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Chris Placitella: Hello and welcome to Community View. My name is Chris Placitella and we're here today with the executive director of Consumers for Civil Justice. Consumers for Civil Justice is the largest coalition of consumers, labor, environmental groups and other advocates for change here in the state of New Jersey. We're so fortunate today to have Peter Guzzo with us, who is the executive director. Good afternoon Peter, and how are you?

Peter: Fine Chris, how are you?

Chris: It's great to have you with us.

Peter: Thank you.

Chris: In a prior show, we had the president and chair of Consumers for Civil Justice, but we thought we might get you for a couple of minutes so you can tell us, as the executive director and I think you're also in charge of legislation?

Peter: Yes, I'm the registered legislative agent for Consumers for Civil Justice in Trenton, New Jersey.

Chris: So you can tell us what you do on a regular basis, the kind of issues that you face, and I'll ask you a couple questions but why don't we start there.

Peter: Fine. For the past 13 years, I've been fortunate to be the executive director and the legislative agent for Consumers for Civil Justice. As previously discussed with the chair, Myles O'Malley and the president Jayne Santasiere, you have an idea of the 17 organization's that participate in CCJ. What I do is help put a face on CCJ in Trenton. As a lobbyist, one of the most effective ways to present your cause to the legislature is, as I said put a face on what the issues are. There are many ways to get your message across, one of which is to spend money and many organizations have the wherewithal to spend money. CCJ is what I would call a "people organization." Rather than spending dollars, we bring the victims to Trenton, and I always try to do this on every issue. I make sure we have someone from one of the organizations that belongs to CCJ, whether it's a senior issue with AARP, the Hemophilia Association, or the Brain Injury Association. Whatever the issue may be at that time, asbestos, Med Mal, I bring the victims to Trenton. Legislatures, at community hearings, will pay attention to a victim, so it may be looked at as a form of exploitation, but when you have to make your position known, you put your best foot forward and with CCJ it is actually bringing the victims to the table.

Chris: Has your organization changed at all over the years? You've been around a long time now.

Peter: Yeah, I've been with the organization.

Chris: You still look good, but...

Peter: Thank you Chris, just how I wrote it.

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Peter: You can see right there. CCJ has expanded. It's grown in terms of the issues. Over the years, the different threats that arise to different organizations have different victims. At one point, it may be that... I can recall years ago, for example, with Lymes victims. We worked with them. There was a mandate that the insurance industry only had to provide 30 days of intravenous care. We actually brought down CCJ a busload of Lyme's victims with their intravenous in their arms. They came to Trenton, they testified at the hearings. The effectiveness of that was that the law was changed. So, the issues change as Miles O'Malley expressed in the previous interview with medical malpractice. We were up against the Medical Association of New Jersey and the insurance industry, but we were able to bring med mal victims in a new organization called Voices for Patient Protection to the table, and it was effective and it stopped the draconian med mal measures that were being proposed by the medical society and the insurance industry, namely to put a cap of $250, 000 on a lifetime of care for a victim, which was preposterous. When we had victims make that presentation; it was very effective.

Chris: As the executive director, what do you see as your mission for Consumers for Civil Justice?

Peter: Well, my mission is to keep Consumers for Civil Justice in the forefront in Trenton with legislators and with the Governor's office and the various executive departments that relate to the specific issue. We've done that very effectively because the members of CCJ have a cause, and because they have a cause they are readily available. They never say no when I call them and say, "We need to have you in Trenton to testify." We've been able to place many CCJ members on various study groups and executive boards. For example having just come through the medical malpractice reform we have been able to place at least three of our members on a med mal task force.

So again, we have the recognition. Legislators know who CCJ is and who its members are. We also have a hotline and you can see behind us who CCJ is and where you can call in consumers and victims call in on a periodic basis and we try to help channel their issues and needs to the proper state agency. So it is keeping them involved. I also, Chris, work with other organizations that are not part of CCJ. On the national level we work very closely with various justice and victims organizations to find out what is going on in other states and what is going on a national level. They call us when they need our assistance in Washington and I call them when we need their assistance in New Jersey. So there is a good exchange between all of the organizations.

Chris: Now, you are a coalition. What does that mean for people out there? What does it mean to be a coalition of consumer labor environmental interested people?

Peter: It is a way of leveraging a specific organization's ability to get its meaning across. We don't usurp any particular member organization. They still have their identity. But, if for example, the hemophiliac has a specific issue. It impacts on the brain injury association, mothers against drunk drivers, healthcare workers. We are able to bring those organizations together at a specific time and that just gives an increased specific thrust and power to the specific issue of the hemophiliac even though it might not be their specific agenda.

What connects all of these associations? They are victims or as we like to say potential victims. They all work together to help each other even though it may not be their specific agenda item at that particular time.

Chris: Now when you are dealing with these types of issues someone who feels that they don't have a voice for an issue that is important to them. How do they access your voice to help them?

Peter: Well, people who dont specifically want to join CCJ have approached me but they are looking for CCJ's help. I will take it to the Board meeting and we have a constitution, rules that we operate by and the chair Miles O'Malley will bring it up at the Board meeting. The board members will look it and decide whether it falls within or organization to parameters of the CCJ mission statement. The organization then adopts it as part of their agenda and we move forward, supplying them with the assistance that they need, the lobbying efforts that they need and coming down to testify in Trenton.

Chris: So CCJ doesn't give money. They give voice and people.

Peter: That is the power. The old saying that people are the power is true. We have been up against some of the richest organizations whether they are insurance industry types or the medical association or polluters. We have been able to put a face on the victims and face on the issue. It is my experience in Trenton and I have been there over 30 years is that seniors, young children and victims. Legislators will pay attention to those three constituent groups. If you don't have the money, you put a voice to the victim and a face to the issue. And that is what we have been able to do very successfully over these past thirteen years.

Chris: Peter, this sounds like a great organization. I know of your work and I know of your tremendous accomplishments and I thank you on behalf of the State of New Jersey.

That's it for this week's version of Community View. Peter Guzzo, Chairman or Executive Director rather of Consumer Justice, the largest consumer labor and public interest in the State of New Jersey.

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