Wally Edge's blog

A PolitickerNJ.com report last month that Scott Weiner was retiring as head of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority was incorrect, and with apologies to our readers, this website offers a correction: while Weiner said that he was leaving because he thought it was time for the embattled school construction agency to hire a CEO who would commit to long term service, he was effectively fired.  Gov. Jon Corzine, according to sources familiar with the events, asked Weiner to leave.  The former Commissioner of Environemental Protection was allowed to issue a public statement giving the impression that his departure was on good terms.

There are now more Democrats than Republicans in Monmouth County, and the GOP is in danger of losing control of the Freeholder Board for the first time since 1986, but state Democrats remain lukewarm over the prospects of playing for State Assembly seats in Districts 11, 12 and 13 in 2009.  Nearly six months before filing day, Democrats are uncertain about investing money to oust any of the six Republican incumbents in districts where they have invested heavily in recent years.

Indeed, twelfth district Democrats won a Senate seat and two Assembly seats in 2003 after ethics charges were hurled at longtime incumbent John Bennett, then the Co-President of the State Senate.  But the GOP won back one of the Assembly seats two years later, and seats in the Senate and Assembly in 2007.  They have been unable to crack the Republican hold on Districts 11, where an aggressive campaign in 2005 fell short, and in District 13, where they came within a few hundred votes of ousting an incumbent five years ago.

Now, it appears Democrats are prepared to wait patiently for 2011, with the hope that they can prevail during the legislative redistricting process and secure a better district.  One idea that seems to be receiving universal consideration by Democratic legislative leaders is to place Jennifer Beck, a freshman Republican State Senator from Red Bank, in a district with either Sean Kean or Joseph Kyrillos, who represent the 11th and 12th districts in the Senate, respectively.   Democrats want to add part of Middlesex County, perhaps strongly Democratic Monroe and Plainsboro, to the 12th and remove some Republican towns. 

South Jersey Democrats are actively courting two former Republican legislators to challenge freshmen GOP Assemblyman John Amodeo and Vincent Polistina in the Atlantic County-based second district next year: Paul D'Amato, a former Linwood Mayor who served in the Assembly from 2002 to 2003, and Frank Blee, who retired last year after seven terms in the Assembly. D'Amato left the Legislature after feuding with then-State Sen. Bill Gormley, and switched parties in 2006.  Blee broke with local Republicans in 2007 after losing a special election convention for State Senate to Sonny McCullough and backed Democrat James Whelan in the general election.

The Record is reporting that federal prosecutors have sent subpoenas to fiive North Jersey towns regarding contracts with John Carrino, a web developer reportedly connected to indicted Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero.  Carrino, who told The Record that he has also received a subpoena, also works for State Senate Minority Leader Thomas Kean, Jr. 

For the first time in state history, Democrats outnumber Republicans in Monmouth and Somerset counties – both places where the GOP holds most county and state offices.  And in two other Republican-controlled counties, Burlington and Atlantic, Democrats now enjoy a substantial edge.

In Monmouth, Democratic registration has increased by 36,000 voters since the 2004 election, while Republicans have increased by 18,000.  The number of unaffiliated voters has decreased by 49,000.  In total, there are now 104,777 Democrats and 93,598 Republicans out of 412,053 total voters.  

Somerset County had 38,564 Republicans and 23,446 Democrats in November 2004.  That edge has shifted significantly: there are now 48,596 Democrats and 48,557 Republicans out of 181,513 total voters.

Party registration in Burlington has been within a few hundred voters of even for the last decade.  Now Democrats have an edge of nearly 25,000 voters.  In 2004, Burlington had 53,938 Democrats and 53,143 Republicans out of 264,532.  In 2008, there are 89,528 Democrats and 64,963 Republicans out of 266,592 total voters.

In Atlantic, there are now 50,610 Democrats and 41,756 Republicans out of 169,252 voters.  Four years ago, there were 29,087 Democrats and 36,431 Republicans out of 153,016 voters.

Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson remains the leading candidate to become Jon Corzine's Chief of Staff when Bradley Abelow leaves.  Speculation of Abelow's departure has persistsed for the last six months, but sources close to the administration say the former Goldman Sachs partner will most certainly be gone by the end of the year.  Democratic insiders say that Maggie Moran, Corzine's politically savvy Deputy Chief of Staff for the last four years (and State Director when he was in the Senate) will leave state government to become manage the Governor's re-election campaign. 

Sources say that U.S. Rep. Albio Sires will endorse Mark Smith for Mayor of Bayonne next week. Sires' support of Smith isn't a surprise: the Hudson County Democratic Organization is supporting Smith in the November non-partisan special election to replace Joseph Doria, and Sires is closely allied with the HCDO.  And Sires staffer Erica Daugherty has been working hard to help Smith win the mayoralty.

John Adler could be the first Democrat to capture a congressional seat (Jim Saxton's seat) in his district since Thomas Ferrell won in 1882, and Linda Stender, if she wins, she'll be the first Democrat to hold that seat (Mike Ferguson's seat) since Harrison Williams lost to Florence Dwyer in 1956.  New Jersey's House seats, with the last time the other party held them:

One week after scoring major Democratic endorsements from former Secretary of State Joan Haberle and her daughter, John McCain now has the support of Alfredo Gutierrez, the owner of Xtra Supermarket in Newark. “He sits on the board of United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce," said spokesman Peter Feldman.  "He is the first Dominican to ever hold a seat on the board.”   Gutierrez was the only New Jerseyan on a list of fifty Latino endorsements announced by the McCain campaign nationally.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has added New Jersey's fifth district to their "Red to Blue" fundaising program "once thought to be out of reach."  The Republican incumbent, Scott Garrett, faces Dennis Shulman, a blind Rabbi who has run an aggressive and surprisingly well-financed campaign in a district that hasn't elected a Democratic Congressman since 1978.  But the Red to Blue list is clearly not the DCCC's first-tier campaigns, and inclusion in the program doesn't assure any meaningful campaign dollars or substantial political support and includes over sixty House races nationally where Democrats aren't completely optimistic.  Josh Zeitz, who is challenging fifteen-term incumbent Christopher Smith in the fourth district, was added to the Red to Blue list in September.  Smith is still viewed as a safe bet for re-election.