TRENTON – Senator Ellen Karcher, D-Monmouth and Mercer, a leading advocate in the State Legislature for greater ethics in government, issued the following statement today regarding the Senate’s approval of Governor Corzine’s nomination for Attorney General, Zulima Farber:
“I voted in favor of Ms. Farber’s nomination today, but I want to make it absolutely clear that my endorsement of her is tepid at best, and I will be keeping a very watchful eye on how she comports herself as the top law enforcement official in the State of New Jersey.
“I am very concerned with Ms. Farber’s abysmal driving record, and the remarks she made in the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing that sought to casually toss her transgressions from the past aside. As the State’s designated top law enforcement official, she should be put to the highest standards regarding her record with the law. And given that fighting public corruption should be a hallmark of the office, and that, in the recent past, it seems to have fallen by the wayside, we need a strong nominee who will follow the letter of the law carefully, and adopt a zero tolerance policy for abusing the public trust.
“I know that my concerns are shared by many in the Legislature, on both sides of the aisle. I have brought these concerns to the Governor, and to Ms. Farber herself, and having met with her to discuss the different hardships and priorities facing the New Jersey Attorney General, I feel I have done my due diligence to the people I represent in carefully and thoughtfully vetting Ms. Farber before my ‘yes’ vote.
“Ms. Farber is a highly-qualified candidate who has given me her assurances that she will make fighting public corruption a top priority within the Attorney General’s office, and I will hold her to that word. While my concerns over her past do remain, I am hopeful that she will erase those concerns with a sterling track record of prosecuting corrupt public officials, and should she falter, I shall be among the first to hold her accountable for her actions in office.”