The Ruins of Trenton

It has certainly been an interesting day for public officials in the State of New Jersey.

Carla Katz, ousted Communications Workers of America leader and former girlfriend of Gov. Jon S. Corzine, is reportedly under investigation by U.S. Attorney Chris Christie. So is Bergen County political boss Joe Ferriero.

While Mr. Ferriero’s transgressions have been well documented, this whole investigation doesn’t appear to bode too well for union leader Katz, especially if she ends up getting indicted.

The U.S. Attorney has convicted nearly every single person he has indicted, Democrats and Republicans alike, and the first step in such a high-percentage process is the launching of an investigation of which the union leader now finds herself a subject.

What’s also interesting about this development is that the man who is widely believed to be the next Republican candidate for the governor of New Jersey is now probing the girlfriend of the current sitting Democratic governor, whom Mr. Christie will likely be running against in the 2009 election.

That certainly makes for an interesting story line.

Remember, Ms. Katz and Mr. Corzine’s relationship became especially controversial when all of those gifts, monetary and otherwise, that the then U.S. senator and former Goldman Sachs CEO had showered on the union leader were called into question, as the governor and union leaders negotiated state worker packages, which Mr. Christie’s investigation could certainly delve into.

It has become especially common in corrupt to New Jersey to have such a situation, rife with plot twists and turns, where a future political opponent investigates the girlfriend of a sitting governor.

Yes, there is potential for damaging information about Gov. Corzine to emerge during an investigation that, with an indictment, could be released in court documents in an investigation that history says will almost equally result in a conviction.

New Jersey residents should really do themselves a favor.

They need to support down-to-earth and honest people. Put them in elected positions of power, and those in unions, political parties, and other organizations, instead of subjecting the lives and wallets of residents to a never-ending revolving door of elite, career politicians who consistently soil themselves with controversy, convictions, and everything else, all while violating the trust of the public and those who they are supposed to serve.