Senator Ray Lesniak. What a gem this guy is. That is what reppin Jersey is all about.
ON Topic: Democratic National Convention
- Thread starter KingHigh
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Why did he sponsor a bill to ruin Rutgers governance a few years ago? He's certainly changed his tune since then.
That was Sweeney. Lesniak was strongly against it.
No check again. The first time it came to Trenton Lesniak was a co-sponsor.
"This has been a political announcement on behalf of Raymond Lesniak," who is just as much a machine politician as Stephen Sweeney. The only difference is that Sweeney's machine beat Lesniak's machine. Lesniak was the genius who gave us McGreevey as Governor.
There is no politician in the country who is more publicly supportive of Rutgers University and Rutgers Athletics. Can we just enjoy that and support him so as to encourage more politicians to be advocates for our dear Rutgers.
As far as I know, he didn't do a thing for Rutgers when his machine was in power in Trenton and controlled the legislature and the governorship. He's just posturing in the hope of running for governor next year.
I'm sorry, but what state do you think we live in here? This is NEW JERSEY, where we eat our own! He needs to be shredded and added as a topping to a Caesar salad!
Some of you guys are missing the point. If he's learned that benefiting Rutgers is good politics, then his doing so should be met with positive feedback to encourage more of the same from others. That is how you make change. Whether he sings the alma mater to put his grandkids to sleep is not my concern. Our ability to influence how RU is treated is the strength of support with which we reward politicians who benefit Rutgers. Lesniak has benefited Rutgers and for that we owe it to ourselves to support him if we want to see more.
When did Lesniak have a machine? McGreevey was all Norcross (Sweeney) and Lynch.
You're wrong. Norcross's candidate was then Congressman Rob Andrews of Camden County. Andrews' staff told me that Lesniak and Lynch demanded that Andrews promise them that they could dictate the next two appointments to the Supreme Court. Andrews won big where he controlled the county's Democratic organization, and McGreevey won big in the other counties. Just two machines fighting each other.
I know you live in South Jersey, but by far and away the most damaging machine politician in modern NJ history is Norcross. The man never even held elected office and yet people from both parties answer to him as if he is the deep state.
The fact of the matter is, the Norcross machine has never been a friend to RU, and the OP's points stand on that basis alone.
I don't know of any of the Republican candidates, but of the Democrats, Sweeney would be the worst for NJ and RU, by a significant margin. Wisniewski and Lesniak are alums. Fulop is fan and former college athlete who grew up in East Brunswick.
Norcross is all about Rowan and so is Sweeney and you know they want their hands on the B1G money and to try to build down there while we get nothing.
This guy loves Rutgers, donates a ton of his own money, and has gotten the NJ legislature to put up millions of dollars for Rutgers' facilities.
Give it a rest already. Lesniak has Rutgers' best interest in mind, and has proven that more more than any other politician in the last 50 years.
I'm not denigrating Lesniak. I just don't understand why he wanted to change our governance and then did a complete 180.
We'll split the difference. Lynch was more a factor behind McGreevey than Lesniak, which is why he was the most powerful guy in the state during the start of McGreevey's time in office. It was Lynch's machine. I guess Norcross chummed up really quick after his guy lost because he was closely aligned with Lynch and McGreevey early on and helped fill the power void when Lynch had a falling out with "My Truth."
Hey.. that was my state motto suggestion last time a thread asking for mottoes came up.
New Jersey: We Eat Our Own
I can't find the original bill that he co-sponsored. You have a link? He was pretty forceful in not changing the structure including writing an op-Ed. You sure it was the same bill - changing the governance was a stand alone resolution but there was a lot of changes to RU around that time.
I was going to argue your point the other way, since Lesniak hardly has a great record of supporting Rutgers in a public capacity. But I think this post is spot on. He sees value in repping Rutgers right now. Which means Rutgers is growing in influence, since before Lesniak, literally no one wore a Rutgers hat unless they were at a Rutgers game, and even then it was far from a guarantee. If we support him, maybe more politicians will see value in supporting RU.
As an added benefit, this will make it very hard for him to do anything to harm Rutgers in the future. He would look like a fraud.
The OP is not based on Norcrosss being an enemy, but rather on Lesniak being a friend. I doubt the latter. As for the Democratic primary, I would hope for an alternative to both Sweeney and Lesniak. I agree that Sweeney's record makes it clear he is an enemy of Rutgers. I just wonder if Lesniak's record is much better.
