The right track

A year ago December, one month after becoming the state’s acting governor, Richard Codey told this newspaper that he had already grown weary of being asked if he planned a run for governor in 2005.

“It’s amazing: We want to focus on putting the state on the right track,” he said. “I’d rather focus on governing and trying to change the way people see their government.”

Codey never did make a run for governor, stepping aside for fellow Democrat Jon Corzine. But, remarkably, he did live up to the promise he made that day. Codey became the state’s chief executive at a time when the reputation of New Jersey’s politicians could not be any lower. But with the quiet force of his personality, Codey single-handedly raised the state’s image, silencing late-night talk show hosts and setting an example for candidates and officeholders from Cherry Hill to Washington Township.

The Jewish community is grateful for Codey’s championing of issues high on the community’s moral and legislative agenda. Codey signed a divestment bill to press Sudan on its treatment of refugees. He repeatedly used his bully pulpit to urge the state’s lawmakers to make New Jersey an international center for the study of stem cell research. Social service providers in the state’s Jewish community will recall how he championed the rights of the mentally ill, drawing on, but never exploiting, his wife Mary Jo’s own struggles with postpartum depression.

Codey returns full-time to the State Senate, where we expect many more years of his principled leadership. And we hope that Gov. Corzine follows in his predecessor’s footsteps, combing a devotion to ethics with a commitment to menschlichkeit.

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