By James Ahearn, Record Columnist
WHEN IT’S TIME for the state to make an important decision, there’s no doubt these days who will make it. It will be the governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie. He will be front and center with the announcement, at the State House podium.
The primacy of the governor is emphasized not just in his own Web site but in those of his department heads. The Department of Education, for example, is led by an articulate, well-qualified acting commissioner, Christopher Cerf.
But the department’s Internet site currently features headlines like this one: “Governor Chris Christie Endorses Task Force Recommendations to Ensure New Jersey’s Children Graduate Ready for College or a Career.” It isn’t until the third paragraph that Cerf gets a word in edgewise.
So, too, with the head of the Department of Environmental Protection, Bob Martin. The department’s Internet site shows him taking part in Earth Day activities, but it is the governor whose name is trumpeted: “Christie Administration Targets Better Air Quality, Encourages State Residents to Join in That Effort.”
Does it matter all that much? Maybe not. Maybe it is harmless puffery. The work of governance is getting done, even though the headlines suggest we have a one-man government. But how about the future of higher education in the state?
That is surely a serious matter. It is one of current concern, for the name of one particular person is attached to a plan that would scrap the long-time presence in South Jersey of Rutgers, the State University, while expanding its New Brunswick holdings.
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