Carla Katz
Encyclopedia
Carla A. Katz served as president of Local 1034 of the Communications Workers of America
from 1999 until 2008, representing 16,000 public and private sector workers in the state of New Jersey
. Revelations of a romantic relationship with New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine
raised questions of whether the relationship improperly influenced contract negotiations between Katz's union and the state of New Jersey.
with her brother Allan and sister Genise. Arnold Katz worked as a factory laborer in Paterson before getting a sales job and relocating his family to Burlington County
. He later served as mayor of Edgewater Park
in 1982 and 1983.
After finishing high school, Katz attended Burlington County College
, Boston University
, and Johns Hopkins University
, before eventually obtaining a bachelor's degree in labor studies from Rutgers University
in 1981. She also received a master's degree from Rutgers. A year after graduating from Rutgers, she started as an organizer for the CWA, becoming president of Local 1034 in 1999. She married Lawrence McKim, an artist and high school teacher, and they settled in Alexandria Township, New Jersey
, where they raised two children, Montana and Cooper. Katz and McKim divorced in 2001.
in the spring of 1999, when he was running for the United State Senate. As Katz later recalled, Corzine offered her a job on his Senate campaign, but she declined the job offer. Corzine and Katz were soon dating, appearing in public as a couple in early 2002, shortly after Corzine's separation from his wife Joanne. (The Corzines divorced the following year.) Katz lived with Corzine at his apartment in Hoboken
from April 2002 until their breakup in August 2004.
After Corzine's breakup with Katz, their lawyers negotiated a financial arrangement in November 2004. According to later press accounts, the settlement for Katz exceeded $6 million, including a large lump sum of cash (in part used to buy a $1.1 million condominium in Hoboken), a college trust fund for her children, and a Volvo sport utility vehicle. In December 2004, Corzine also forgave a debt of $470,000, a loan that he had provided Katz in 2002 so that she could buy out her ex-husband's share of their home in Alexandria Township.
, news first emerged of his previous relationship with Katz and the financial package she received after the breakup. Corzine was elected despite the scandal. After Corzine was sworn in as governor in January 2006, Katz maintained close contact with him. In the fall of 2006, during an impasse in contract negotiations between the Corzine administration and the state's seven major state employee unions (including the CWA), Katz contacted the governor by phone and e-mail, personally lobbying for a renewal of the negotiations.
Despite Corzine's pledge that he had ended all financial dealings with Katz and her family before taking office in 2006, in September 2007 it was reported that Rocco Riccio, who is married to Katz's sister Genise, had received $15,000 from Corzine after being forced to resign from a position with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority
.
A state ethics panel, responding to a complaint from Bogota
mayor Steve Lonegan
, ruled in May 2007 that Katz's personal contact with Corzine during labor negotiations did not violate the governor's code of conduct. Separately, New Jersey Republican State Committee
Chairman Tom Wilson
filed a lawsuit to release all e-mail correspondence between Corzine and Katz during the contract negotiations. On May 30, 2008, New Jersey Superior Court
Judge Paul Innes ruled that at least 745 pages of e-mail records should be made public, but Corzine's lawyers immediately appealed the decision.
Corzine won his case on appeal, and on March 18, 2009, the New Jersey Supreme Court
ruled that it would not hear arguments in the case, effectively ending the legal battle to make his e-mails with Katz public. Corzine spent approximately $127,000 of taxpayer funds to keep the e-mails secret. Despite these efforts, on August 1, 2010, The Star-Ledger
published 123 of the Corzine-Katz e-mails, revealing the extent of their personal contact during negotiations over a new state workers contract in early 2007.
In March 2009, Katz was expelled from the CWA after an internal tribunal unanimously found her guilty of financial mismanagement. She was ordered by the tribunal to reimburse more than $138,000 to the union for funds improperly used for personal and political expenses. Katz has filed a lawsuit to regain her status with the union.
in 2004, earning her law degree in May 2008. She has also been active as a lecturer at Rutgers University and contributes to the "NJ Voices" blog on NJ.com.
