No Quid Pro Quo In Katz-Corzine Relationship

There was no quid pro quo between Carla Katz, head of a powerful state union in New Jersey and her former beau, current New Jersey governor Jon Corzine.

That's a relief - mostly for Katz and Corzine, who have dogged complaints about ethical improprieties and worse as a result of how it looked to see Katz receive a nice lump sum payment from Corzine just as Corzine became Governor.

Indeed, that's what I thought. It didn't look right and it didn't matter to voters:

Joanne Corzine had been married to Jon for 33 years before breaking up two years ago over Jon's affair with Carla Katz, who happens to be a union bigwig that received a huge loan that was forgiven by Corzine (a couple hundred thousand dollars). And the union happened to come out in support for Corzine. Go figure.

Now, here's my problem with all this. What exactly does this change in terms of the election dynamic. Not much. Forrester has been slamming Corzine for his buddy-buddy relation with the corrupt Democratic party machine (Norcross) pretty much from the get-go. Forrester has been using his wife in a number of commercials because it separates his family values campaign from Corzine and the prior NJ administration of Jim McGreevey.

Will this last minute revelation change anything? I don't think so, but it does inject a little more spice to the last week considering that the NYC Mayoral campaign is a done deal.

Katz is setting the record straight:

CARLA KATZ heads New Jersey's Communications Workers of America; 16,000 members, CWA's largest local. Bare legs, low top, long hair, four-inch stilettos, diamond chain, not your average union leader, she's a knockout.

Among those she's knocked out - personally, and detractors are checking to see it doesn't include ethically - is New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine.

Background: Both, married with children, met on his Senate campaign trail in 1999. He asked her to work for him. Then, a drink at The Four Seasons bar. Then, a French restaurant in D.C. She nixed his work offer. The story is, he said finally, "I couldn't work with you anyway . . . I'd have other ideas."

The ideas developed and each got divorced.

Fast forward. The romance is kaput. He's now governor. She's still a labor leader. Pillow talk replaced by a bargaining table.

Result? Nasty stories, name-calling, innuendoes. Some in the state found it sticky because it's known Corzine bestowed gifts on this lady. Why? Is she threatening? Holding anything over him? Does she know something?

Until now, neither Carla nor Corzine talked. Yesterday, Carla talked and said: "There's absolutely nothing I have on Jon."