UPDATE 1-NJ Gov won't lease Turnpike or increase tolls

(Adds byline, details, new paragraphs: 2, 6-9)

NEW YORK Oct 30 (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine on Friday said he would not lease the New Jersey Turnpike or raise tolls if reelected, saying a newspaper article saying he may bring back his unpopular privatization plan "got it wrong."

Instead, the Democratic governor might try to wring more dollars out of one of the nation's busiest north-south corridors by getting more money from signs or development.

Corzine, asked by reporters about a front-page New York Times article that said he may revisit the monetization proposal he dropped last year, replied:

"They got it wrong because they focused on the fact that we may raise money out of our rest stops on properties that surround the turnpike. No toll increases...no leasing of the turnpike," according to a transcript of his comments at a ground-breaking ceremony in Bayonne provided by a spokesman.

"Off the table, not happening period!" the governor continued, according to the transcript.

Corzine, who stands for a second term on Tuesday, edged ahead of his Republican challenger and former federal prosecutor, Chris Christie, but voter dissatisfaction and a surge by an independent candidate is keeping the race too close to call, according to poll results released on Wednesday. For details, please see: [ID:nN28308739].

In the face of stiff opposition by voters and legislators, the governor, who stressed his financial experience as a former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs in his first gubernatorial campaign, dropped his plan to raise billions of dollars to repay debt by privatizing the Turnpike.

Private equity funds and investment banks, such as Goldman Sachs (GS.N), UBS AG (UBSN.VX) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N), and developers, including Spain's Cintra CCIT.MC and Australia's Macquarie Infrastructure Group MIG.AX, are eager to profit from the country's vast demand for roads and bridges. These investors often expect a 20 percent return, New York Lieutenant Governor, Richard Ravitch, said earlier this week.

But a backlash developed in a number of states, including Texas and Pennsylvania, after some groundbreaking deals in Chicago were criticized as inefficient or too costly for taxpayers. Still, some states, including Virginia and Florida, are going ahead with public-private partnerships. (Additional reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst) (Reporting by Joan Gralla; Additional reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst: Editing by Andrea Ricci)