In May 2009, the radio station WKXW (101.5 FM) announced that Katz would join the afternoon drive show "The Jersey Guys" in a series of appearances.
It was reported in March 2010 that Katz would join the Livingston
-based law firm of Fox & Fox LLP. She is Of Counsel with the firm, specializing in labor law.
Communications Workers of America
Communications Workers of America is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States representing about 550,000 members in both the private and public sectors. The union has 27 locals in Canada via CWA-SCA Canada representing about 8,000 members...
from 1999 until 2008, representing 16,000 public and private sector workers in the state of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Revelations of a romantic relationship with New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and of MF Global, and a one time American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year U.S. Senate term representing New Jersey before being elected Governor...
raised questions of whether the relationship improperly influenced contract negotiations between Katz's union and the state of New Jersey.
Early life and career
Katz was born to Arnold and Angelina Katz and was raised in Paterson, New JerseyPaterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
with her brother Allan and sister Genise. Arnold Katz worked as a factory laborer in Paterson before getting a sales job and relocating his family to Burlington County
Burlington County, New Jersey
There were 154,371 households out of which 34.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.70% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were non-families. 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.50% had...
. He later served as mayor of Edgewater Park
Edgewater Park Township, New Jersey
Edgewater Park Township is a Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a northeastern Delaware Valley suburb of Philadelphia...
in 1982 and 1983.
After finishing high school, Katz attended Burlington County College
Burlington County College
Burlington County College is an accredited, co-educational, two-year, public, community college located in Burlington County, New Jersey...
, Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, and Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, before eventually obtaining a bachelor's degree in labor studies from Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 1981. She also received a master's degree from Rutgers. A year after graduating from Rutgers, she started as an organizer for the CWA, becoming president of Local 1034 in 1999. She married Lawrence McKim, an artist and high school teacher, and they settled in Alexandria Township, New Jersey
Alexandria Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 4,698 people, 1,535 households, and 1,290 families residing in the township. The population density was 170.6 people per square mile . There were 1,598 housing units at an average density of 58.0 per square mile...
, where they raised two children, Montana and Cooper. Katz and McKim divorced in 2001.
Relationship with Corzine
Katz first met Jon CorzineJon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and of MF Global, and a one time American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year U.S. Senate term representing New Jersey before being elected Governor...
in the spring of 1999, when he was running for the United State Senate. As Katz later recalled, Corzine offered her a job on his Senate campaign, but she declined the job offer. Corzine and Katz were soon dating, appearing in public as a couple in early 2002, shortly after Corzine's separation from his wife Joanne. (The Corzines divorced the following year.) Katz lived with Corzine at his apartment in Hoboken
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
from April 2002 until their breakup in August 2004.
After Corzine's breakup with Katz, their lawyers negotiated a financial arrangement in November 2004. According to later press accounts, the settlement for Katz exceeded $6 million, including a large lump sum of cash (in part used to buy a $1.1 million condominium in Hoboken), a college trust fund for her children, and a Volvo sport utility vehicle. In December 2004, Corzine also forgave a debt of $470,000, a loan that he had provided Katz in 2002 so that she could buy out her ex-husband's share of their home in Alexandria Township.
Aftermath of relationship
In the summer of 2005, when Corzine was running in the New Jersey gubernatorial electionNew Jersey gubernatorial election, 2005
The New Jersey gubernatorial election of 2005 was a race for the Governor of New Jersey. It was held on November 8, 2005. Incumbent Democratic Governor Richard Codey, who replaced Governor Jim McGreevey in 2004 after his resignation, did not run for election for a full term of office.The primary...
, news first emerged of his previous relationship with Katz and the financial package she received after the breakup. Corzine was elected despite the scandal. After Corzine was sworn in as governor in January 2006, Katz maintained close contact with him. In the fall of 2006, during an impasse in contract negotiations between the Corzine administration and the state's seven major state employee unions (including the CWA), Katz contacted the governor by phone and e-mail, personally lobbying for a renewal of the negotiations.
