Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jan 2005
Source: Star-Ledger (NJ)
Copyright: 2005 Newark Morning Ledger Co
Contact:  http://www.nj.com/starledger/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/424
Author: Josh Margolin And Deborah Howlett
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

IRATE CODEY BLASTS RADIO SHOCK JOCK

Post-Partum Remarks Spur Clash

In a heated, face-to-face confrontation, acting Gov. Richard Codey and a 
radio personality clashed last night over comments the shock jock made 
about first lady Mary Jo Codey's well-publicized battle with postpartum 
depression.

"I wish I weren't governor, I'd take you out," Codey said to NJ 101.5 radio 
host Craig Carton in a hallway at the station's studios.

Coming nearly nose to nose with Codey, Carton responded: "That's real 
professional. You want to fight?"

With the pair shouting at each other, members of Codey's security detail 
began moving in, though they did not step between the two. Carton then left 
the station, saying he had an appointment to keep.

Codey said he was upset by comments Carton made during his Monday afternoon 
"Jersey Guys" show, which he co-hosts.

According to a partial transcript the governor's office said was provided 
by a "trusted source," Carton said: "What Governor Codey ought to do is 
approve the use of medical marijuana so women can have a joint and relax 
instead of putting their babies in a microwave. Then all they want to do is 
cook Doritos. Women who claim they suffer from this postpartum depression 
.. they must be crazy in the first place."

The acting governor's wife has publicly described her battle with 
depression and talked openly about her post-birth emotional state -- times 
when she thought both of drowning her child or placing the baby in a 
microwave oven.

Since Codey assumed the governorship in November, care for the mentally ill 
has become a key issue for his administration and the first lady has become 
a leading spokeswoman for the cause.

At the station's Ewing Township studio for the monthly "Ask the Governor" 
call-in show, Codey delivered a prepared on-the-air rebuttal.

"Let me make myself very clear: I am proud of my wife and of her work to 
help people with mental illness throughout the state of New Jersey. These 
remarks were personally offensive to me, my wife and our sons. But I am 
even more disturbed that they reinforced a negative stigma and hurt 
hundreds of thousands of other New Jerseyans who deal with this disease 
every day," Codey said.

"One in five New Jersey residents will suffer from mental illness in their 
lifetime. This disease affects almost every family in New Jersey. The 
comments were based on pure ignorance and a general lack of understanding 
surrounding postpartum depression and other mental illnesses," Codey 
continued. "If anything, the remarks underscored the pressing need for 
programs that help people better understand mental illness and its impact 
on our friends, our co-workers, our neighbors and our loved ones."

Confronted by Codey minutes before the acting governor's call-in show, 
Carton defended his remarks.

"As the father of three, I'm offended any woman would think about putting a 
baby in a microwave or drowning him. ... She has to be crazy to start with. 
That's my opinion," Carton said to Codey.

"That's just ignorance," Codey responded, adding Carton's comments were 
"more than low."

Citing company policy, station program director Eric Johnson declined to 
release a copy of a tape of the show. He said he saw nothing wrong with 
Carton's Monday show.

"Talk show hosts are free to comment on the news," Johnson said. "We have 
talk show hosts with strong opinions. ... What I heard did not cross the 
line. One of the things that makes the station successful is talk show 
hosts aren't looking over their shoulders. They're honest."

Carton and his often strong views have made news before. In 2003, Carton 
was criticized for comments he made regarding Hispanic day laborers who 
were being picked up at a central point in Freehold.

A year earlier, on-air banter between Carton and his co-host, Ray Rossi, 
regarding the sexual orientation of then-Gov. James E. McGreevey launched 
McGreevey and his staff into a rage. At the time, McGreevey was fending off 
hushed rumors he was gay as Carton and Rossi compared the activities of the 
governor and former aide Golan Cipel to Liberace, the flamboyant gay 
pianist who died of AIDS in 1987. Last year, McGreevey announced he is, in 
fact, gay and would resign because of an extramarital affair with a man 
later identified as Cipel.

After making his prepared statement, Codey took on-air questions for an 
hour, talking with the show's host, Eric Scott, and callers on topics 
ranging from his political future to the looming $4 billion budget deficit 
to political corruption. Several callers praised his mental health 
initiatives and his defense of his wife.

As he left the radio station, Codey said he was glad he confronted Carton: 
"I'm proud of what I said in there."
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MAP posted-by: Beth