FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAY 30, 2007

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CONTACT:           MIKE DONOHUE (609)780-6525

PRESS RELEASE

CLARK AND DONOHUE

URGE COASTAL EVACUATION TASK FORCE

TO MOVE MORE QUICKLY

Cape May Court House, May 30, 2007:  Republican First District Assembly Candidates Norris Clark and Michael Donohue urge the Coastal New Jersey Evacuation Task Force to overcome their slow start and expedite the coordination of evacuation plans.

“We can tell this task force exactly what they need to know:  due to a lack of leadership in Trenton on such things as the completion of Route 55, the repair of the Beesley’s Point Bridge, and the removal of traffic lights from the parkway, the lives of those of us at the Shore are in jeopardy,” says Michael Donohue.  “We all know that the answer to our evacuation problem is the completion of Route 55 and investment in highway infrastructure in South Jersey.  Unfortunately, Trenton takes our tax money and sends it to road projects in North Jersey.”

“This Task Force has to be more than just an election year gimmick,” says Norris Clark.  “It needs to listen carefully to local officials and then go back to Trenton and redirect infrastructure resources to South Jersey.  If it does not, it will be held to account if, God forbid, a Katrina-type storm hits South Jersey and there is a massive loss of life.”

Clark and Donohue are concerned that The Coastal Evacuation Task Force is not acting with the urgency required to deal with these serious issues.  The task force was formed by legislation passed on January 30, 2007.  That legislation called for the members of the Task Force to be named by March 30, 2007.  However, task force members were still being chosen as of May 23, 2007. 

The task force will meet at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 31, 2007, teh day before the official start of hurricane season, at the Cape May County Administration Building in Crest Haven.

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