Republican State Chairman Jay Webber said that U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-Hoboken) attempt to help a failing bank run in part by a major donor and a key political ally is part of a pattern of “unprecedented actions by a United States senator to benefit campaign donors.”

“To the extent that a United States senator is directly commenting and trying to affect a regulatory decision, I think it’s highly inappropriate, and Senator Menendez once again crossed the line,” said Webber.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Menendez sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urging him to approve an acquisition of First BancoAmericano, which is chaired by attorney Joseph Ginarte, who has donated $30,000 to Menendez’s political accounts since 1999, and vice-chaired by state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Elizabeth).  The paper reported that Ginarte and Lesniak could have seen some of their investments in the institution salvaged had a merger been approved.  It was not.

To Webber, the story has a striking similarity to a previous controversy over the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a medical device for injured knees.  After lobbying that the agency described as “intense and extreme” by Menendez, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park), Reps. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) and Steve Rothman (D-Englewood) – all of whom had recently been given significant contributions by the New Jersey-based manufacturer, ReGen Thearpeutics – FDA higher-ups approved the device for sale, despite ruling in previous years that it was unsafe. 

“Nobody would object if he simply wrote a letter touting the merits of the position of his constituents…  Both with the FDA and the Fed, he crossed the line from advocating for constituents to trying to affect the outcome of the process,” said Webber.  “I’m sure that whoever runs against Senator Menendez in 2012 will not let voters forget about the various pings on his record in this record.  There’s a pattern that the senator engaged in and people will be reminded of it.”

After the bank’s failure, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) – which had to spent $15 million when the Fed allowed the bank to fail -- wound up auctioning it off to Crown Bank, which is owned by JJR Holding Company, Inc.  -- the same company that had originally wanted to acquire it.

The request for Menendez’s help was made by a consulting firm that was working on the merger. 

"By criticizing the fight to save a local, independent bank, the chairman of the state Republican Party is applauding the fact that bank branches are closing and lending is drying up in New Jersey communities where families and small business owners are starved for financial services,” said Menendez spokesman Afshin Mohamadi in a written statement.

Irrepressible door pounder Second Ward Councilman Andre Sayegh pledges to knock on 10,000 doors while simultaneously raising $10,000  toward his mayoral campaign - an effort he calls a “Dollar for Change.”

"These are tough times and people are looking for a leader who will fight for them to bring jobs and safe streets back to Paterson,” said Sayegh, already certified as a candidate in his contest with two-term incumbent Mayor Jose "Joey" Torres and Council President Jeffrey Jones.

"We may not raise as much money as the current mayor, but we do plan to have the biggest army of volunteers supporting our campaign,” said Sayegh Campaign Manager Tarona Lee.

NEWARK - Mayoral candidate Clifford Minor promises to field a Latino on what is now only his partially formed Newark's Choice ticket, he told PolitickerNJ.com.

Minor, a retired Essex County prosecutor and municipal judge, said his decision has nothing to do with hearing on-the-trail politically correct groans about his all-black ticket.

He always intended to run with a Latino(a) - one of the reasons attorney Juliana Blackburn Maldonado was on his team, before abruptly pulling the plug on her candidacy for professional reasons. 

"That will be coming out very shortly," said Minor, referring to plans to unveil a running mate from the heavily Latino North Ward.

Blackburn Maldonado, in fact, helped Minor find her replacement - who is already in place, added the mayoral candidate. He's just not yet ready to make the name public.

"We are not going to say that we are not multi-cultural in our approach to running the city, but understand, there is a lot of pressure being put on people in the North Ward," Minor said. "Some people have been told not to get involved. They (the North Ward Democratic Organization) are concerned with the team we have already assembled because they are vulnerable."