“Ninety percent of politics is relationships,” said state Sen. Bernard Kenny (D-Hoboken), the state senate’s Democratic Majority Leader, Wednesday afternoon. If that’s true, then the august senator has got the politics game made. Kenny was recently recognized as “Most trusted by fellow legislators” in the April 2003 issue of New Jersey Monthly Magazine.
“I just treat people with the same respect that I would like to be treated with,” Kenny said last week during an hour-long interview. “I never give a commitment that I can’t perform, and don’t give my word unless I can keep it.”
Kenny has been either in the state Assembly or Senate since 1987, and is currently a partner at the Sarkisian, Florio and Kenny law firm in Hoboken.
Although the recognition is the subjective opinion of the magazine, and not a scientific poll, it does go a long way to epitomize the respect that Kenny garners from Trenton to Hoboken. “Kenny has earned the respect of colleagues from both parties for his command of, and enthusiasm for, the legislative process,” lauds the article. “Both in pubic and behind closed doors, he’s the acknowledged voice of reason.”
In some ways, Kenny is an anomaly in politics. He’s a heavy lifter when it comes to the legislative process, but in a world too often infiltrated by self-praise and egotism, he rarely seeks personal accolades.
“An appropriate amount of humility goes a long way,” said Kenny. He said that having confidence and emotion are also important, but that humility is an underutilized instrument in relationship and consensus building.
“I believe that forgoing credit often makes you more effective in getting things done,” Kenny said. He added that fellow legislators are going to be more apt to pick up the phone if they know the person on the other side of the line isn’t trying to embark on campaign of fervent self-promotion. “There’re things that are more important than public recognition,” said Kenny.
Over his 15-year political career, Kenny has championed or sponsored some of the biggest and most important legislation to go through the state Senate and Assembly. One place that Kenny made a name for himself was as a Democratic member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. During the gubernatorial term of Christie Todd Whitman, he strongly disagreed with Whitman’s income tax cut, and even voted against it three times. But instead of filling Trenton’s halls with bombastic rhetoric, he tailored his style of delivery to be civil in his opposition.
“At the time,” he said, “I believed that it was important to be to the point, but to do so in a respectful tone.” Many Republicans, most of who disagreed with Kenny’s stance, nonetheless gained respect for his well-mannered method of opposition. And now, with the budget and the state in the middle of fiscal crisis, it appears the Kenny might have been right in his stance.
Wednesday, Kenny reminisced on the Whitman administration and her budget debate.
“I think I received some positive karma [from that period],” said Kenny.
Currently Kenny, who lives on Bloomfield Street in Hoboken, has a full plate of different issues he supports. One of the most interesting is his strong lobbing effort to restore funding to the arts. Gov. James E. McGreevey’s proposed budget would eliminate approximately $18 million from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Kenny has been one of the biggest advocates for restoring some of those funds. Last week, McGreevey said he will press lawmakers to restore at least half of the $18 million.
In Hoboken, Kenny recently has delivered some substantial results. In the past year, he has lobbied for Hoboken to get its share of Abbott Funds for new school construction and the renovation of old schools. Hoboken is poised to receive approximately $100 million in state funding for the projects. “Hoboken has been right in the front of the line so far,” said Kenny recently. “I will continue to work hard to make sure that Hoboken will remain well ahead of the curve.”
Wednesday he said another of his goals is increasing open space options locally and statewide.
Approximately $2 million in state Green Acres Funds, secured by Kenny, will go to the Skateboard Park at Castle Point, which is currently under construction; the new soccer field near Sinatra Park; the Jackson Street Garage Park; and the upgrade to Church Square Park, which will include a toddler park.
Last September, Kenny was instrumental in obtaining $1.9 million in funding for the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. That money will pay for completing the construction of approximately 400 linear feet of the walkway to eliminate gaps that force pedestrians and bicyclists to use Sinatra Drive.
In the area of economic development, he is sponsoring a resolution that urges the state to restore over $38 million in state funding for its Business Employment Incentive Program (BEIP). Kenny said that it is an overwhelmingly successful program. “This program has created thousands of jobs, facilitated billions of dollars in capital improvements, and attracted investments in New Jersey, especially in Hudson County,” Kenny said.
Kenny is the co-prime sponsor of SCR-126, a resolution that urges McGreevey’s administration to reinstate founding for the BEIP, which provides incentive grants to the companies that create new jobs in New Jersey. The program gives qualified businesses grants for up to 10 years, covering up to 80 percent of personal income tax withholdings from new jobs created when they relocate to New Jersey.
“The potential investment spin-off from this program is staggering,” said Kenny. “With the energy and excitement created by this program, Hudson County stands well positioned to emerge as a national financial center. There is no sound reason to turn back now.”
He added that this program helped lure Goldman Sachs to Jersey City and John Wiley and Sons, the publishing giant, to the Hoboken waterfront.
Another issue that Kenny helped carry on his shoulders was the fairly controversial and definitely divisive corporate tax bill that passed last year. In July 2002, Gov. McGreevey’s budget was is serious jeopardy of not being adopted. At the midnight hour, the budget hinged on a Corporate Tax Bill that was co-sponsored by Kenny. After months of internal wrangling, mostly along party lines, the measure passed by a slim margin which essentially cleared the way for the final adoption of McGreevey’s budget in the state Senate. According to published reports, the passing of this Corporate Tax Bill was seen as a major victory for Kenny in Trenton. The bill overhauls the corporate business tax. While it leaves the rate at 9 percent, it seeks to eliminate loopholes that Kenny said let 30 of the 50 top employers pay just $200 last year, the previous minimum.
Companies now will have to pay a much higher minimum tax if they report no tax liability, and will lose several deductions. Out-of-state companies that do business in the state also will pay more. According to early estimates, the bill is projected to bring $1 billion into the state’s coffers.