Letter to the Editor: On Dec. 4, Assemblyman Chris Brown (R-Atlantic) found himself in a hostile face-off with Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-Essex), chairman of the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee. While the committee is considering allowing casinos to open in North Jersey, Mr. Brown pushed to respect the five-year moratorium the state placed on gaming outside of Atlantic City in February 2011, in order for its local economy to recover. He said common sense dictates it’s bad business not to do so. He is right.
The state’s lack of credibility adds to reasons why residents and businesses are leaving New Jersey and exacerbates Atlantic City’s worthiness as an investment of any kind.
Honesty counts, and so does transparency, especially now.
This isn’t Mr. Brown’s fight alone. This is New Jersey’s collective chance to show we can do something productive as a state. Reversing the moratorium makes increasingly suspect everything done across the state. Actions must match words. The state must do what it says it will do and prove legislative and administrative character through policy that is respected because it means something.
Geoff Rosenberger
Margate