Despite Corzine's pledge that he had ended all financial dealings with Katz and her family before taking office in 2006, in September 2007 it was reported that Rocco Riccio, who is married to Katz's sister Genise, had received $15,000 from Corzine after being forced to resign from a position with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
.
A state ethics panel, responding to a complaint from Bogota
Bogota, New Jersey
As of the 2010 Census, Bogota had a population of 8,187. The median age was 38.6. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 61.0% White, 9.4% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 9.8% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, 14.8% some other race and 4.1% reporting...
mayor Steve Lonegan
Steve Lonegan
Steven M. Lonegan was mayor of Bogota, New Jersey from 1995–2007 and a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of New Jersey in 2005 and 2009. He is the Director of the New Jersey chapter of Americans for Prosperity....
, ruled in May 2007 that Katz's personal contact with Corzine during labor negotiations did not violate the governor's code of conduct. Separately, New Jersey Republican State Committee
New Jersey Republican State Committee
The New Jersey Republican State Committee is the affiliate of the Republican Party in New Jersey. The Committee was founded in 1880. The party is led by Chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee Sam Raia of Saddle River, New Jersey.-Membership:...
Chairman Tom Wilson
Tom Wilson (New Jersey)
Tom Wilson is an American Republican Party leader who served as the chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee from 2004 to 2009.-Biography:...
filed a lawsuit to release all e-mail correspondence between Corzine and Katz during the contract negotiations. On May 30, 2008, New Jersey Superior Court
New Jersey Superior Court
The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with state-wide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The Superior Court has three divisions: the Appellate Division is essentially an intermediate appellate court while the Law and Chancery Divisions function as trial courts...
Judge Paul Innes ruled that at least 745 pages of e-mail records should be made public, but Corzine's lawyers immediately appealed the decision.
Corzine won his case on appeal, and on March 18, 2009, the New Jersey Supreme Court
New Jersey Supreme Court
The New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It has existed in three different forms under the three different state constitutions since the independence of the state in 1776...
ruled that it would not hear arguments in the case, effectively ending the legal battle to make his e-mails with Katz public. Corzine spent approximately $127,000 of taxpayer funds to keep the e-mails secret. Despite these efforts, on August 1, 2010, The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
published 123 of the Corzine-Katz e-mails, revealing the extent of their personal contact during negotiations over a new state workers contract in early 2007.
Removal from CWA presidency
On July 7, 2008, Katz was removed from the presidency of CWA Local 1034 for financial improprieties after a unanimous vote of the union's national board. In a press release, the board stated: "An extensive internal review revealed probable cause to believe that the local is engaged in ongoing financial malpractice, the misappropriation of union funds, a failure to comply with state and federal law, as well as the CWA constitution, and the suppression of dissent. The CWA national executive board has determined that it has no choice but to take this action to protect the rights and resources of the members of Local 1034." A temporary administrator, Ruth Barrett, was appointed to oversee Local 1034.In March 2009, Katz was expelled from the CWA after an internal tribunal unanimously found her guilty of financial mismanagement. She was ordered by the tribunal to reimburse more than $138,000 to the union for funds improperly used for personal and political expenses. Katz has filed a lawsuit to regain her status with the union.
Other activities
Katz enrolled in Seton Hall University School of LawSeton Hall University School of Law
The Seton Hall University School of Law is part of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law School is the only private law school in New Jersey, and is the top-ranked of the three law schools in the state...
in 2004, earning her law degree in May 2008. She has also been active as a lecturer at Rutgers University and contributes to the "NJ Voices" blog on NJ.com.
In May 2009, the radio station WKXW (101.5 FM) announced that Katz would join the afternoon drive show "The Jersey Guys" in a series of appearances.
It was reported in March 2010 that Katz would join the Livingston
Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,366.Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township and Springfield...
-based law firm of Fox & Fox LLP. She is Of Counsel with the firm, specializing in labor law.