Sen Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) Deceased

May he rest in piece. This I belive is a sad day for NJ, or at least it should be. I think he has done a lot for NJ in all areas, including public transportation. Unfortunately because of our favorite governor, he did not live to live to see finalized cross Hudson Tunnel construction plans.

Defiant wrote:May he rest in piece. This I belive is a sad day for NJ, or at least it should be. I think he has done a lot for NJ in all areas, including public transportation.

Every politician who's ever "done a lot" for their constituents has done so with taxpayer money. Don't kid yourself, it's always about rewarding political donors, pandering to special interests and finding jobs for cronies.

Lautenberg was perceived as being clean by New Jersey standards, hence his contested ballot swap in 2000 when then Senator Torricelli was embroiled in a scandal. It's worth noting that Torricelli is still a lobbyist and real estate developer.

I really don't think that Lautenberg did more of less for public transit and passenger rail than any other conventional New Jersey politician. He played the same game as every other politician. The only difference is that he came out of retirement to keep a sure-thing seat for his party.

Defiant wrote:Unfortunately because of our favorite governor, he did not live to live to see finalized cross Hudson Tunnel construction plans.

Considering how slowly tunneling projects progress in the New York metropolitan area, unless major advances in medicine dramatically increase the human lifespan, very few people alive to today will be there for the grand opening. For crying out loud, the 2nd Avenue Subway started planning in 1929 and was bonded for in 1951! If it opens "on schedule" in 2016, it will be almost 70 years after the death of Fiorello La Guardia. It will be a shame that La Guardia didn't live to see the 2nd Avenue Subway completed.

Now Mr Christie gets to appoint a Republican senator. Does anyone know how long he will be appointed for? I think Lautenberg's term expires at the end of 2014, but I'm not sure. If so, will there be a special election at some point or will the new Republican senator serve out the remainder of Lautenberg's term.

But, notice that the tunnel Christie vetoed (for the wrong reasons of course) was a bad design in a bad location. His veto may have made it easier to construct the new proposed Amtrak tunnels. And how long will that take? Long, but it won't be 70 years.

Incidentally, the Second Avenue Subway's original design was for a 6 track subway from Brooklyn to the Bronx. The 6 tracks were for locals, expresses and super-expresses. What they open in a few years will only have 2 tracks and won't even go the length of Manhattan.

As a NJ taxpayer I am glad to see our tax money return back home in the form of rail projects(Secaucus Jct) I mean why should we be sending our money to other states? So in essence he did his job in bringing something back home and keeping jobs here! even if it was a political payback, those construction workers(blue collar welders..etc) all eat, sleep and drink in NJ

New York and New Jersey are both states that contribute far more to the Federal treasury than they get back. The big winners are usually-Republican Western states that falsely pride themselves on self-reliance, independence, etc. but who are able to affect the pose of self-reliance only with the aid of massive cash transfers from the blue Northeastern states.
"Clean" politicians are very hard to find.
Clean or dirty, I want politicians who get more of our money back from Washington. Lautenberg did that. He even got money for railroad infrastructure improvements.
He will be hard to replace.

JoeG wrote:Now Mr Christie gets to appoint a Republican senator. Does anyone know how long he will be appointed for? I think Lautenberg's term expires at the end of 2014, but I'm not sure. If so, will there be a special election at some point or will the new Republican senator serve out the remainder of Lautenberg's term.

First of all, I'm not sure if this thread even really belongs on here.

I'm not sure how things work regarding special elections, but I did quickly find this on wikipedia (so take it for what its worth): "When a U.S. Senator from New Jersey dies, the governor has the authority to appoint a "place holder" replacement until a special election is held, which in this case will likely be later in 2013. The Cook Political Report noted, however, that because of possibly conflicting provisions of the state's law, a special election might not be held until 2014."

In addition, while the obvious move would be for Chris Christie to appoint a Republican, there is some talk that he may "reach across the aisle" and appoint Cory Booker. Personally I would like to see a Libertarian in office, but now we're REALLY getting off track...

My thoughts and prayers go with his family.

[ Some material redacted, off topic.]

[Redacted, off topic.]

[Redacted, off topic.]

In keeping this thread relevant to railroads, I read in today's Star-Ledger that the Senator will be taken by funeral train through NJ down to Arlington National Cemetery. I have looked to no avail to find details. If anybody knows what time the funeral train is heading down the NEC, that would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

Thomas wrote:Just out of curiosity, who do you see becoming our next president?

Way to early to tell.... We just had an election year last year! Can't we wait till mid to late 2015?!

As for the funeral train, NJ.com reports there would be a color guard at Secaucus station at 3 PM, with loading of Lautenberg's casket onto the southbound train.

3:00 p.m.—Color Guard ceremony transferring casket to Amtrak train en route to Washington, D.C.

Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Station Main Concourse County Rd at County AveSecaucus, NJ 07094

***Ceremony at Lautenberg Station will be open to press. Press to arrive by 2:30 p.m.

http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/201 ... e-chamber/

MOD NOTE:

Please remember this thread is about Senator Lautenberg, his effect on NJT, and a funeral train (if any). It's hard to be "not political" in this case, but have some respect for the departed. Discussing the next president and/or Gov. Christie is absolutely not on-topic. Discussing the funding of the funeral train is a bit tacky.

Thanks for your cooperation.