"Lesniak grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1969, then earned his A.B. in Economics from Rutgers University in 1971, and his J.D. from St. John's University School of Law in 1974.[1]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Lesniak
"This determination even includes his years at Rutgers, which Lesniak described as “rough.” He dropped out a couple of times. He was drafted. He switched from arts to engineering. Finally, in 1971, he got his degree, with a major in economics, before earning a law degree from St. John’s University"
"In May, Lesniak [URL='http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2015/05/report_commissioned_by_state_sen_raymond_lesniak_r.html']commissioned a formal study that pointed to the economic benefits of Rutgers' entrance into the Big Ten Conference. The Econsult Solutions-produced report recommended that the state university invest in a potentially $100 million upgrade to its athletics facilities.[/URL]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Lesniak#cite_note-NJLEG-1
"When Ohio State plays Rutgers this fall, every hotel room in the area will be booked for the weekend and local restaurants will be packed,'' Lesniak said. "The same will be true for Michigan, Michigan State and Indiana. The Ecosult Solutions report I emailed to every committee member outlines the significant impact on the economy of the State of New Jersey from Big Ten athlete events.
"Unless Rutgers is able to field competitive teams, the economic impact will not materialize. And unless Rutgers athletic facilities are upgraded to Big Ten standards, it will be difficult to recruit competitive teams."
"Sweeney shouldn't tinker with Rutgers' governance: Opinion" (by Raymond Lesniak)
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf...t_tinker_with_rutgers_governance_opinion.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Lesniak
"This determination even includes his years at Rutgers, which Lesniak described as “rough.” He dropped out a couple of times. He was drafted. He switched from arts to engineering. Finally, in 1971, he got his degree, with a major in economics, before earning a law degree from St. John’s University"
"In May, Lesniak [URL='http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2015/05/report_commissioned_by_state_sen_raymond_lesniak_r.html']commissioned a formal study that pointed to the economic benefits of Rutgers' entrance into the Big Ten Conference. The Econsult Solutions-produced report recommended that the state university invest in a potentially $100 million upgrade to its athletics facilities.[/URL]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Lesniak#cite_note-NJLEG-1
"When Ohio State plays Rutgers this fall, every hotel room in the area will be booked for the weekend and local restaurants will be packed,'' Lesniak said. "The same will be true for Michigan, Michigan State and Indiana. The Ecosult Solutions report I emailed to every committee member outlines the significant impact on the economy of the State of New Jersey from Big Ten athlete events.
"Unless Rutgers is able to field competitive teams, the economic impact will not materialize. And unless Rutgers athletic facilities are upgraded to Big Ten standards, it will be difficult to recruit competitive teams."
"Sweeney shouldn't tinker with Rutgers' governance: Opinion" (by Raymond Lesniak)
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf...t_tinker_with_rutgers_governance_opinion.html
What are your doubts based on? It seems Lesniak is opposed to the recent maneuvers to pack the BOG.
Yes, in fact just 2 years ago I forget the clown's name but some state senator or assemblyman wore blue to the Ped game because his wife and kids went there.
Lesniak has definitely been a leader in changing the attitude.
Yes, Lensiak is. But I don't remember any evidence that he supported Rutgers when the Democrats held the governorship and therefore could have helped Rutgers a lot. Rutgers is just a recent cause he has taken up in the desire to become governor or a power broker. Let's see whether it's genuine. In the meantime, paeans to Lesniak should be confined to the current events board.
Why are you concerned if his interest in benefitting RU is genuine. We should be more concerned with a politicians actions than their feelings. And this one, despite your apparent political axe to grind, has outshine any other politician I can remember in his support for Rutgers. And that's not current events. That's directly relevant to the future success of RU.
Of course it matters if his interest in benefitting RU is genuine. If it isn't genuine, then he'll simply renege when it's advantageous to him.
That's pretty much how I see all politics working. Marriage equality, perfect example.
That's overly cynical. Politicians do have beliefs. Some they will trade away cheaply; others very expensively or not at all. I don't expect Bernie Sanders to become a fan of tax breaks for the rich, for instance. Lesniak has not convinced me he makes Rutgers a high priority. For instance, do you know of anything he did to get RU a bigger budget this last spring? Was he really helpful to Rutgers when the D's controlled the legislature? Past is prologue, and Lesniak has not done anything concrete to help one of the most underfunded state universities in the nation.
Okay, I'll open. Exhibit A:
http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/i...lesniak_25m_bill_for_rutgers_athletics_f.html
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