State of New Jersey in Last Eight Days
Aired January 11, 2002 - 08:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: All right, a different kind of a story now about a unique job share. Five people have served of the governor - as governor, rather, to the state of New Jersey in the last eight days -- just what we need over there in the Garden State where I live. That's what's happening until the man who won the election, Jim McGreevy (ph), is - officially takes office, which will happen next week.
The pass of the baton leadership, the result of a constitutional quirk. It all developed when outgoing Governor Christine Whitman left the governor's mansion to take a job - an administration cabinet level job. It has left residents of the Garden State dazed and confused.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who's the governor of New Jersey?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really don't know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who's the governor - isn't it McGreevy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not yet.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
CAFFERTY: It's not McGreevy, and it won't be for a few days. We got other people that's living in the mansion right now. First comes the four-day Richard Codey administration - four days. He's a state senator. He'll be sworn in at midnight tonight; that's when the short, but very effective term of acting Governor John Bennett expires. He's been governor for a couple of days as well. The governors Bennett and Codey join us now from Princeton. Gentlemen, welcome to "AMERICAN MORNING".
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: I live in New Jersey. I want an explanation. What's going on?
RICHARD CODEY, N.J. STATE SENATE: You live in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) county, don't you Jack? CAFFERTY: Yes I do. How did you know that? You ...
CODEY: I hope you voted for me.
CAFFERTY: What are we doing? Why is this happening?
CODEY: Well it's a rather unusual situation. As you said, Governor Whitman left and went with the Bush administration. We do not have a lieutenant governor, therefore the senate of - president of the senate takes over - that was Mr. DeFrancisco (ph). He chose not to run for reelection for the senate or for governor.
The new legislature, we were elected in November get sworn in a week before the new governor. Therefore, the president of the senate would take over for that week. However, for the first time in the state's history, the senate is equally divided. So we have two presidents of the senate - Republican President Senate John Bennett, myself, the Democratic President of the Senate Richard Codey. So we thought we'd split it up equally three and a half days each.
CAFFERTY: OK.
CODEY: Unusual, but yes.
CAFFERTY: No, very unusual. Have you - Mr. Bennett, you've actually been living in the governor's mansion, correct? What's that like?
JOHN BENNETT, N.J. STATE SENATE: Yes. It's great. It's really the people's house. It's an opportunity to be able to have the doors open and let a lot of different people come into visit, and it generally - sort of can get to like this place, I tell you that.
CODEY: Well don't get too used to it John, you're out at midnight.
BENNETT: I know. I'm out at midnight.
CAFFERTY: Mr. Codey, are you going to let Mr. Bennett sleep through until tomorrow morning or are you going in at midnight and throw him out because his term expires at 12:00 and yours begins, so I mean what's the deal here?
CODEY: No I made a deal with him. I'm going to let him stay until tomorrow morning.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: He has to get up and make breakfast, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, I'm going to walk up the - I'm going to walk up the stairs the governor and I'll walk down the stairs the senator.
CAFFERTY: All right, on a more serious note, are the taxpayers getting clipped in this thing in any way? BENNETT: Not at all. In fact, Senator Codey and I are both assuming the cost of our individual expenses. All the expenses for the past few days here in the house I've paid for with no taxpayer's dollars. So it's not - the only thing that we have is the same state police protection that is afforded to the regular governor that would have been afforded anyway and all the extra things are not being paid for by taxpayers' dollars.
CODEY: Yes Jack, even the pens we're using to sign bills into law, we paid for those ourselves.
BENNETT: Right.
CAFFERTY: What about portraits? Are we going to have like official portraits here?
BENNETT: Well you know every governor is entitled, Jack, to an official portrait, but with mine I think it's going to be paint by numbers.
CODEY: And mine's going to be a Kodak instamatic.
CAFFERTY: OK. You know there are critics out there who would squawk and say, you know, it might have been better off if you'd just left the mansion vacant, let Mr. McGreevy move his stuff in, get ready to take over.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: How do you respond to people ...
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: I'm sorry.
CODEY: Somebody has to run the government. We're both experienced leaders and the state is in very good hands, and we'll survive this one (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and so will the residents of the state of New Jersey, Jack. At times obviously, they'll need a score card every morning when they get up, but they're going to survive the week.
(CROSSTALK)
BENNETT: A trivia pursuit question or something, but I think it's - what's important is that the people see that government can continue. I've done a lot of speaking at the schools this week so that the kids can kind of understand the whole situation. What makes this state so wonderful is that we have the ability to move forward ...
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: I've got to interrupt. We've got to hit a commercial break. John Bennett, Richard Codey, thanks for joining us. I'm glad you're enjoying your stints as governor. We'll talk to you again at some other point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks for having us Jack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks for having us.
CAFFERTY: All right.
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