Wally Edge's blog

State Sen. Sandra Bolden Cunningham (D-Jersey City), shown being sworn in to the Senate by Richard Codey in November 2007, is a key player in Jersey City mayoral and legislative politics.

The announcement last week that Assemblyman Harvey Smith will run for Mayor of Jersey City means there will be an open State Assembly seat in Hudson County’s 31st district, which includes part of Jersey City and all of Bayonne.  The two key players in deciding who represents this district in the State Assembly are Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy (the Hudson County Democratic Chairman) and State Sen. Sandra Bolden Cunningham.  If Healy and Cunningham get together – which would mean Healy would be seeking re-election with the endorsement of his predecessor’s widow – than the endorsement of the Hudson County Democratic Organization may be tantamount to election this year.

Also at stake is the seat of Anthony Chiappone, a two-term Assemblyman (2004-06 and 2008-date) from Bayonne.  Chiappone is at odds with the newly-elected Mayor Bayonne, Mark Smith, a Healy ally.  But Cunningham likes Chiappone, who ran with her late husband in 2003 and with her in 2007.  If a deal for Cunningham to endorse Healy in the mayoral race includes keeping Chiappone in the Assembly, then Chiappone will likely return to Trenton.

Majority control of the Board of Chosen Freeholders could flip in four of New Jersey’s 21 counties in November 2009: Atlantic, Burlington, Monmouth and Salem.  In Burlington, Republicans currently have a 3-2 majority after Democrats won two seats last month – their first wins in Freeholder races in two decades.  Two veteran Republican Freeholders are up for re-election in 2009: Bill Haines and Jim Wujcik.  Democrats need to beat one of the two incumbents to win control. 

In Monmouth County, Democrats won their first majority since 1986 when Amy Mallet’s victory in a recount gave them 3-2 control.  Democrat Barbara McMorrow is expected to seek re-election to a second term, and Republicans can regain control if they can unseat her next year.

In Salem County, Democrats have a 5-2 majority after Republicans picked up the open seat of retiring Democratic Freeholder Charles Sullivan, who passed away last Tuesday after a long illness.  Two Democratic incumbents, Beth Timberman and Jeffrey Hogan, are up in 2009.  Republicans would need to win both seats to take control. 

In Atlantic County, where Democrats picked up a Freeholder seat in the last election (and lost a five-term Sheriff), Republicans have a 6-3 majority.  Three Republicans are up next year: At-Large Freeholder Frank Giordano, who was elected as a Democrat in 2006 (he defeated incumbent Frank Finnerty) and then switched parties last year; District 2 Freeholder Thomas Russo, and District 5 Freeholder James Curcio.  Democrats would have to oust two of the three GOP incumbents to take control.

Caroline Kennedy, who owns a home in Somerset County, is a possible candidate for Hillary Rodham Clinton's soon-to-be-vacant seat in the United States Senate.

The New York Observer is reporting that Robert Menendez, the Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, "has reached out to Caroline Kennedy to gauge her interest in filling the empty seat Hillary Clinton will leave when she joins the Obama administration as secretary of state."  CLICK HERE TO READ.

Former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan is expected to announce next month that he will seek the Republican nomination for Governor in 2009

Former Bogota Mayor Steven Lonegan lays out his campaign for the 2009 Republican gubernatorial nomination in a fundraising letter written as Barack Obama was declaring his victory in the presidential race.  Lonegan hits strong conservative themes -- fiscal and social -- and talks about his electibility as a Mayor of a "blue" town in Bergen County.
 
CLICK HERE TO READ THE LONEGAN LETTER

Governor's Office Photo

John Farmer, the new Star-Ledger editorial page editor, says he doesn't believe in giving one party more than eight years in office

The NJ Voices interview with John Farmer, the new Editorial Page editor of the Star-Ledger, is a must-read for the New Jersey political community.  Farmer says he’s an Independent (a political “agnostic”) who voted for George W. Bush in 2000 “because I don't believe in giving any one party more than eight years in office.”

On the Star-Ledger’s political leanings:

“The editorials over the past eight years have been largely liberal.  But that's as much a function of events as it is of any internal inclination of the paper.  Largely, it's been a reaction to the record of the Bush administration. He hasn't given us much to cheer. We supported him quite enthusiastically after 9/11. But as the record of the Bush administration has unfolded, we've been pretty critical.”

On newspapers competing with the Internet:

Franklin Mayor Brian D. Levine is considering a bid for the Republican nomination for Governor in 2009

Franklin Township Mayor Brian D. Levine is thinking about getting in the race for the Republican nomination for Governor, and he's won twice in a heavily Democratic town. Levine is supposed to be smart, hardworking, and a pretty good retail campaigner. But few pundits think the obscure certified public accountant from Somerset County can win a statewide primary.

Jeff Boss, who mounted unsuccessful bids for President and U.S. Senate in 2008, says he'll run for Governor of New Jersey in 2009

Jeff Boss, who lost races for President and U.S. Senate last week, will run for Governor of New Jersey in 2009, according to The Record's Mike Kelly.  Boss says that he witnessed the U.S. government plan the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Dick Zimmer might not be polling well in his bid for United States Senator, but in the land of newspaper endorsements, he's holding his own. Zimmer, a former Republican Congressman, has won the support of the Asbury Park Press, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Courier-Post. Incumbent Frank Lautenberg has been endorsed by the Star-Ledger, the New York Timesand the Home News Tribune.

The Star-Ledger said that they have accepted 151 newsroom buyout offers and will continue with 40% less staff by the end of the year. Seventeen buyout requests were turned down. Publisher George Arwady, who gets credit for saving the state's largest newspaper, said that the departues will be staggered. In an e-mail to employees, Editor Jim Willse said his new challenge is to "figure out a way to make a good newspaper with a 40% smaller staff."

An important message from Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, according to a press release issued today: due to inclement weather forecasts for Saturday, the Essex County Canine Halloween Costume Parade has been rescheduled to Saturday, November 1.